Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan: A milestone film in Indian Cinema

Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan: Great dialogues, Brilliant acting and Important ideas

Movies play an important role in influencing society, people’s mindsets, their behaviour and societal trends. A much skirted around and  taboo topic in India is homosexuality. Bollywood has made a few efforts to involve the topic in their movies and has made concerted attempts to make it a natural part of the script but has not had too much success in the same. This is why Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan is an extremely important movie. It is the first time that one of the biggest actors in India was playing the role of a homosexual man, in a movie which showcases intimacy between the two people.  

Luckily, the movie did its job to perfection. By making it a romantic comedy, the director ensured that there was a light-hearted nature to the film. It wasn’t overly preachy or intellectual. There were scenes with some important messages, however, these were supported by some incredibly funny scenes, which had the audience in a riot. Also, the director made sure to treat the two lead men as he would any actors - without reinforcing any stereotypes linked to homosexuality such as dressing styles or hand gestures. The two lead men were portrayed as everyday people you would encounter in life and the topic of homosexuality was addressed in a frank and matter of fact manner, rather than blowing it out of proportion. 

The acting played a very important role in the success of the film. Ayushmann Khurranna is once again in fine form and furthers his case to be considered one of the finest actors of this generation. He plays Kartik with extreme simplicity and flair, showing equal amounts of ‘herogiri’ and vulnerability, putting the point across well. However, the beauty of this film lies in the brilliance of the supporting cast. Gajraj Rao, Neena Gupta, Jitendra Kumar, Maanvi Gagroo and Manu Rishi amongst others all put in amazing performances. Rao and Gupta as conservative, old-fashioned parents who can’t come to terms with their sons’ sexuality are brilliant.  Jitendra plays Aman, the love interest, to perfection. He plays the role of the less bold one in the relationship extremely effortlessly and makes you feel all the emotions he is feeling. 

The writing of the film is also brilliant. The writers bring great originality to the film; however, they also tap into some clichés of love to get their point across. For example, the stern and strict dad, telling his son “Ja, jeele apni zindagi” makes the point that love is love and it doesn’t matter if the two people in love are of the same gender. Furthermore, all the characters are well fleshed out and given their time to shine. 

In conclusion, the film is extremely good and one that signifies a key moment in Indian cinema. It breaks barriers and crushes stereotypes that people have about the LGBTQ+ community. It normalises the topic and hopefully manages to create positive conversation about it. It is one of the finest movies I have watched recently, and I would definitely recommend watching it.

- Ahaan Gupta