Thumbs up, by Taran Adarsh, Bollywood Hungama : ...On the whole, COOLIE NO. 1 is a typical David Dhawan entertainer — crazy, outrageous and over the top — but funny and entertaining. Sit back and enjoy this ride!... full review

Thumbs up, by Joginder Tuteja, Planet Bollywood : ...That’s how the film as a whole works too. It is easy on the eyes and most importantly, is a hardcore family entertainer with no crime or adult elements in there which would have made none cringe. Considering the fact that the OTT medium is abound with these kind of elements in practically every outing, Coolie No. 1 comes across as a welcome rel... full review

So-So, by Ritika Handoo, DNA : ...All in all, watch 'Coolie No. 1' if you really are fans of Varun and Sara - but please remember there's nothing number 1 about it, and the makers did warn you with Mirchi Lagi Toh, Main Kya Karu?... full review

So-So, by Nitin Jain, Glamsham.com : ...Coolie no. 1 could help families watch this entertainer in the comfy of their homes. COOLIE NO. 1 is a David Dhawan genre entertainer with outrageous, over the top situations that genre audience may find funny and entertaining. With so much of serious content being offered, Coolie no. 1 could prove to be an entertaining relief.... full review

So-So, by Tiasa Bhowal, india today : ...Varun Dhawan’s Coolie No 1 frankly doesn’t match up to what Govinda gave us in the 1995 version because it is almost impossible to fill into the latter’s shoes when it comes to his comic timing. If you loved Govinda’s Coolie No 1, this one will definitely not appeal to you because there’s not much happening here that you did not already witness earlier.... full review

So-So, by Ronak Kotecha, Times of India : ...The film’s music is catchy and the songs are well-shot with all the shenanigans of a grand Bollywood potboiler in place. It makes for a good watch, but the ‘Mirchi lagi’ song deserved a much better remake. Oh, and that’s true for the film as well. So the only trick to get entertained by this insanity is to admit how loud and pointless it is without comparing it with the original.... full review

Thumbs down, by Urmimala Banerjee, Bollywood Life : ...Honestly, there is very little to like about the film. The original movie was one that managed to make us laugh very naturally. We saw some great chemistry between actors like late Kader Khan, Sadashiv Amrapurkar and of course, Shakti Kapoor. The new version is a snazzier one and that's about it. Varun Dhawan tries hard succeeding in bits and parts. Some of the scenes with Javed Jaffrey are good. Sara Ali Khan and Varun Dhawan's chemistry in the Husn Na Suhana song is good. Sahil Vaid is good as Varun Dhawan's friend.... full review

Thumbs down, by Deepa Gahlot, Deepa Gahlot : ...Coolie No. 1 is not a tribute — because which director would be vain enough to pay tribute to himself– it’s not a parody of the tasteless of nineties’ popular movies, so why did this travesty with eyesore production values, garish costumes and remixed music even need to be made?... full review

Thumbs down, by Rahul Desai, Film Companion : ...Coolie No. 1 is somehow worse because it exists on the internet. Euphemistic terms like “paisa-vasool” and “one-time watch” apply to the cultural act of watching a film in cinema halls. The halls are an escape from life, so even terrible movies find meaning because of how they become part of a larger communal experience. The outing defines the entertainment... full review

Thumbs down, by Devesh Sharma, Filmfare : ...Films belong to their eras. Not all films can be successfully replicated into another era and that seems to be the case with Coolie No 1 as well. David Dhawan survived because he gave the audience what they wanted but he seems to have misread the changed perception here...... full review

Thumbs down, by Madhuri V, Filmi Beat : ...In one of the scenes in the film, Paresh Rawal's character Jeffery Rozario quips, "Heaven on the docks man, Judwaa out of the box, man." David Dhawan's latest directorial Coolie No. 1 turns out to be a weaker twin of the 1995 film. All Govinda fans out there, steer clear of this one!... full review

Thumbs down, by Shubha Shetty, Free Press Journal : ...wan’s attempt at remaking his 25-year-old film could have been a fun riot all over again, only if the writing (screenplay by Rumi Jaffrey and dialogues by Fahad Samji), and treatment of the film were not stuck in the time the original was made. The writing reeks of casual sexism, laughing at a lesser abled and lesser privileged people, shows that it hasn’t definitely kept up with time. There are quite a few loopholes in the story too.... full review

Thumbs down, by Jyoti Sharma Bawa, Hindustan Times : ...David Dhawan has proved beyond doubt that it is impossible to templatise David Dhawan. With the sharp writing and editing missing, Coolie No 1 is but a poor facsimile of the original... full review

Thumbs down, by R.M. VIJAYAKAR, India West : ...And if you too have nothing to do, watch the film. Otherwise, get into the wi-fi time machine and go revisit the 1995 film.... full review

Thumbs down, by Shubhra Gupta, indian express : ...We can do with laughter in these dark times, but not like this, with zero wit, no flair.... full review

Thumbs down, Khaleej Times : ...Amusing, how you tend to subconsciously recall Govinda in specific scenes as Varun tries repeating random antics. That can surely be the biggest failure for a remake.... full review

Thumbs down, by Mayank Shekhar, MiD DAY : ...Surely with 30 years of economic ascent, that has changed. Or maybe not. By the way, Sudha Kongara's massy, Tamil biopic of Captain Gopinath, Soorarai Pottru (2020), also on Amazon Prime Video, might well be the anti-thesis of Coolie No. 1, since it's about how India's railway passengers can afford a plane ride.... full review

Thumbs down, by Saibal Chatterjee, NDTV : ...When Raju Coolie's ruse is about to fall apart, he adopts Mithun Chakraborty's dialogue delivery style to distinguish the porter from the young tycoon wedded to the heroine Sarah Rozario (Sara Ali Khan). But these tips of the hat to Bollywood of the last millennium are wayward because there is no clear context created for them in the script.... full review

Thumbs down, by Rohit Vats, News18.com : ...Then there are frequent imitations of Bollywood stars in bizarrely disinteresting ways, and in the middle of all this unintentional chaos, Sara Ali Khan keeps standing on the balcony in search of a savior, not for her but the film. Either she knew what was going to happen to the film and wanted to get out of the sets as soon as possible, or what they say about nepotism is true. It’s not a film she would like to be remembered for.... full review

Thumbs down, by Ranpreet Kaur, Pinkvilla : ...Overall, with dull performances, no Govinda, Karisma, Kader Khan and David Dhawan’s original charm, slapstick humour, this Coolie No 1 is just a burdensome cringe-worthy watch.... full review

Thumbs down, by Nandini Ramnath, Scroll.in : ...Even most of the tunes are reworked. If this movie can claim anything as its own, it is the creation of a new philosophical theory. “What is... is what?” says Raju in his nurse avatar – an apt description of this endeavour as well as the larger misguided attempt to remake old favourites.... full review

Thumbs down, by Sonia Chopra, Sify Movies : ...Varun Dhawan seems entrapped in an image, and the young actor could benefit from rethinking his limiting choices. One also wishes Sara Ali Khan looks beyond the tried and tested. It's altogether too sad when young actors choose to conform rather than push the envelope.... full review

Thumbs down, by Sangeetha Devi Dundoo, The Hindu : ...There’s no harm in remaking an old blockbuster for a newer audience but it may have benefited from a more contemporary absurd comedy.... full review