India gets its first mainstream, fully fledged same sex romcom and LM gives the makers a super se bhi upar thumbs up for braving it in a primarily homophobic society. Jai ho! Ayushman Khurana and Jitender Kumar play Kartik Singh and Aman Tripathi, a same sex couple living a surprisingly unfussy life in Delhi.
Trouble starts when they both visit Allahabad (to attend Aman’s sister’s, Rajni aka Goggle, wedding) and are caught by Aman’s father (scientist, Shankar Tripathi played by Gajrao Rao) sharing a passionate kiss. He reacts by getting fiercely ill and fainting. When he regains consciousness he blames Kartik for leading his son astray and lovingly cautions Aman by saying 'Yeh ladka theek nahin hai. Tu door rahe isse!'
Moreover, Mommy Sunaina Tripathi (played by Neena Gupta) has found her laadla the perfect girl, Kusum played by Pankhuri Awasthy, sealing the deal by giving her a gold kangan, nonetheless!
Wedding day arrives but before the pheras start there is a dance off between Shankar and Kartik which results in Aman coming to his lover’s defence by locking lips with Kartik in front of everyone. An LM swoon for the tender moments between the diehard romantic Kartik who is never shy to profess his love for the subdued yet passionate Aman.
Hilarity ensues, when Aman’s Chaman Chacha, played by Manu Rishi and Chachi played by Sunita Rajwar try to explain the impromptu kiss to their shocked samdhis as an important family ritual, but the wedding is called off.
What follows is the entire Tripathi clan doing everything they can to fix this so called beemari and 'take the gay out of' Aman. From emotional blackmail, Shankar’s pretend suicide attempt to coming up with insane schemes such as a kriya karam to fake kill the gay Aman, no stone is left unturned. However, throughout all the madness unlike Kartik’s father who abandoned him, Shankar and Sunaina’s love for Aman is clearly evident.
While there is resistance, Goggle who always knew about Aman’s sexual orientation offers support and understanding. A huge LM hug for such an understanding sister! But after Shankar hits Kartik, Aman can’t take it and agrees to marry Kusum.
The on-going high drama gives everyone an opportunity to introspect. Shankar and Sunaina both couldn’t be with the loves of their life and marrying each other was a compromise, so why should Aman bear the burden of unrequited love? Similarly, marrying someone to keep your family happy isn’t the answer explains Kartik to Aman.
After much ado, our brave lovers who fight battles every day to just be themselves, take their own version of pheras but are stopped by the police as it is illegal (this is on the eve of the Supreme court verdict legalizing gay sex). And this is the moment we’ve been waiting for with bated breath. Chaman Chacha’s rousing speech defending the lovely couple has every family member showing their much needed understanding and support for the love birds. A huge LM style standing ovation for winning the toughest battle of all, the one against their family!
Now time to focus the LM lens on 1 thing we loved and 1 thing we hated:
At one point Shankar forbids the uttering of the word sex in the house and is all riled up. Itna gussa kyun Tripathi saab, especially since sex is such a stress buster for you? Ban homophobia instead, kya bolte?
LM loves how homophobia is countered throughout the movie. Aman uses his father’s language of science to explain the chemical reaction offset by love is the same for all people, straight or gay. Or Chaman Chacha asks Kartik 'Aapne kab decide kiya ki aap gay hain?' To which pat comes the reply 'Aapne kab decide kiya ke aap gay nahi hain? Point toh hai boss!
Our happiness knew no bounds when Shankar accepts Kartik and gives him a soul warming hug and Kartik finally gets the acceptance of a father figure and the love of a family.
As for ratings: Shubh Mangal Zyaada Savdhan gets 3 massive LM hearts for giving us a new Raj and Simran, the iconic Aman and Kartik. This love story doesn’t succumb to stereotypes just for a few laughs. One tiny LM monster because Goggle didn’t find her love and we want another sequel just for her!
In Love Matters Movie (LM) reviews, movies are analysed for how they have portrayed Love, Sex and Relationships. The movie that shows LM-style romance will get LM Hearts! And the film that loses sight of consent, judgment or rights, it will meet the LM Monster!
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