Badhaai Do Review: Rajkummar Rao & Bhumi Pednekar paint the town 'lavender' with PRIDE!

By Tanmayi Savadi

on February 11, 2022 10:20:10 AM

Film: Badhaai Do

Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Bhumi Pednekar, Chum Darang, Gulshan Devaiah, Seema Pahwa, Sheeba Chadha, Nitish Pandey

Director: Harshvardhan Kulkarni

Writers: Suman Adhikary, Akshat Ghildial and Harshvardhan Kulkarni

Rating: 3 Moons

Lavender marriage is one such concept that Hindi cinema was yet to explore and the push was made by Harshvardhan Kulkarni's Badhaai Ho. The director, through the film, aims to tell the stories of millions of closeted members of the gay and lesbian community with a dash of humour, without losing a sensitive, warm touch of love and acceptance. For the unversed, lavender marriage is a male-female mixed-orientation marriage, undertaken as a marriage of convenience to conceal the socially stigmatised sexual orientation of one or both partners.

In Harshvardhan's Badhaai Do, Shardul Thakur and Suman Singh are the fictional characters who get the responsibility of representing real people who have been entangled in a similar setting. Shardul (Rajkummar) is a cop; he refers to himself as a "homo-cop" and is working for Uttarakhand police. Suman or Sumi (Bhumi) is a PT teacher who dodges marriage to safeguard her own secret.

Shardul and Sumi get married despite knowing each other's secrets to avoid humiliation in society. Their journey hereon is not smooth and they have to walk on roads covered with thorns and spikes to keep their sexual orientation under wraps. On this difficult path, Shardul and Sumi find lighter moments with their respective partners. Just like our filmi heroes and heroines, Shardul and Sumi's romantic tracks with their partners play out with ease. The third wheel in their not-so-usual marriage is Sumi's partner Rimjhim (Chum) who moves in with the couple. What follows next is a sensitive and bold attempt of addressing a relevant social issue.

Harshvardhan with Suman Adhikary and Akshat Ghildial has compromised on good laughs without deviating from the core element of the film. In this process, they miss out on highlighting gender equality. Harshvardhan's direction and the writing department blends various subplots including laws for the LGBTQ community and adoption making the film lose the plot occasionally. Suman and Akshat, who worked on Badhaai Ho too, fail to infuse good punchlines. The lengthy screenplay also acts as a hindrance.

While Badhaai Do has some cringe-worthy moments that can put you off, it also paints a bitter, hard-hitting picture of loneliness, seclusion and repulsion faced by the protagonists. They are left all alone to deal with their issues without parental support as they fear discussing their sexual orientation in public. Highlighting the discrimination that the gay and lesbian communities face when people call them 'disgusting' and treat them as untouchables, Badhaai Do does a brilliant job at not stereotyping them but empowering them with an attempt to change mindsets and erase prejudices against them.

Rajkummar as Shardul delivers one of the finest performances of his career. A homo-cop in a male-dominant society, he has to keep his secret intact to avoid humiliation. His character graph is just like another Bollywood hero but his heroine is a man. His emotional scenes are heart-aching yet beautifully executed. Trust him to steal the show with his honest and impactful performance. Bhumi is equally good as Sumi, who is looked down upon by her mother for being an unmarried PT teacher. Her struggle is real and can easily break your heart. She has a strong command over her character and shines throughout.

Chum Darang as Rimjhim deserves a special round of applause for winning hearts with her debut film. She is likeable and will stay with you for the longest time. Though Gulshan Devaiah appears in the film towards the end, he makes a special place for himself in the story as well as in the hearts of the audience. Watch out for his surprise.

One can simply not ignore how a Pride parade in the small town becomes a character of its own. As the protagonists chase rainbows, they represent millions of Sharduls, Sumis and Rimjhims and give them the power and courage to come out in front of their families without hesitance. While Badhaai Do is an empowering watch, its niche subject might not appease everyone in the audience.