Nayyi Navelli Review: Yami Gautam Shines as a Suspected "Daayan," but Weak Writing Turns This Horror-Comedy into a Letdown -

An unexpected interval twist and a restrained Yami Gautam can’t rescue a film that loses steam early and stumbles through a confused second half.

Mumbai, October 16, 2026

A new bahu, a suspicious devar and a family that may be living with a witch. On paper, Nayyi Navelli sounds like the perfect festive-weekend horror-comedy. Yami Gautam Dhar leads the film, which entered theatres this weekend alongside Ranabaali, Prahaar and the Rajinikanth juggernaut Jailer 2. The premise is fun and the leading lady delivers. The execution, sadly, does not.

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The Story: Is the New Bahu a Daayan?

Mohini (Yami Gautam Dhar) is the country head of a company. She marries Meerut-based Raja Awasthi (Addinath M Kothare) and moves into his big joint family. The household includes his father S K Awasthi (Suneel Sinha), mother Asha (Sunita Rajwar), brother Bantu (Anurag Thakur), grandmother (Sushmita Mukherjee), Pinky Bua (Mita Vasisht), Pannu Chacha (Prateek Pachori), Rekha Chachi (Babita Pandey), Sumitra Tayi (Sonal Jha) and several more.

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Mohini wins over everyone with her charm. Everyone, that is, except Bantu. After a series of bizarre incidents, he becomes convinced that his new bhabhi is a “daayan,” a witch. The family laughs it off at first, but Bantu digs into the past and unearths incidents that make them reconsider. There is clearly more to Mohini than meets the eye, and the rest of the film unfolds from there.

The Writing Problem: A Winner on Paper

Himanshu Sharma’s story must have sounded like a winner in the pitch room. The trouble starts with Divy Nidhi Sharma’s screenplay, which turns out weak and dry. It tries hard to pepper the narrative with funny scenes, but the humour fails to entice. The dialogues are okay, and a few one-liners do raise laughs, but that is about it.

Balaji Mohan’s direction is not up to the mark either. Credit where it is due: a few scenes are handled deftly, especially the portions in which Bantu narrates the incidents that convinced him about Mohini. The funniest stretch involves Vishal IAS (Aaditya Kulshreshth), his marriage to Pinky Bua and his discovery of the truth. That sequence is arguably the highlight of the film.

The Interval Twist: A Rare High

The interval twist is the film’s smartest card. It is unexpected, catches viewers off guard, and is placed so well that it may stop people from walking out midway. Unfortunately, the hope it raises does not last. The second half falters again.

Where It Falls Apart

The narrative starts losing steam early, and even the horror-comedy flashback portions fail to make an impact. After the interval, several developments are hard to digest and raise more questions than they answer. The film then takes a mythological turn, but the execution remains unconvincing.

One sequence is especially hard to defend. Mohini travels to Haridwar and casually asks the priests to name Lord Rama’s descendants. As expected, she doesn’t get the answer she wanted. The whole scene feels childish, and one wonders how it got approved. The scene in which the family abandons Mohini and Raja is equally unconvincing.

There is one silver lining. The Ramayana angle may help the film find some takers in the heartland.

Performances: Yami Carries the Load

Nayyi Navelli rests on Yami Gautam Dhar’s shoulders, and she delivers a worthy act. She rises above the script with a performance that is restrained yet impactful. Addinath M Kothare is aptly cast and does very well in a crucial part. Anurag Thakur makes the goings-on watchable as Bantu, though he does go over the top in some scenes.

Sushmita Mukherjee and Mita Vasisht come next in the performance rankings. Suneel Sinha, Sunita Rajwar, Prateek Pachori, Babita Pandey and Sonal Jha are decent. Aaditya Kulshreshth leaves a mark, while Ajay Pal as Pandit and Akshat Singh as Gaggu are fair.

Music and Technical Side

G V Prakash Kumar’s music is not of the chartbuster variety, and the songs are not used well. “The World Of Nayyi Navelli” stands out thanks to a catchy tune. “Phata Patakha” arrives just when viewers have already lost interest. “Awadhiya Ke Raja” is soulful and may work as a standalone track, but its placement in the story is unconvincing. His background score is far more effective than the songs.

Rishi Punjabi’s cinematography is satisfactory. Ravi Srivastava’s production design is realistic, and the costumes by Rushi Sharma and Manoshi Nath are appealing. The VFX by Phantom FX could have been better, especially the backdrop in the terrace sequence at the Awasthi residence, which looks unconvincing. Mahesh Mathew’s action is fair, and Sumeet Kotian’s editing could have been sharper.

The Box Office Challenge

Timing is both a blessing and a curse. The extended festive weekend and the mythological connection may help the film at the start. But this is a crowded release window. Nayyi Navelli is up against Jailer 2, Ranabaali and Prahaar, and each of them brings a stronger pull of star power or buzz. A horror-comedy needs good word of mouth to survive, and early reactions point the other way. Negative talk is likely to hurt its long-term prospects.

What This Means for Everyone Involved

For Yami Gautam Dhar: Her performance is the one thing every reviewer agrees on. Carrying a film on her shoulders and rising above a weak script is a good sign for her pull as a lead. The film’s fate may not help her, but her acting will count for future projects.

For the makers: The premise had potential, and the horror-comedy space still has an audience. The lesson is that a good idea needs a sharper screenplay and tighter execution. Expect the film to be discussed more for what it could have been than for what it is.

For Anurag Thakur and Aaditya Kulshreshth: Both get noticed in a film that otherwise struggles. Bantu’s scenes and the Vishal IAS episode are the funniest parts, which could earn them more comic roles.

For the weekend ahead: A film with an interesting premise but poor word of mouth usually fades quickly after the opening days. Unless audiences in the heartland respond to the Ramayana angle, the film may struggle to hold its screens against the bigger releases. Streaming may be a kinder home, where viewers can enjoy the funny episodes without sitting through the slow stretches.

Also Read: https://ultapaltakhabar.com/prahaar-review-rajkummar-rao-nails-ujjwal-nikam-in-a-gripping-restrained-26-11-courtroom-drama/

Verdict

Nayyi Navelli is an interesting idea that is let down by its execution. Yami Gautam Dhar gives it dignity, the interval twist is a smart surprise, and a couple of comic episodes work. But weak writing, uninspiring direction and unconvincing developments turn a promising horror-comedy into a disappointing watch. This one is for Yami’s fans and for viewers with plenty of patience.

Our rating: 2/5

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