When you think about films in Bollywood that manages to come through as one that breaks stereotypes, sets new standards, and proves the beauty of cinema, Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan is among the first few of them to come to mind. Featuring Ayushmann Khurrana and Jitendra Kumar in the lead roles, the movie did not just garner critical acclaim, but was also a commercial hit, and for all the right reasons.
As the movie clocked in two years on Monday, director and writer Hitesh Kewalya revisited the movie, the thought that went into creating it, and the massive response that followed.
Talking about the same, he tells us, “Revolutions have begun by breaking the glass ceiling and Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan was one such revolution in Hindi cinema. When it was being written, the talk around commercial films with LGBTQ+ themes was unheard of and everything was in hushed tones. Concerns like ‘Will the film get the representation correct?’, ‘Will any big star agree to do it?’, ‘Will the audience go to watch it?’ were always there. In the pre-pandemic space, the box office figures ruled the roost and it was very important for a first time director to prove his mettle with numbers. And it gives me immense joy to look back upon how Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan released on 21st February 2020 and did that for me.”
He further added, “It not only tickled the audience but got a major conversation started around the concerns of LGBTQ+ community vis a vis the homophobia the society was carrying on with unabashedly. It ticked all the boxes and led to a wave of films around the themes. The glass ceiling continues to be broken and the day isn’t far when stories around LGBTQ+ themes, characters and films will evolve and be a regular affair at the cinemas along with great box office results.”
The film also featured the much-loved actors Neena Gupta and Gajraj Rao in pivotal roles. One of the most talked about films right before the pandemic hit, the conversation that it started, and the stereotypes it broke, continue to be the building blocks of many films that followed.
