[4] Featuring Sushant Singh Rajput and newcomer Sara Ali Khan in lead roles, it tells an inter-faith love story between a wealthy Hindu Brahmin girl whose family owns a lodge and shops near the historic Kedarnath Temple in the Uttarakhand mountains and a Muslim boy who is a 'pithoo' (porter) working in the same vicinity.

[8] The film released on 7 December 2018[5] to mixed reviews with praise for Rajput's and Khan's performances, cinematography, music and storyline but criticism for its VFX, screenplay and overall execution.

However, Mansoor is different, as they both notice each other and then Mukku makes the first move and hires him as her regular porter as she goes from her family home to a neighbouring village to help at her uncle's shop.

She and her family are trying to gather the guests of their hotel in a top floor, whilst Kullu and his mother arrive driven in by the storm and Mukku refuses to go to him.

[14][15] In February 2018, a dispute between director Abhishek Kapoor and the producers KriArj Entertainment[16] led to a lawsuit that threatened the completion of production.

[18] An ensuing court case led KriArj to drop out of the film's production entirely when Ronnie Screwvala's RSVP Movies opted to take over.

However, when the producers' of Ajay Devgn-starrer Total Dhamaal relinquished their 7 December release date in favor of late February 2019, RSVP Movies was quick to secure it for Kedarnath.

"[25] On 5 December 2018, a PIL (Public interest litigation) filed by Prakash Rajput, head of the IHS religious society, was met with disapproval from the High Court of Gujarat.

Rajput asserted that the film hurt Hindu sentiments by portraying Muslim-Hindu love, and that it had a kissing scene, which was not appropriate for family audiences.

[31] On 5 November 2018, the first song and music video from the film was released, titled "Namo Namo," a devotional song composed by Amitabh Bhattacharya and sung by Amit Trivedi, portrayed on Sushant Singh Rajput's character Mansoor, introducing him as a "jolly yet hardworking pithoo" (porter around the Kedarnath area), who cares for his customers as they pilgrimage.

[32] On 12 November 2018, lead actors Rajput and Khan started promotions of the film by appearing on the Reality TV competition show Indian Idol 10.

Written by Amitabh Bhattacharya, composed by Amit Trivedi, and sung by Dev Negi, the song is a "foot-tapping number" picturized on the lead pair as they dance enthusiastically to a stirring dhol beat.

A love ballad sung in both male and female versions by Arijit Singh and Asees Kaur respectively, written by Amitabh Bhattacharya and composed by Amit Trivedi, the song depicts the caste-based conflict and heartbreak the couple eventually go through in their relationship.

[38] On 2 December, a second short dialogue video was uploaded -"Aadat daal lo", which depicts Mukku's wit against Mansoor's flirtatious insults, and eventually her romantic inclinations towards him.

[39] On 4 December, another short dialogue was released, titled "Koshish Ki Hai Kabhi" which reveals the ensuing romantic banter between Mukku and Mansoor as they journey through the mountains.

[9][42] While most of them highly praised Sara Ali Khan's debut performance, and acclaimed the visuals, they summarized the plot as "predictable" and "worn out.

"[9] Rachit Gupta of the Times of India gave the film 3 out of 5 stars,[43] called it "an all-too-familiar love story" yet praised the debut performance of Sara Ali Khan, calling her a "live wire," and commending her on-screen charisma and confidence, saying that she reminds audiences of "a young and boisterous Amrita Singh (her mother) in films like Betaab and Chameli Ki Shaadi."

Like other reviewers, she highly praised Sara Ali Khan, calling her "brilliant" and "a breath of fresh air," noting that she gave a stellar performance in the climax.

She admired Kapoor's direction and the film's songs as well, yet was critical of certain tonal inconsistencies in scenes where Rajput's character is attacked, and when Khan's family finds out about the romance.

[45] She highly praised Khan, calling her an "a superstar on the rise...extraordinarily-talented star kid," finding it "hard to believe that this is her first film because she is so spectacular," noting that director Abhishek Kapoor "does full justice to her."

Sushant Singh Rajput was on average form, and while supporting actors Nishant Dahiya, Pooja Gor, and Alka Amin made an impact, Nitish Bharadwaj "as the angry ‘door-ho-jaao-meri-nazaron-se-baap’ is old, old hat."

She was more critical of the structure of the film, saying that the "writing is sketchy, and the tone confused, never quite knowing whether to go quiet and life-like or to swell with wailing violins."

She noted that the brisk pace makes up for the lack of emotional investment in the lead character, and called Rajput "as earnest as they come in attempting to play Mansoor."

She criticized the "archaic" antagonists, the fiancé figure (Tarun Gahlot) and the father (Nitish Bharadwaj); she also noted how the second-half wedding feels undeserved.