The trailer of ‘Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai’ is finally out, and it promises exactly what a David Dhawan comedy always has: chaos, confusion, and a whole lot of laughter. Varun Dhawan stars as a man desperate to become a father, only to find himself in double trouble when his wife ends up pregnant with twins.
The three-minute trailer, released on Friday, has already garnered over 20 million views across platforms, with fans calling it a “return to form” for the father-son duo.
What the trailer reveals
Varun Dhawan plays Karan, a 30-something man whose life is otherwise perfect — a loving wife (Janhvi Kapoor), a thriving career, and a sprawling family home — except for one thing: he is not a father yet. And he wants to be one. Desperately.
The trailer opens with Varun visiting a temple, a clinic, and then another temple, all in the same montage, praying for a child. His family, played by the legendary cast of Annu Kapoor, Seema Pahwa, and Rajpal Yadav, is equally invested in the outcome. Annu Kapoor’s character, the overenthusiastic grandfather-to-be, even measures the length of potential baby names on his hand.
When Janhvi’s character finally announces her pregnancy, the family erupts in celebration. Then comes the ultrasound. The doctor (a deadpan Boman Irani) says: “Congratulations. It’s two.” The trailer cuts to Varun’s face — frozen in shock, then slowly breaking into a nervous smile.
What follows is a montage of everything that can go wrong when you are expecting double the diapers, double the midnight feeds, and double the parental advice. Rajpal Yadav plays a bumbling priest who insists on naming the twins according to “auspicious planetary positions.” Annu Kapoor builds a bunk bed that collapses. Seema Pahwa, as the wise grandmother, offers gyan while stirring a giant pot of “special khichdi.”
The second half of the trailer introduces a subplot involving a mistaken identity and a rival family, which seems unnecessary but is typical David Dhawan chaos.
Varun Dhawan and David Dhawan reunite
‘Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai’ marks the fourth collaboration between Varun Dhawan and his father, director David Dhawan, after ‘Main Tera Hero’ (2014), ‘Judwaa 2’ (2017), and ‘Coolie No. 1’ (2020). While their earlier films were romantic comedies or action-comedies, this is their first pure family comedy centered on pregnancy and parenthood.
Varun told reporters at the trailer launch: “I have always wanted to work with dad again, but we were waiting for the right script. When he narrated this to me, I laughed for ten minutes straight. This is the David Dhawan I grew up watching — the one who made ‘Hero No. 1’, ‘Coolie No. 1’, ‘Haseena Maan Jaayegi’. That energy is back.”
David Dhawan, 70, who had taken a break from directing after the box office failure of ‘Coolie No. 1’, said he “needed a story that made me excited to wake up every morning.”
Janhvi Kapoor as the exasperated wife
Janhvi Kapoor plays Karan’s wife, Riya, a career woman who is happy to have children but not at the cost of her sanity. Her character is the only sane person in a house full of eccentrics, and her comic timing in the trailer — especially in the scene where she tells Varun, “Tum pregnancy test nahi, sanity test do” — has been widely praised.
Janhvi said: “I have grown up watching David Dhawan’s films. To be directed by him was like being in a film school. He would give me one line: ‘Janhvi, is scene mein bas thoda aur overacting kar. Kyunki family comedy mein overacting hi correct acting hoti hai.'”
The supporting cast
The trailer showcases a strong ensemble:
- Annu Kapoor as the over-the-top grandfather who has already chosen the twins’ career paths — IAS and cricketer
- Seema Pahwa as the grandmother who solves every problem with food
- Rajpal Yadav as the family priest who claims the twins are “reincarnations of historical figures” (Lakshmi and Ganesh, specifically)
- Boman Irani as the deadpan gynaecologist who has seen it all
- Johnny Lever in a cameo as a overenthusiastic neighbour who wants to be the godfather (with disastrous results)
Music and release
The film’s music is composed by Anand-Milind, making a comeback after nearly two decades. The duo, known for their work in 1990s comedies like ‘Raja Babu’, ‘Judwaa’, and ‘Hero No. 1’, have composed five songs for the film. The title track, picturised on Varun and Janhvi, has already become a chartbuster.
‘Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai’ is set to release on June 12, 2026, on the occasion of Eid. It will clash with Akshay Kumar’s action thriller ‘Mission June’ at the box office.
Social media reaction
The trailer has received overwhelmingly positive reactions. Fans have particularly loved Varun’s comic timing in the scene where he faints upon hearing “twins” and the subsequent sequence where he wakes up, asks “Ek tha ya do?” and faints again.
One user wrote: “David Dhawan is back. Varun is back. Comedy is back.” Another commented: “Finally a family comedy that doesn’t rely on double meaning jokes. This is pure, clean, loud laughter.”
Some critics, however, have pointed out that the second half of the trailer feels “cluttered,” with too many characters and subplots. One reviewer noted: “David Dhawan’s strength is simplicity. Judwaa 2 and Coolie No. 1 suffered because they tried to do too much. Hope this one stays focused.”
The bottom line
If the trailer is any indication, ‘Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai’ is exactly what its title promises: youthful, chaotic, and unapologetically loud. It may not win awards for subtlety, but it will likely win the box office. For fans of 1990s Govinda-David Dhawan comedies, this is as close to a reunion as it gets.
