Badhaai Do review: Light-hearted yet mature look at LGBTQ lives

On the surface, Amit Ravindernath Sharma’s Badhaai Ho (2018) was the story of a couple, but it also tackled the taboo issue of pregnancy at an advanced age. Badhaai Do, the follow-up film, stays true to the concept and tackles the story of a homosexual man and a lesbian woman. Another similarity the film shares with the 2018 movie is the manner of handling a sensible subject, despite the change in directorial guard.

Directed by Harshavardhan Kulkarni, who made a fine debut with Hunterrr (2015), Badhaai Do is set in the North Indian town of Dehradun, Uttarakhand, where Shardul Thakur (Rajkummar Rao) is a police inspector. He is unhappy to be posted at a police station dominated by women officers. But his bigger problem is that he can’t tell anyone he is gay, including his parents. And his family is constantly pestering him to get married.

In the same town, Suman (Bhumi Pednekar), who is a PT (physical training) instructor, is facing a similar problem. Her parents are worried for her marriage and she is unable to share with them, or with anyone else, that she is a lesbian.

By sheer chance, Shardul learns that Suman is lesbian and devises a plan to marry her to keep up appearances and satisfy their respective parents and society, staying together as roommates and leading their individual love lives separately. Suman agrees, but new problems crop up for the make-believe couple.

Homosexual relationships were decriminalized in India in 2018. But, clearly, there is a long way to go for people with different sexual orientations to find acceptance in Indian society. When LGBTQ individuals are facing discrimination even in metros like Mumbai, you can well imagine the situation in smaller towns.

Hence, the decision of Shardul and Suman to get married despite their sexual orientation is believable and understandable. The situations used here to tell this unusual, complex and sensitive story are peppered with continuous humour. But at the same time, it never crosses the limit for the sake of laughs.

It is obvious in such stories that the lie will be exposed at some stage. But these moments are dealt with maturity and creativity instead of resorting to melodrama. The film also portrays the issue of indirect mental torture a couple faces from parents and other elders to have a child soon after marriage. This subplot gels with the main issue of the film.

Mainstream Hindi cinema has often been guilty of portraying LGBTQ characters in a derogatory and unrealistic ways. Badhaai Do deserves badhaai for not falling into that trap. Shardul and Suman are just like any other individuals in a small town. Only they are attracted to members of the same sex. Of course, this natural and balanced portrayal has been made possible by the fine and subtle performances of Rajkummar Rao and Pednekar.

Chum Darang is the surprise package with an endearing act as Pednekar’s love interest. Seema Pahwa and Sheeba Chaddha are specialists in such films with large families set in small towns and prove it yet again. The film also has good supporting performances from Pankaj Pandey, Shashi Bhushan, Priyanka Charan and Loveleen Mishra. Gulshan Devaiah shines in a cameo.

However, at 152 minutes, Badhaai Do is way too long. At some points in the first and the second half, it appears that the narrative is trying to follow the lead of web-series. The break-up of one same-sex couple is abrupt and comes out of the blue. But overall this is a good effort that takes the franchise ahead by tackling a sensitive topic in a manner accessible to the ordinary viewer.

Badhaai Do is being released in theatres today.