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Nayyi Navelli, starring Yami Gautam, is a bland horror comedy that fails to deliver suspense, scares, or humor, offering a tedious & unengaging cinematic experience.
The Hindi fantasy horror-comedy film Nayyi Naveli releases in theatres today, October 16, 2026
Nayyi NavelliU/A
1/5
Starring: Yami Gautam, Sunita Rajwar,Aaditya Kulshreshth, Addinath M KothareDirector: Balaji Mohan
Nayyi Navelli, starring Yami Gautam (Mohini) and Addinath M Kothare (Raja), follows Mohini, who marries Raja and enters the Awasthi household. Everything appears to be going smoothly until her brother-in-law grows suspicious of her and believes she is a dayan. As he presents evidence of Mohini’s alleged supernatural powers to the Awasthis, the truth turns out to be far more complicated than anyone could have imagined.
Nayyi Navelli: Yay Or Nay?
A horror comedy needs to strike the right balance between suspense, scares and humour. Unfortunately, Nayyi Navelli struggles to deliver on all three fronts. Despite drawing inspiration from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, the film fails to turn its familiar themes into an engaging cinematic experience. What could have been an entertaining blend of mythology, horror and comedy instead becomes a tedious watch.
After delivering solid performances in Haq, URI and many more, one wonders why Yami chose this as her next project. While we often divide movie reviews into two halves to judge which part of the film works better, Nayyi Navelli becomes an example of an entirely bland and boring film that has no connection to reality. Some movies are made for theatres, some are for OTT, and the rest need to have a skip option.
Performance-wise, Yami has repeatedly demonstrated her versatility, but even a capable performer can do only so much when the writing fails to support her. The movie primarily explores the theme of the victory of good over evil, drawing parallels with Lord Ram’s killing of Ravan. However, Nayyi Navelli has nothing new to offer that the audience hasn’t already watched. With absolutely no jump scares, WhatsApp forwards as jokes, and a movie that majorly relies on narration, Nayyi Navelli leaves no impression on the audience.
Despite featuring a sizeable cast of versatile actors, the film begins losing its grip on viewers within the first five minutes. It barely manages to regain their attention over its two-hour-and-18-minute runtime, which feels considerably longer than it actually is.
What Works?
Barely anything. The movie barely gets a few laughs, and that’s all. Some dialogues feel forced. Even when shlokas and parts of the Ramcharitmanas are used, they create an impact merely because of the audience’s existing connection to them, rather than because the film uses them effectively to make a point.
A horror comedy needs suspense, laughter and scares, and these are the exact three things missing from the Yami Gautam-starrer.
What Does Not Work?
Almost everything. A film belonging to this genre should ideally make viewers laugh one moment and leave them anticipating a scare the next. Nayyi Navelli manages neither consistently.
In a full theatre, we witnessed people talking, window-shopping and scrolling through reels as they struggled to concentrate on the film.
Final Verdict
We watched it so you could save yourself the trouble. Nayyi Navelli fails to leave a lasting impression, offering neither the scares of a horror film nor the laughs of a comedy. The movie can cost you a ticket, popcorn and headache medicine.
Quick Answers
Ask News18Nayyi Navelli follows Mohini, played by Yami Gautam, who enters the Awasthi household after marrying Raja. Things turn chaotic when her brother-in-law grows suspicious and accuses her of being a supernatural entity or dayan.
Ask News18October 16, 2026, 12:09 IST