Taran Adarsh from Bollywood Hungama gave the film 4/5 stars, saying, "On the whole, Dilwale is akin to a mouthwatering meal that satiates the craving of those who relish masalathons, besides being an absolute treat for SRK-Kajol fans.
An unadulterated crowd-pleaser, Dilwale delivers what you expect from a Rohit Shetty film: King-sized entertainment. Go for it!".[35] Komal Nahta in his review of the film said, "Dilwale is a masala entertainer from the start till the end."[36] Rachit Gupta from Filmfare gave it 4/5 stars and added, "Dilwale is the quintessential popcorn flick. It’s colorful, bright and entertaining. It smartly keeps its play on the SRK-Kajol chemistry(watch out for the brilliant ending). It has fantastic music. Decent laughs too. Definitely worth a dekho."[37] Sarita A Tanwar of DNA gave the film 3/5 stars, saying "Dilwale is flawed, but it’s right for those who believe that love does conquer it all, actually."[38]
Ananya Bhattacharya of India Today also rated the film 3/5 and concluded, "Dilwale is immensely enjoyable despite an oh-my-god-this-is-so-predictable story. Keep your brains out of the picture, and you have an out-and-out entertainer which fits perfectly in the mould of a guilty pleasure. Go indulge!"[39] Shubha Shetty-Saha of Mid Day gave the film 3 stars as well and said, "Watch this for the chemistry between SRK and Kajol which refuses to simmer down even after all these years."[40] Meena Iyer from The Times of India gave the film 3/5 stars, criticizing the plot, and stated, "Dilwale leans heavily on Shah Rukh’s mega-stardom, Varun’s effervescence, breathtaking locales(Iceland and Bulgaria), orchestrated car chases and over-the-top situations, which have you chuckling."[41]
NDTV felt that the film’s plot "went in circles" and that while Kajol was great, the film overall failed to appeal.[42] The Economic Times gave the film 2.5/5 stars and felt that it "lacked soul and freshness" and stated that it would only appeal to fans of Khan and Kajol.[43] Rajeev Masand of IBN Live gave the film 2 out of 5 and said, "The real problem with Dilwale is the sheer artificiality of the enterprise. From the rainbow-hued sets and the touched-up landscapes in the Gerua song, to many moments of comedic and emotional payoff, so much of it just feels fake."[44] Namrata Joshi of The Hindu commented, "With Dilwale, Rohit Shetty goes hopelessly wrong despite much that he had at his disposal, including a power-packed cast and producer". Joshi also felt that the attempt to repackage Khan and Kajol had backfired.[45] Rohit Vats of Hindustan Times gave the film a 1.5/5 rating and called the plot "highly predictable"