Erratic parts, enjoyable whole

Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan
Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Jitendra Kumar, Gajraj Rao, Neena Gupta
Director: Hitesh Kewalya
Language: Hindi (U/A)
Rating: 2.5/5

Ayushmann Khurrana has only one weapon against homophobia — humour. “My sexuality is my sexuality. None of your sexuality,” he ticks off those trying to “cure” him of queerness.

Khurrana’s lover, Jitendra Kumar, has a more chemical job convincing his scientist father. Kumar invokes hormones to make a point about double standards. “Your oxytocin is love, and my oxytocin is disease!” he screams in disbelief as mother Neena Gupta (aspiring Mother India) tries to “fix” him by setting him up with a girl.

‘Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan’ has a complex task at hand as it forays into the relatively uncharted cinematic territory of homosexuality. It succeeds in driving home a message with due respect to everyone across the LGBT spectrum. That said, it’s also not a good idea to trivialise the issue by packing laughs into two hours of two men coming out.

All crackpots in the world are crammed into one single family in Allahabad, where everyone goes nuts over everything from dogs to Debonair. The two gay lovers, meanwhile, find time to fight, kiss and make up like every other “normal” couple.

They deftly negotiate the traditional curves of intolerance in this story set before the landmark Supreme Court ruling on Section 377 decriminalising gay sex.

Khurrana, as usual, is first-rate as the devil-may-care go-getter. He gets good support from the supporting cast, who are all a hoot.

‘Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan’ is the queer equivalent of DDLJ. It’s erratic in parts but enjoyable on the whole.