Badhaai Do (2022) Review!!

Synopsis – Shardul Thakur and Suman Singh enter into a marriage of convenience but chaos ensues when her girlfriend comes to stay with them.

My Take – It is an appreciative move that filmmakers belonging to the Hindi film industry are continuing their effort to try and break ground by picking up culturally taboo subjects that normalize the depiction of the LGBTQ+ community without any cringe worthy caricatures attached to them.

This latest film too, a quasi-sequel to National Award-winning Badhaai Ho (2018), stays true to the type set up by its predecessors, Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan (2020) and Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui (2021), and tries to portray queer folk with sensitivity, and send out the message that sexual orientation should not and does not define who an individual is.

The film unequivocally champions the cause of individuality and inclusivity while delivering an engaging story that is funny, thought-provoking and intriguingly angular in one fell swoop. Here, Suman Adhikary and Akshat Ghildial‘s sensitive and witty screenplay is handled with striking skill by director Harshavardhan Kulkarni (Hunterrr), who, furthermore, extracts admirable performances from both the two lead actors and the fabulous supporting cast.

The film should definitely see some people question their outlook toward the community, if not change it altogether.

Set largely in Dehradun, the story follows Shardul Thakur (Rajkummar Rao), a gay sub-inspector posted in a women’s police station, and Suman Singh (Bhumi Pednekar), a lesbian physical education teacher in a middle school. Belonging to typical middle class families, the duo’s sexual orientations are obviously a secret, hence they are constantly under pressure to get married, more now considering that both have entered the early 30s.

But when Shardul finds out that Suman too has kept her sexual orientation a secret from the world, he proposes for them to enter a marriage of convenience, all in order to pacify their families. The two will just share the same living space, but live different lives.

However, their lavender marriage runs into complications when Sumi’s newfound love, Rimjhim (Chum Darang), a pathology lab assistant, moves in with them. Considering that their flat is located in the police colony, keeping up the charade of being happily married becomes quite a challenge. Adding to that familiar pressures begin once again, only this time it’s about demanding a child.

Here, director Kulkarni depicts this complicated arrangement with humor and wit, and attempts to normalize the big-screen depiction of the gay and lesbian community and their romantic relationships. Though it is packaged much like what we have come to expect of social comedies set in tier-two cities, the film subverts several tropes popular within Hindi film’s queer genre without making a big deal about it. The film has little melodrama or lengthy, preachy monologues trying to convince you that being gay or lesbian is as normal as not being one.

Sure, there is comedy throughout, but never at the expense of the characters, instead it handles the protagonists’ dilemma with a great deal of sensitivity. The beauty of the narrative lies in the fact that there is no judgment, the characters are not treated differently because they’re gay.

Even when it wades into situations that might come across as somewhat far-fetched, because the plot hinges on a marriage of convenience between a lesbian woman and a gay man seeking to break free from societal shackles, the film never strays away from the real and the grounded.

The film sensitively portrays the immense loneliness and sense of isolation that a gay person feels, especially when they lack a window to communicate openly with their family, and are forced to deal with issues on their own. How the protagonists attempt to come out of the loneliness and communicate with their family is majorly highlighted here. The complexities of marriages, middle-class traditional families and their demands from individuals have also been shown with sensitivity and realism.

Yes, the film is overlong and could have done with a tighter edit, but when the end credits roll in leaving us with an emotionally packed final act, one is sure to leave teary eyed and satisfyingly smiling at the same time.

Performance wise, Rajkummar Rao as usual does his job of elevating everything he stars in. As the mustached male chauvinist cop who once dreamed of being Mr India, the actor makes you laugh and empathize with his character, and leaves you once again convinced with his ability to get into the skin of any character with dexterity. Bhumi Pednekar is flawless as Sumi as well, nailing all the emotional frames with so much ease. A scene in the second half demands for her to emote shock, grief and fear at the same time and she does that seamlessly.

Newcomer Chum Darang makes a confident debut and is a delight to watch on screen, while Seema Pahwa, Nitesh Pandey, Sheeba Chaddha and Loveleen Mishra provide good support. In an impressive cameo, Gulshan Devaiah manages to leave a strong mark. On the whole, ‘Badhaai Do’ is a nuanced and entertaining take on lavender marriage and bravely keeps you hooked throughout.