![\"Fawad](\"https:\/\/www.hindustantimes.com\/ht-img\/img\/2025\/09\/16\/550x309\/Fawad_Khan_Vaani_Kapoor_1757995636560_1757995636727.webp\" "\\"Fawad")
Fawad Khan, Vaani Kapoor\u2019s Aabeer Gulaal will not be releasing in India. Aabeer Gulaal gets a thumbs down by critics<\/p>\nPakistani actor Fawad Khan and Vaani Kapoor’s Aabeer Gulaal had faced a setback after the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22. The romantic drama has now been released worldwide, excluding India. However, early reviews suggest the film has failed to impress, with critics dismissing it as mediocre and underwhelming.<\/p>\n
Fawad Khan, Vaani Kapoor\u2019s Aabeer Gulaal will not be releasing in India. Aabeer Gulaal gets a thumbs down by critics<\/p>\n
The romantic drama, directed by Aarti S. Bagdi, premiered globally on September 12. Now, reviews by critics have surfaced on social media, panning the film for failing to do justice to its leads: Vaani and Fawad.<\/p>\n
BBC Asian Network\u2019s Haroon Rashid <\/a>felt that the film looked cheap, saying, \u201cI found this to be one of the most frustrating romantic dramas I’ve watched in a very long time. Not only does it look cheap, but it is such an incoherent, inconsistent storyline, which is such an injustice to the talent that you’re working with.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFawad Khan is one of the best actors from Pakistan, you will know that he brings a certain amount of natural charm and charisma to whatever role he’s doing. This film requires nothing more than Fawad and Vaani to just look good on screen and hope that everything else will take care of itself\u2026. I genuinely have not had such a frustrating viewing experience in the cinema for a very long time. Add to that such poor finishing of the film, it feels like no attention has been paid to the colour grading of the film\u2026 Fawad and Vaani weren’t the problem, the film itself was a problem,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n As per Gulf News<\/a>, the film was not perfect with the performances rescuing it from mediocrity. \u201cAabeer Gulaal is bloated, padded with unnecessary segues that drag the runtime. Lisa Haydon\u2019s cameo is the biggest offender\u2014it adds nothing, apart from reminding us that Bollywood can\u2019t resist shoehorning in familiar faces. A tighter cut would have sharpened the storytelling and saved us from mid-movie fidgeting,\u201d it read.<\/p>\n The review by Khaleej Times <\/a>stated that the film leans \u201cheavily on YRF and Dharma universe. Dance competitions (which Vaani obviously wins), medley of retro songs, and nods to DDLJ and Chandni abound \u2013 like the rain-soaked dance between Vaani and Fawad echoes Kajol and Shah Rukh KHan in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. It\u2019s nostalgia turned clich\u00e9. One can\u2019t help but feel that Fawad deserved better \u2014 and so did the audience.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe movie is weighed down by unnecessary subplots and cameo appearances that add little to the overall story. For instance, Lisa Haydon\u2019s appearance feels shoehorned in, more like a distraction than an addition. Such indulgences make the middle act drag, and at times, the pacing suffers. The audience may find themselves fidgeting, waiting for the film to get back on track,\u201d read a review by USA Pillar<\/a>.<\/p>\n