‘Badhaai Do’ Review: Rajkummar Rao, Bhumi Pednekar Film Shines In Its Second Half, Wins With Its Portrayal Of Queer Love And Its Struggles
Chalo guys, Badhaai Do, because mainstream Bollywood has come of age in its portrayal of queer love. And it’s been a long time coming. But better late than never, right? And better correctly, by taking into account the experiences and opinions of real people from the LGBTQIA+ community than thinking like that Rajpal Yadav meme “Main expert hoon, mereko sab aata hai!”. Badhaai Do, starring Rajkummar Rao, Bhumi Pednekar, and Chum Darang is directed by Harshavardhan Kulkarni, with a script written by Suman Adhikary and Akshay Ghildial, and consulted on by Manish Gaekwad. Kirti Nakhwa and Prateek Vats are co-directors on this one, with Nakhwa also being the editor. The screenplay is by Ghildial, Adhikary and Kulkarni. Swapnil S Sonawane is the director of photography. The music is by Amit Trivedi, Tanishk Bagchi, Ankit Tiwari and Khamosh Shah, and the lyrics by Varun Grover, Vayu, Anurag Bhumia, Azeem Shirazi, Anvita Dutt. The background score is by Hitesh Sonik.
The additional cast includes Sheeba Chadha, Seema Pahwa, Lovleen Mishra, Nitesh Pandey, Shashi Bhushan, and Deepak Arora. And a very special (he’s an absolute fav!) actor that I am dying to mention but cannot because this is a Badhaai Do review, not a ‘Spoiler Do’ review, theek hai!
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Badhaai Do, as you already know, is about a lavender marriage (a marriage between a male and female of mixed sexual orientation for convenience or to avoid social stigma) between a cop, Shardul Thakur, and a PT teacher, Suman Singh. The two manage to delude their families and co-workers for quite some time, maintaining their respective same-sex relationships under the guide of marriage. However, the constant nagging from their families to have a baby results in a comedy of errors, which eventually leads to an unravelling of their double lives. How they deal with the fallout from this and how love finally prevails, because love is love, is the story.
Also Read: Badhaai Do Trailer: We Have High Hopes From This Queer Comedy Of Errors Starring Rajkummar Rao And Bhumi Pednekar
Let me get the only negative bit out first. The film feels long, like you do feel the passage of time especially in the first half of Badhaai Do. Till the interval, it is a film that is mildly entertaining, commendable for addressing the struggles of being queer—getting catfished on dating apps, being blackmailed about their truth, the constant pressure to get married—but not as engaging and engrossing as it should’ve been.
But thankfully, the film’s second half really aims for the heart and shoots its shot, with some goosebump-inducing moments and directorial choices that deserve all the praise and teary eyes it gets. When the film ends, and oh it ends on such a bittersweet but beautiful, hopeful note, that you can’t help but applaud the team for writing, directing, and performing it so well.
Badhaai Do doesn’t restrict itself to being just a love story, it encompasses a range of issues faced by the LGBTQIA+ community
Bollywood lacked inclusivity for so long, that when we got even a morsel of it, we were so happy. But the fact is that most queer love stories are just happy getting that one ball through the hoops because it is just that hard to score. Luckily, when I say Bollywood seems to have come of age with its queer portrayal, I mean that is finally listening to the right voices and amplifying some very real struggles faced by the community, a major one being the desire to be legally wedded and become parents since adoption for same-sex couples is still on treacherous legal ground. Badhaai Do isn’t just about two people finding a comfortable arrangement against a society that won’t’ accept their truth. It doesn’t alienate the family as a concept, because just love really isn’t enough. And acceptance in society is one thing, and acceptance in law is another.
The scenes with their respective families once the cat is out of the bag, are some of my favourite scenes. It’s once again a spectrum of reactions. Like these two scenes, one between Shardul and his mother (an amazing as ever Sheeba Chaddha, what an actor she is!), and another between Sumi and her father (an excellent Nitesh Pandey) where we see different kinds of acceptances that are laced with the fear of being a parent to a queer child, wanting to let them be but afraid of how it is going to hurt them.
The film also addresses the volatility of same-sex relationships and the number it can do on a person’s psyche. In some heartfelt moments exchanged between Shardul and Sumi, who are barely even friends, we get to know just how hard it was for them to even find love, and how their marriage gives them the support system that they always wanted from their families, where they could confide in each other about their heartbreaks just as easily as they could flaunt their love just sans judgement. And isn’t that what marriage is about? It doesn’t suck that Shardul and Sumi have to do this to keep up pretences, but their marriage has a lot more virtue than most marriages.
And finally, I love the climax! So subtle and gentle, and considerate of the characters! Badhaai Do isn’t rushing to change the world and make its protagonists some kind of Bollywood-ised heroes doing big gestures that might seem out of character. The change is a slow and steady one, but a sure one nonetheless.
Also Read: Exclusive: ‘Badhaai Do’ Script Consultant Manish Gaekwad Opens Up About Authentic Portrayal Of Queer Love On Screen
Badhaai Do does justice to the portrayal of queer love and is never cringe
There’s a fine balance we must strike in highlighting the causes of marginalised communities while also treating them not as abnormal or unusual but as the norm. So for example, it is necessary to hype up queer love stories, but at the same time, when portraying them on screen, it needs to be normalised, like how Schitt’s Creek did, you know? Love is love, and when two people fall in love, gay or straight, the emotions and machinations of it all are the same. I thought Badhaai Do really nailed it with this. I give credit to those intimate scenes between the two queer couples which really made me smile. I love the songs too, especially ‘Hum Thay Seedhe Saadhe’ (music by Amit Trivedi, lyrics by Varun Grover, sung by Shashaa Tirupati), which is such a beautiful romantic song with lyrics that really make your heart all mush.
I think one of my issues with another recent queer love story, Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui, was that it got a little cringe in places while trying to keep things authentic. I appreciate the sentiment, but there’s probably a better way of doing that and Badhaai Do does it. The cringe is reserved for your typical husband-wife jokes that are common in small towns and feels organic when placed in such a setting.
Performances
This movie is easily an ensemble effort. And some of the notable ones, apart from the obvious Rajkummar Rao and Bhumi Pednekar, come from Sheeba Chadha, Nitesh Pandey, Chum Darang, and once again THAT actor I want to not name because it is a pleasant surprise to spot him on screen and watch him do what he does! But all in all, an absolute delight!
Verdict
Badhaai Do is lengthy and really changes gears only post-interval, but once it does, the film has a lot to offer, without being pedantic, cringe-y, or trying too hard. Moreover, it doesn’t let you forget that while the film might have a happy ending, the reality is different, and needs an ensemble effort from society, law and families to effect change. The performances are sincere and endearing, the writing considerate and not limiting the film to just a love story thus striking the right chord, and the music is a perfect companion. All in all, Badhaai Do is a worthy addition to the Badhaai franchise, seamlessly mixing social messages with themes of humour, family, and above all, love. Kudos!
Badhaai Do is currently in cinemas.
