Rajkummar Rao and Bhumi Pednekar starrer Badhaai Do released on February 11. The movie is based on same-sex relationships and the concept of lavender marriage. It presents how Rajkummar and Bhumi, who are homosexuals, decide to marry each other so that they can live like flatmates while being in a relationship with their respective partners. However, the struggle begins when their families ask them to have kids!
While the movie is receiving a positive response from the audience and critics, Sheeba Chaddha (who is also seen in Badhaai Do) has now revealed how the movie introduced her to the concept of lavender marriage. “I wasn’t aware of lavender weddings till I till the script came to me,” she told News18.com. The actor mentioned that she found the concept ‘sad, very sad’.
On being asked why she felt sad about lavender marriages, Sheeba Chaddha mentioned that such marriages not only ask one to hide his/her sexuality but also add a burden that people create to hide their sexuality. “Sexual preferences have to be hidden. Not only you are hiding that but you have to have another layer of such a huge facade which you are consciously creating to lead a life which you and I take for granted, the fact that you are with somebody you like. You have to create such a false adambar (pomp). How sad is that!” the actor said.
Sheeba Chaddha further mentioned how same-sex marriages are not allowed in India so far and talked about how Badhaai Do highlights the struggle homosexual people face in society. “It is a part of this reality. It’s a fact. It’s a struggle. Same-sex marriage is not allowed so people who really want to be together and live together, they can’t. So I think by using it (lavender marriage) as a tool, we are showing the compulsion, which is what is sad. I think it (the movie) is bringing light to that,” she added.
On being asked if she thinks lavender marriage is the right thing to do, Sheeba Chaddha called herself privileged and added that she is not the right person to comment. “Look at the extent to which, something that again, you and I take for granted and is so basic, so much circus has to be created. I don’t think it is saying that it’s okay, karlo. It’s not even your or my reality. So I think it’s not even a fair thing to comment on whether it is a good thing to do or a bad thing to do,” the actor said.
“This is the extent to which human beings have to go to!” the Badhaai Do actor further wondered.
Sheeba was also asked if topics like homosexuality for a movie are also a risk for the makers as far as the box office is concerned. To this, the actor replied in the negative and added that the motive of such films is to open discussions on such social issues. She further added that if the box office is all one cares for, then that person will never make such a movie. “I don’t think so at all. If one was doing that then why would one choose a topic like this? Somewhere you want to have the dialogue, you want to open the discourse, you want the comments to be made. That’s why you are making a film like this,” she said.
Badhaai Do did not perform very well at the box office despite getting positive reviews from the audience and critics. The movie has earned close to Rs 12 crore so far. The film is directed by Harshvardhan Kulkarni and written by Akshat Ghildial and Suman Adhikary.
