Badhaai Do review – It is a brave film, lets accept it and we need more films like this to give out a strong message on how society can deal with taboo revolving around same sex love. The narrative in the film is around Shardul (Rajkummar Rao) and Sumi Singh (Bhumi Pednekar) have got together in holy matrimony for good reasons of their own. And, they are from small town which little understanding of same-sex love or ‘samlaingikta’.
Badhaai Do revolves around the story of Shardul (Rajkummar Rao) and Sumi (Bhumi Pednekar), who are closeted members of the LGBTQ+ community, living together as roommates after they agree to get into a ‘marriage of convenience’. The film shows how an individual’s sexual orientation defines and decides their fate in the society.
While Shardul, a police officer, and Sumi, a PE teacher, agree to this arrangement — referred to as a lavender marriage — to shut their families up and get rid of the constant pressure to get married, the journeys they take on with their respective partners eventually lead to several realisations about their realities.
Badhaai Do review – A film for the LGBTQ Braveheart’s
For both Shardul, the cop who loves to build his body, ingesting indigestible protein shakes on the way; and Sumi the no-nonsense physical instructor who teaches in a school as she navigates her way through a dating app, the marriage is a perfect cover.
They can keep their ‘jaldi-shaadi-karo’ families at bay, and they can continue to be true to their sexual orientation: ‘zamana kya kahega, mummy-papa mar jayenge agar sacchai saamne aa gayi toh (What will society say, and mummy-papa will die if the truth comes out)’.
Bollywood has been doing well when it comes to dealing with a sensitive topic such as homosexuality, films like Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan and Dostana have relied on this concept and succeeded in sending out positive messages. So, it comes as no surprise to see Badhaai Do also resort to a lighter tone while highlighting an important issue.
Director Harshvardhan Kulkarni deals with the subject in an extremely mature and sensitive manner, and in his attempt to sound witty or add punchlines, at no point does he trivialise the ordeal homosexual people go through.
There’s an ease and comfort with which Rajkummar and Bhumi own and portray these parts onscreen, but even while staying true to their real identity, they continue to struggle to be seen as ‘normal people’ in the society. That’s where Badhaai Do really works to perfection. It’s doesn’t get preachy or tell homosexual people to turn rebels. Instead, the film shows the real and actual evils they fight every day, not just in the society but also at home.
Badhaai Do also explores the dynamics of families of homosexual people, especially those living in small towns, and shows how they deal with this deep-rooted stigma. In the movie, there’s a very realistic and relatable portrayal of conflicts that exist within families when a son/daughter wishes to come out of the closet – Badhaai Do shows how it is considered as some sort of a ‘disease’.
The first half of Badhaai Do shows the teething troubles Rajkummar and Bhumi face while staying together as a married couple and connecting with their real personalities and partners, while the second half shifts focus on how they try to de-stigmatise and normalise homosexuality for their families. Here, the Director didn’t try to please everyone and made viewers forcefully understand and accept the reality of Shardul and Sumi.
Badhaai Do emanates good performances from the actors
Rajkummar is in full form and on point as a gay cop. You’d love the references where he admits that being gay and in police force is the perhaps the biggest irony. His dialogues, the accent he speaks in and the muscles he flaunts breaks away from the stereotypical portrayal of gay men onscreen.
The scenes in which he narrates his inner pain strike a chord with the audience. Bhumi, too, delivers an excellent performance and at no point looks like she’s awkwardly playing a lesbian character. She is unapologetic about her sexual orientation and makes it evident with a strong grip on the story. The intimate scenes with her girlfriend Rimjhim (played by debutant Chum Darang) are exceptional and beautifully captured.
It is quite brave of the makers to cast a newcomer from the North East as a parallel lead and one only hopes this paves way for more such casting opportunities. Chum brings her own flair onscreen and doesn’t seem any less confident playing such a bold part along with Rajkummar and Bhumi as leads.
Among other actors, Seema Pahwa, Sheeba Chaddha, Nitesh Pandey lend a strong support to the story. Their hilarious conversations trigger some genuine laughs. Not to forget Gulshan Devaiah, whose special cameo is just unmissable. It is definitely one of the most endearing moments in the film.