Produced, written and directed by lead actor Kunal Khemu, the vibe has slacker comedy meets spy thriller in a strange but entertaining union.

The fun elements of the film vary but they don’t stray too far from the path that the screenplay indicates for them. And that, for what it’s worth, is no mean feat.

The kind of high-stakes nonsense that the Vibe peddles demands a lot of caution. The danger of it falling through the cracks and wallowing in cerebral buffoonery is real and ever present.

To its credit, even as it navigates different strains of hilarity that sometimes seem to work at cross-purposes, the film maintains its grip on an odd sense of verbal humor. For the most part though.

The wobbly bits of action-comedy – more than its share – are neither too flashy nor too harmless as they come and try to blend into the flow of a wild and whimsical narrative that flits from drollery to romance to action.

The essence of the madness that inspired Madgaon Express, Kemmu’s first film as a director, is back in the vibe but only in small dribbles.

If his 2024 directorial debut, which didn’t include Kemmu in the cast, was a complete bust, then his other effort is just inconsistent.

A handful of gags and plenty of one-liners and double entenders do what they’re meant to do. They actually exist without fizzling.

Be that as it may, the Kemu actor pulls off a rescue mission as he goes through moods ranging from happy to ruffled and clueless to sad before a bullet developed in a top-secret intelligence agency’s lab hits the spot.

Channeling the spirit of Hardik from the zany Go Goa Gone (the 2013 zombie comedy for which he penned the dialogues), Kemmu puts his best foot forward.

He keeps the film on the boil even as the action sequences are overshadowed by the tumultuous nonsensical passages in ill-advised and contrived ways, which are clearly right up the writer-director’s alley.

The male lead is supported by Sapush Srivastava, who is introduced as Nayak’s friend and Rumi, a tech geek who has all the answers until things spiral out of control and he finds himself in the eye of the storm.

Set in Mumbai in 2023, the plot hinges on a tried and tested premise: two unsuspecting youths land in the wrong place at the wrong time and wreak havoc. After a planetarium date, the couple is lured into a high-risk gig.

They scramble for their skins and lives as a shadowy National Security Agency orders them to help them get information about a terrorist attack on Mumbai.

Hardik (Kemu), who has moved from Delhi to Mumbai and is fresh out of rehab, and his brainy but best friend, Bug (Sparsh Srivastava), stumble upon a terrorist plot.

Out on a first date with Kareena (Vanshika Dhir), an intern at the tech firm where Bugg works and where he also gets a job for Hardik. You, says Hardik Girl, are the best thing that ever happened to me. He soon realizes that he has spoken too soon.

After Hardik’s date ends badly, a mysterious Madame H (Preity Zinta in a never-before-seen avatar) summons the two men and prepares them for a dangerous mission they are ill-prepared to handle.

Hardik and Bug, clueless at the best of times, inevitably land in trouble at every turn. They avoid unwanted attention, withstand slaps and punches and generally make a hash of things until one of them decides to take matters into their own hands.

From this point the tone of the film changes. Complicated comic gives way to awkward seriousness. The shift is disturbing to say the least.

The vibe starts out pretty cheerful as the two best friends engage in constant banter. They share a roof but have a very low temperament.

Some romantic interludes are added to accommodate a volatile love affair. Playing the love interest, newcomer Vanshika Dhir gives a good account of herself though she is not really the focal point of the film.

An Amazon MGM Studios and Drongo Films production returns to some sort of rhythm in the moments leading up to a climax in which, as expected in a film like this, all hell breaks loose. It does so in a way that helps the vibe return to its madcap moorings.

Apart from Sharmila Tagore in a cameo as the Union Home Minister, Vibe is notable for the tasks it forces Preity Zinta to do.

Seen in a quieter avatar in last month’s period drama Batwara 1947, the actress pulls out the stops and delivers a part heartfelt, part tongue-in-cheek performance as a secret service agent and action queen, a fun cross between Lara Croft and Atomic Blonde.

Vibe is Kemu’s film in every sense, but it belongs more to the actor than the director. His performance packs all the craziness that the role demands.

Sapush Srivastava, playing the relatively quieter of the two roles, nails the character’s pitch perfectly. He is neither too obtrusive nor too withdrawn.

Vibe isn’t hilariously funny, certainly not in the way that Madgaon Express was. But it has enough steam to keep rolling without letting missteps get in the way of the vibes it wants to transmit.