A bankable star who plays only unconventional roles, in entertaining films set in small town India, with a simple message — could there have been a more perfect candidate to play Bollywood’s first big masala main man who’s ‘out’ and about?
Ayushmann Khurrana though is only one part of this jigsaw, the rest of the charm comes from the setting; the ignorant yet not-really-harmful parents, the music, the comedy of errors-ish plot, and of course the supporting cast.
It might be a huge leap to say this trailer shows that there’s already acceptance or that this movie will lead to acceptance. Or will have more people talking about queerness in small towns… But what is undeniable is that this will mark the beginning of something interesting. If (and there’s a big chance that it will be) this film does good numbers, the chances go further up.
But most importantly the biggest achievement of Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan will be in the area of representation. The fact then will be that fun, masala, box office dhamaka-wala cinema can have a male lead who is gay. Not necessarily just Kabir Singh type toxic masculinity.
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The plot seems pretty much like any love story — boy loves boy, one boy’s parents disapprove, arrange his marriage with a girl, other boy lands up, and confrontation ensues. There’s a recreation of the famous train scene from DDLJ, Ayushmann wears a rainbow cape, examples from Mahabharata are given… The best lines in this trailer starring a stellar cast — Neena Gupta, Gajraj Rao (who were both in Ayushmann’s Badhaai Ho), and Jitu K, are about homophobia and a mother’s love.
Watch the trailer of the film set to release on February 21, here: