Ayushmann Khurrana has a habit of picking premises that sound like a late-night pitch that somehow got financed. Udta Teer, which opened in Indian cinemas on 23 October 2026, is another one: a Pakistani spy loses his memory and starts working, with full conviction, for Indian intelligence. This Udta Teer movie review asks whether writer-director Aakash Kaushik’s debut keeps that joke airborne for a full spy-comedy runtime, or whether the film forgets its own premise the way its hero forgets his name.
The honest answer sits in the middle. The first half is lively. The second half keeps changing the mission brief.
Udta Teer at a Glance
- Director / writer: Aakash Kaushik (feature debut)
- Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Sara Ali Khan, Rahul Bose, Ram Kapoor, Gulshan Grover, Mukul Dev, Suhail Nayyar, Brijendra Kala, Raghubir Yadav, Supriya Pilgaonkar, Smita Tambe, Sandeep Anand
- Producers: Karan Johar, Adar Poonawalla, Guneet Monga, Apoorva Mehta, Achin Jain (Dharma Productions, Sikhya Entertainment)
- Cinematography: Harshvir Oberai
- Music: Songs by Sachin-Jigar; score by Ketan Sodha
- Runtime: about 134 minutes (listings also show ~2h 17m / 2h 24m depending on cut and market)
- Certificate: UA13+ (CBFC); BBFC lists a 12A for the UK
- Release: Theatrical, 23 October 2026 (Hindi)
What the Film Is About (Spoiler-Light)
Bilal Ahmad (Ayushmann Khurrana) is a Pakistani agent sent into India. After an operation goes sideways and a head injury wipes his memory, he wakes convinced he is Vikrant, an Indian counter-terrorism officer. He throws himself into protecting the country he was meant to undermine. Former handlers panic. Indian colleagues smell a mole. His relationship with Yamini (Sara Ali Khan), who works in the defence establishment, gets tangled in the same confusion. Cross-border spy machinery, dating-app terrorists and office farce all try to share the same frame.
That logline is the film’s best asset. Memory is a spy’s toolkit; remove it and you get comedy from loyalty, not from slapstick alone. Kaushik understands the hook. The question is how long he trusts it before the film starts covering its bets with bigger speeches and denser plot machinery.
Performances
Ayushmann Khurrana as Bilal / Vikrant
Ayushmann is in his comfort zone and mostly sharp in it. He plays the identity crisis with a straight face: patriotic fervour arriving in the wrong passport. Comic timing stays light rather than shouty, which suits a spoof that wants to needle spy cinema instead of replacing it with toilet gags. When the film later asks him to pivot into heavier patriotic drama, he commits, even if the script’s gear-change is the real problem. Few current Hindi stars can flip between droll and sincere this cleanly; that skill is why the early reels hum.
Sara Ali Khan as Yamini
Sara gets songs, romance and a defence-ministry desk, but the role is thinner than the poster suggests. She is pleasant company and lands a few emotional beats; she is not given a comic engine of her own. If you came for a true two-hander, this is still Ayushmann’s vehicle with a co-star walking beside it.
Supporting cast
The ensemble is where the film often smiles widest. Rahul Bose as Indian spy chief M. D. Burman leans into physical humiliation with game energy. The late Mukul Dev, in a posthumous appearance as a terrorist figure who treats dating apps like a second war front, draws consistent laughs in early reviews and gives the film a bittersweet extra charge. Gulshan Grover and Ram Kapoor chew the Pakistani establishment scenes. Suhail Nayyar, as the suspicious colleague Dhruv, is a solid foil. Brijendra Kala, Raghubir Yadav and Supriya Pilgaonkar add texture even when the plot overcrowds them.
What Works
The opening stretch treats spy-thriller grammar as fair game for parody: undercover solemnity, chest-thumping briefings, double agents who cannot keep their stories straight. Dharma even gets to poke at its own filmography in places, which landed well with viewers who know the studio’s catalogue. Ayushmann’s conviction-as-comedy is the glue. Several major Indian critics parked their scores around three to three-and-a-half stars, praising the premise and the first-half laughs even when they quarrelled with the finish. Filmfare’s take called it a spy spoof that hits the target; Hindustan Times and India Today were in a similar complimentary band on opening day.
For audiences tired of self-serious cross-border thrillers, the willingness to be silly without constant jingoistic shouting is refreshing in the early reels. The film wants to entertain without insulting your intelligence, and for long stretches it does.
What Does Not
Almost every mixed-to-negative review points at the same fault line: the second half abandons the spoof and drifts into a more conventional patriotic thriller. Twists multiply. Sentiment rises. The comic momentum thins. The Indian Express was harsher than most, calling the film a tedious mix of spoof and sentiment that only sporadically finds its stride. Even friendlier notices wish the film had trusted the amnesia joke longer instead of playing it safe for the galleries.
Runtime does not help. North of two hours is a lot of movie for a premise that thrives on momentum. Songs by Sachin-Jigar are serviceable; they do not paper over the tonal split. Day-one box office was also modest by Ayushmann’s bigger openers (trade trackers put India nett around Rs 4.1 crore on Friday with soft occupancy that improved at night), so weekend word of mouth will matter more than opening bravado.
Rotten Tomatoes did not yet show a meaningful critic Tomatometer at the time of writing, so treat Western aggregation as incomplete. Indian print and web reviews are the clearer early picture, and they are split between amused and frustrated. That split is fair.
Who Should Watch
Worth a theatre ticket if you like Ayushmann’s lighter register, ensemble Hindi comedies, or a break from straight-faced spy films. Go in expecting a strong setup and a softer landing. Families looking at the UA13+ certificate should know the tone includes violence and political satire even when the jokes land. If you preferred the tense craft of our Drishyam 3 review, this is a different mood entirely: broader, goofier, less controlled.
For a solid mid-range critical take from the opening wave, Filmfare’s Udta Teer review summarises the spoof strengths and second-half fade without burying the lead.
Verdict: A bright spy-comedy idea that entertains in patches and then talks itself into a more ordinary film. Ayushmann and the supporting clowns almost save the mission. Rating: 3/5
FAQ
Is Udta Teer a comedy or a spy thriller?
Both, by design. It starts as a spoof of espionage films and later leans harder into patriotic thriller plotting. That mix is also why reviews are divided.
When did Udta Teer release and what is the runtime?
It released in theatres on 23 October 2026. Runtime is roughly 2 hours 14 minutes to 2 hours 24 minutes depending on the listing; Wikipedia cites 134 minutes.
Who directed Udta Teer?
Aakash Kaushik wrote and directed the film in his feature debut. It is produced by Dharma Productions and Sikhya Entertainment.
Is Sara Ali Khan’s role big?
She is second-billed and central to the personal storyline, but most critics note the film gives Ayushmann far more comic and narrative space.
What do early reviews say?
Indian critics are mixed-to-positive overall, commonly in the 3 to 3.5 star range, with praise for Ayushmann and the first half and complaints about a weaker, more serious second half. A wide Rotten Tomatoes critic score was not yet established at the time of this review.
