Opened: 21 February 2020
Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Jitendra Kumar, Gajraj Rao, Neena Gupta, Manurishi Chaddha, Sunita Rajwar, Maanvi Gagroo, Pankhuri Awasthy, Neeraj Singh, Bhumi Pednekar
Director: Hitesh Kewalya
Producers: Aanand L. Rai, Bhushan Kumar, Himanshu Sharma, Krishan Kumar
Rating: ★★★½

There’s a scene in Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan, where Ayushmann Khurrana’s Kartik, mid-conflict with his beau Aman’s (Jitendra Kumar) father (played by Gajraj Rao), refuses to bite the bait and point blank retorts that he doesn’t wish to row or engage over his sexuality any longer. “We spend our whole lives in conflict with our families suppressing who we are and what we want to be, and it gets exhausting,” he remarks, or something to that effect. That scene hits right home because even if it’s one that’s essentially ensconced in comedy, it’s a pertinent one, purely because as members of the LGBTQ community (particularly among traditional South Asian families), we’re often forced to suppress who we really are, or who we yearn to be, and because more often than not, guilt consumes our very being. By the time we detach from that, and whole-heartedly choose to live our lives the way we want to (some never do mind), much of our so called “youth” has passed us by. “My father used just a single sperm to conceive me, but as his offspring I’ve ended up carrying the burden of that one dreaded sperm my entire life,” says Aman. Sure, it’s a little dramatic but is it far from the truth? Not really.

See Section 377 may have been abolished in India, but homosexuality is still a taboo subject there or in fact, in quite a few countries across the East. It’s a subject that no successful mainstream hero will entertain, because it puts under the microscope their virility or indeed their popularity among the so called “masses”. Yes things are changing albeit slowly. Prominent filmmaker Karan Johar now flaunts his sexuality on his sleeve, and in his Dostana (2008) considered path-breaking for the time, both Abhishek Bachchan’s Sam and John Abraham’s Kunal pretended to be gay to woo Priyanka Chopra’s sultry siren, Neha. But even then, they had to shoot almost entirely in Miami, somehow insinuating that same-sex relationships are not as prominent and nor are they accepted across India. More importantly though, it was a movie where virtually every gay stereotype from supposedly feminine gay men and limp-wristed fashion editors were used for comic effect. Yes, there was a scene where Chopra’s character has an emotional tête-à-tête with Sam’s hyper-dramatic mother (Kirron Kher), where she attempts to normalise the same-sex relationship, but by and large, the movie was essentially a love quadrangle, and wasn’t used to make a statement about same sex couples, in the way it could have. Since then, gay relationships have been used in artsy concept movies or on TV shows on streaming services except for a stray Ek Ladki Ko Dekha To Aisa Laga, (2019) a sensitive, brave but flawed attempt, where Sonam Kapoor’s closeted lesbian craves to break free, but it was a movie that failed to create any ripples at the box office and find an audience, because its topic was still a little uncomfortable for supposedly discerning audiences to digest.

In that sense Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan comes as a refreshing change. Yes it does play on certain stereotypes for comic effect, but its overall message is a noble one and it doesn’t even shy away from a full blown kiss between its two male leads and its central message; that love is love irrespective of gender. What’s more, it attempts to flip the standard boy-meets-girl trope, and is well written, humorous and well-acted not just by its two protagonists, but by its supporting cast too who all seem to be convinced by the message that the movie is attempting to bring across.

Set predominantly in Allahbad, Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan is at its core, a love story between two Delhi-ites  Aman and Kartik and their journey back to a closeted Aman’s home town, where he’s obliged to attend a cousin’s wedding. Inevitably, all hell breaks loose when Aman’s father catches the couple red handed mid-kiss inside a train carriage, post which Aman is forced to reveal his true identity, much to the dismay of not just his mother (Neena Gupta), but his unsuspecting extended family too, many of whom are surprisingly more accepting of their relationship than they’d initially anticipated. The rest of the plot deals with the family’s coming to terms with the union, despite trying every trick in the book (a forced, arrange marriage, an uncalled for baptism and a classic one, emotional blackmail), in addition to dealing with their own internal politics and the subsequent chaos that ensues when the marriage they’re attending goes awry.

Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan isn’t perfect by any means but its central performances and most of its dialogue is so sparkly, witty and well-written, you’re willing to look past its blemishes of which there are a few. Kartik for instance, talks about the issues he had coming out, and its clear he’s partially broken because of his troubled past, but the movie never really attempts to delve into exploring that murky side of his back story with his disgruntled father, not even as a flashback. Sure we’re essentially dealing with a comedy here, but a glimpse into his past would have perhaps lent Khurrana’s performance that much more gravitas. Kartik alludes to it in several scenes, but in these instances, isn’t it always better to show, rather than tell the audience what went down? Also, how did Aman and Kartik meet? Bear in mind that the movie is set prior to the abolishment of Section 377, so what obstacles did they face? Did they face societal ridicule? What about their friends, their peers? There’s a small cameo by Bhumi Pednekar which hints at a past romance between herself and Kartik, but the movie just skims past it. Perhaps exploring these facets of the story, and sacrificing a completely irrelevant one revolving around black cauliflower would have given it more depth. As such, even though the movie is noble in intent and explores important elements, it never forces itself out of its comfort zone entirely, attempting to deliver messages by expecting you to read between the lines and behind forced ‘lolz’. That’s essentially something of a copout and remains its biggest flaw.

Still, those blemishes aside there’s a lot to warm to here. Clever one-liners aside, the central performances tend to keep you invested even if the movie’s pace drops sporadically. Khurrana, sportingly embraces the character, clearly at ease with both his sexuality and masculinity, and tries his best to keep away from standard stereotypes, but his rainbow cape scene particularly, feels a little redundant in the overall goings on, as do a few tried and tested gags, which perhaps take away from his overall performance, which is earnest, affable and reliable as always. Where director Hitesh Kewalya scores is extracting some great performances from its supporting cast. Kumar is very good but beyond a point, you wish Aman would loosen up a little rather than remaining so consistently sullen – but that’s more down to the way his character has been written rather that his actual performance. Rao and Gupta perhaps are the movie’s biggest strengths, just like they were in Badhaai Ho. Thankfully, their characters are written in a way where they’re grappling demons of their own, and their marriage is suffering, so it’s not just their son’s sexuality that they’re struggling with. The scene where Gupta states that their son coming out to them is difficult for them to digest and that they need time is pure gold too – because often, we get so sucked into our problems we tend to forget that sometimes even the people around us struggle as a result of our actions too. That scene particularly, gives you an idea of how much Kewalya has focused on the other characters too and it’s that which turns out to be the movie’s crowning glory. Similarly, the extended family from Manurishi Chaddha, Sunita Rajwar, Maanvi Gagroo, Pankhuri Awasthy and Neeraj Singh all deliver a few punch lines of their own adding to its overall charm despite its shortcomings.

As such, at a crisp two hours, Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan, never overstays its welcome and falls a little short of cinematic gold but it is nevertheless a huge leap forward for mainstream commercial Hindi cinema. It definitely could have pushed the envelope a little further; but by sacrificing depth with mirth, it suffers slightly, even if the points it makes about marital consent, homophobia, social acceptance, repression, culture, tradition and the consequences of our choices are made in a subtle and nuanced fashion. That it benefits from clever writing and has a heart only add to its arsenal.

Should you watch it then? Yes! It’s easy and breezy and has A LOT to say — and we still have a long, long way to go, but this is a darned good start either way you look at it.