#ShubhMangalZyadaSaavDhan #BollywoodHindiFilmMovieReview #PicksAndPiques #JohnsonThomas
Johnson Thomas
Film: Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan
Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Jitendra Kumar, Neena Gupta, Manu Rishi Chadha, Maanvi Gangroo, Sunita Rajwar, Pankhuri Awasthy, Neeraj Singh
Director: Hitesh Kewalya
Rating: * * *
Runtime: 120 mins
Raindrop Media
A movie that is brave enough to call out homophobia in its creatives fails to follow through when it comes to marketing and PR. Why else would the film producers decide not to showcase the film to the press, before its release?
Hitesh Kewalya’s DDLJ for the gay community is a comedy romance that exposes societal malfunctions when it comes to treating the gay community – even though it comes much after the repeal of the 377 law. Kewalya’s treatment of the (still) sensitive subject is neither hackneyed, patronising nor ridiculing. He plays out the main theme with a sincerity that rattles established Bollywood conventions w.r.t the portrayal of the gay community in Hindi cinema. While questioning the heterosexual majority on their biased treatment of the long harassed community, he makes a song and dance of same sex love without the stereotypes and clichés ( pink pants and effete mannerisms) that have plagued mainstream cinema for decades.
By locating the story in a small town in UP, Kewalya is making a statement of intent – of breaking down barriers fortified by years of repressed and regressive thinking. So when Aman Tripathi(Jitendra Kumar) and his lover Karthik (Ayushmann Khurrana) are caught snogging enroute to a family wedding by Aman’s father (Gajraj Rao), it causes quite some pandemonium( as expected). But Kartik is resolute in winning the family over so that he and his lover can live happily ever after…( familiar beats right?). It’s a popular heterosexual romance trope recycled for a same sex subject ?
The same-sex lovers are never laughed at, instead most of the comedy is mined from the extremist reactions generated from family and friends. Kewalya targets Homophobia with reverberating retorts and that’s where this film is a winner. Khurrana and Kumar pull off their romance with conviction and pizzazz. The writing here is not always sharp and witty but the situations put forward are realistic enough to be plausible. Despite the predictable beats in the script, Kewalya and team pulls off a heart-felt, against-insurmountable-odds romance, with great elan…and it’s fairly entertaining too!
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