'Shaadi Ho Ya Funeral, Kunal Will Make You Laugh!'

‘Kunal is usually the funniest person in the room, that too from both sides of our family.’

IMAGE: Preity Zinta and Kunal Kemmu at the Vibe trailer launch in Mumbai, September 2, 2026. Photograph: Panna Bandekar

Key Points

Kunal Kemmu turns multi-hyphenate as actor, writer, director and producer of Vibe.
Preity Zinta takes on an action role as Madam H while debutante Vanshika Dhir plays Kemmu’s love interest.
Kemmu reveals how he finally got to work with his mother-in-law Sharmila Tagore.

Remember Kunal Kemmu’s druggie guy who makes a brief cameo in his directorial debut Madgaon Express, starring Divyenndu, Pratik Gandhi and Avinash Tiwary?

The seemingly drug-peddling character gets an explanation in the trailer of Kemmu’s second directorial Vibe. The trailer suggests that he had overdosed on drugs, after which he went wandering along the beaches of Goa.

And it’s not just a fan theory. When asked about it at the Vibe trailer launch in Mumbai on Wednesday, Kemmu smiled and suggested that the two films might just share the same universe.

Madgaon Express To Vibe

IMAGE: Kunal Kemmu, Vanshika Dhir, Sparsh Srivastava and Preity Zinta at the Vibe trailer launch. Photograph: Panna Bandekar

The Vibe trailer introduces Kunal as bumbling Hardik who finds himself and his flatmate Bugs (played by Laapataa Ladies and Jamtara fame Sparsh Shrivastav) caught up in a dangerous covert mission.

The unlikely duo end up becoming protectors of the country under the watch of Madam H, played by Preity Zinta. Naturally, things don’t exactly go according to plan, leading to a comedy of errors.

At the trailer launch, Preity said she had an “absolute blast” reading the script. She felt the film was the perfect change of pace after working on the emotionally taxing Batwara 1947.

WATCH: Preity Zinta’s toughest challenge for Vibe was…

Video: Afsar Dayatar/Rediff

Why Preity Zinta For Madam H?

Kunal Kemmu has gone full multi-hyphenate with Vibe. He acts in the film, writes it, directs it and is also one of its producers.

He revealed how Preity came to mind for Madam H, the film’s no-nonsense national security chief, whose name appears to be a playful nod to Judi Dench’s iconic M from recent James Bond films.

“When I was writing the film, I reached a point where I was thinking about who could play this character. I am a huge Preity Zinta fan. A thought crossed my mind: ‘What if the person who walks in is Preity Zinta herself?’ These people would say, ‘Preity Zinta? You are an undercover agent?’, and she would reply, ‘What did you think? That I got married and moved to America? This is my real life. I am actually a government agent’.”

Kemmu eventually dropped the meta joke, but when it came to casting, he realised he had never seen Preity do action before.

“I felt nobody would expect it, which made it the perfect casting choice. The only challenge was getting her to say yes. That’s how the journey began. I am very happy that she agreed to do the film, and I think she looks fantastic as Madam H.”

WATCH: Why Sparsh Shrivastava gained weight for Vibe

Video: Afsar Dayatar/Rediff

Soha Cheers Her Hubby

IMAGE: Soha Ali Khan and Kunal Kemmu at the Vibe trailer launch. Photograph: Panna Bandekar

At the launch, Kunal Kemmu was joined by his wife Soha Ali Khan, who happily played cheerleader while teasing him about his sense of humour and comic timing.

Soha said Kunal is usually the “funniest person in the room”, and not just with their friends or colleagues — he holds the same reputation on both sides of their extended families.

“Kunal is usually the funniest person in the room, that too from both sides of our family.”

Preity was visibly surprised and asked, “Really?”

Soha laughed and replied, “Shaadi ho ya funeral, he will make you laugh!”

WATCH: How would Kunal Kemmu rate himself as a filmmaker?

Video: Afsar Dayatar/Rediff

Directing His Mother-In-Law

IMAGE: Kunal Kemmu and Vanshika Dhir at the Vibe trailer launch. Photograph: Panna Bandekar

The biggest surprise of the Vibe trailer is Sharmila Tagore, making a rare screen appearance 16 years after her last theatrical release, Break Ke Baad. She was recently seen in the OTT film Gulmohar, which won Best Hindi Film at the 70th National Film Awards.

So how did Kemmu convince his mother-in-law to come on board?

“I asked her if she would play this part, which was a cameo, and she asked for the synopsis of the film. So, I gave her the synopsis, and she said that was just a trick question, she was anyway going to do it. So, she was gracious,” he said.

Directing Sharmila, as Kemmu said, was something he had always wanted to do.

“For me, it’s one of those checkboxes that I got to tick, something I never knew I would be able to. I am very happy, and I am very proud that I could call ‘action’ and ‘cut’ on a legend like her.”