Badhaai Do director Harshvardhan reacts to Onir’s ‘some in uniform can be shown as homosexual’ comment
India Today
Rajkummar Rao and Bhumi Pednekar star in Harshvardhan Kulkarni’s Badhaai Do. In an exclusive chat with IndiaToday.in, the director spoke about the lavender marriage concept of the film, dealing with criticism, and more.
Rajkummar Rao and Bhumi Pednekar’s Badhaai Do is all set to release in theatres on February 11. In an exclusive conversation with IndiaToday.in, director Harshvardhan Kulkarni spoke about the film’s LGBTQI grounds, criticism for promoting lavender marriage - where a queer man and a queer woman get married to comply with societal norms or pressure.
Harshvardhan Kulkarni also reacted to filmmaker Onir’s comment on Badhaai Do trailer: "At least some in uniform can be shown as homosexual.” For the uninitiated, Onir's had revealed that the defence ministry had rejected his film, We Are, which was inspired by the story of a gay Major.
Here are excerpts from the interview:
What kind of response have you received for Badhaai Do trailer? It was quite a surprise. Do you feel good about this film?
The response to the trailer has been good. The comedy is fresh, the concept is deadly. After five years, it felt exciting to get back to cinema. Then conversations happened. I got a lot of insights about the queer community, which got me engrossed. It was an exciting story which made me get on board. Badhaai Do has a lot of heart. It’s fun.
The prequel Badhaai Ho, starring Ayushmann Khurrana, was a massive hit. Do you feel pressure because of it?
Of course I feel pressure. It’s not about Badhaai Ho, it’s about a new film. The pressure is not about living up to the earlier film. This sequel does not carry forward the characters or storyline. If there had been a change of directors, I would have been worried about messing it up. But, for me, Badhaai Do a different film altogether. So, pressure is about the story whether what we thought is being comprehended correctly by people or not. Whether they can feel it, if the comedy is firing the right way. That’s the pressure.
