In his upcoming film, Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan, actor Ayushmann Khurrana reunites with his Badhaai Ho co-stars Gajraj Rao and Neena Gupta. The teaser of the film, which has been released today, introduces the main cast using a hilarious and quirky animation.
In Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan, director Hitesh Kewalya, who, incidentally, wrote the screenplay and dialogues of RS Prasanna’s Shubh Mangal Saavdhan, narrates a love story between two young men in Allahabad. This is the second time Bollywood is experimenting with queer rom-coms. Shelly Chopra Dhar’s Ek Ladki Ko Dekha To Aisa Laga, which released in February this year, had Sonam Kapoor and Regina Cassandra play a couple in Delhi.
Kewalya’s film, going by the teaser, uses relatable everyday humour, which has come to be associated with Ayushmann, to narrate the unconventional story. Gajraj Rao and Neena Gupta play a couple whose son Aman (Jitendra Kumar) is in a relationship with Karthik, played by Ayushmann.
India, in September 2018, decriminalised consensual gay sex, following a hard and long-standing fight by the LGBT community in the country. However, the subject of homosexuality remains a social taboo to a great extent; Bollywood’s narration of LGBT-related stories is, therefore, pivotal to making it more acceptable.
Ayushmann, who won the National Award for Best Actor for 2018 (he shared it with Vicky Kaushal for Uri), for his performance in Sriram Raghavan’s Andhadhun, is known for choosing films that veer off the beaten track, and also discuss issues considered taboo. Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan is a sequel of sorts to his 2017 hit Shubh Mangal Saavdham, which revolved around a soon-to-be-married couple that has to deal with the groom’s erectile dysfunction. The film was a remake of the 2013 Tamil sleeper hit Kalyana Samayal Saadham, directed by Prasanna.
Ayushmann made his debut in the industry through Vicky Donor, which narrated the tale of a sperm donor. Badhaai Ho, one of the biggest commercial hits in Bollywood in 2018, was about a middle-aged couple getting pregnant; Ayushmann played the adult son. In his recently-released film Dream Girl, he portrays an actor who cross-dresses and who has the ability to effortlessly speak in male and female voices.
Jeetega Pyaar Sehparivaar! ? #ShubhMangalZyadaSaavdhan @raogajraj @Neenagupta001 @Farjigulzar @iammanurishi @maanvigagroo @SunitaRajwar @Panawasthy_31 #NeerajSingh
Written and Directed by @hiteshkewalya @aanandlrai @itsBhushanKumar @cypplOfficial @TSeries
13th March 2020! pic.twitter.com/JHdTP1zIn3
— Ayushmann Khurrana (@ayushmannk) September 19, 2019
