Friday, 21st February 2020, first day, first show, the beginning of a new era. The only thing that I can say is that such films are very progressive and prominent in today’s times in India. And Ayushmann Khurrana is ‘the’ actor of the generation.
I woke up early and went to watch the film with excitement. I was jarred to see almost 200 people in an early morning show to watch a movie based on homosexuality in a small city like Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh. And almost everyone screamed at the top of their lungs when the first kissing scene was shown.
There are parts in the film that burst an avalanche of emotions inside of you and why wouldn’t it? The movie is sensitive and sensational and leaves its viewers with important messages. It talks about the real situations that queer people go through and talks about their battles with a little pinch of laughter, which makes you cry and laugh at the same time.
The film makes a lot of sense in today’s times and talks about the reality and the struggles that queer people go through, because, The biggest battle is the one they fight at their homes, and this needs to change. It also talks about how gay people are forced to get married against their will to please the society. And not just that, there are other elements in the film that will make you rolling on the floor with laughter.
Things haven’t changed magically in the last decade. There are more and more activists, organisations, and people fighting every minute, claiming spaces, gasping for air, for a bigger purpose, something that’s beyond them. Queer voices don’t necessarily need appreciation, they need to be acknowledged. We aren’t asking for a spotlight, we are just asking for a platform. The thing is that we all get shunned by society at some point and it’s disheartening. We don’t want the younger queer generations to think that we really don’t care about us.
The times surely are changing with mainstream films like ‘Shubh Mangal Zyada Savdhaan’ leave all of us with a ray of hope, and an epiphany that things have changed in the last decade. People need to make more spaces for queer content. Queer pieces can be a little sensitive, and the audiences need to and will understand and empathise, that’s what I feel. What can we really expect from the rest of the country?
To an entire sexual minority’s problems, at last, the question that everyone wants to ask? Can you be the person we want you to be? No, we won’t, and that is the message of this film.
In the upcoming decade, the queer culture will spill into mainstream spaces like how it has in the West. And society will eventually become more accepting, more inclusive, and fluid — and that is the future. But, for that to happen, there needs to be a major change first within the queer community, as there is a lot of exclusivity and elite structures within the community and a lot of hypocrisy that still exists.
That’s my opinion.
‘Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan’ is a plunge of sadness, elation, and triumph. The message is really simple; LOVE IS LOVE. It is a must-watch for everyone who has human empathy and is willing to learn more about queer lives; their stories, struggles, and how they conquer it fiercely.