Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan
Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan is a 2020 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy film written and directed by Hitesh Kewalya and produced by Aanand L. Rai, Himanshu Sharma, Bhushan Kumar and Krishan Kumar under the banners Colour Yellow Productions and T-Series. A spin-off to the 2017 film Shubh Mangal Saavdhan, whose script was also written by Kewalya, it stars Ayushmann Khurrana, Jitendra Kumar, Neena Gupta and Gajraj Rao. The film tells the story of a gay man and his partner, who have trouble convincing the former's parents of their relation.
Filming wrapped on 16 December 2019 in Varanasi and it was theatrically released in India on 21 February 2020.
Plot
Aman Tripathi is an advertiser who comes from an orthodox middle-class family, comprising his father, Shankar Tripathi, a conservative agricultural scientist who had invented black cauliflowers, for which he is facing constant ridicule and boycott from farmers, his mother, Sunaina Tripathi, a calm housewife who is always concerned about her son, his uncle Chaman and aunt Champa, and their daughter, Rajni "Goggle" Tripathi and a few more relatives.Aman is in love with Kartik Singh, his long time job partner and friend. One day, Sunaina asks Aman to attend Goggle's wedding. Aman says that he can come only if he gets leave. Sunaina and Shankar intend to marry Aman off to a family friend's daughter, Kusum Nigam, who is besotted with Aman. During this time, Aman and Kartik help the latter's friend, Vedika, run away from home, and after giving her father and his neighbours a wild goose chase, they initially argue but decide to go to Allahabad together. They later find out that the train they caught is the one Aman's family boarded, and reunite. Sometime after changing their attire, Aman and Kartik share a kiss as the train passes through a tunnel, but are caught shamefacedly by Shankar, who ends up vomiting at the sight of his son kissing a man, and falls uncoscious.
Later, the train halts for long at one of the stations due to ongoing protests along the railway lines ahead, when Kartik suggests to Aman about talking his father on. Sunaina summons a doctor to check Shankar up, but a heated argument ensues between her and Champa. Shankar recovers and recalls the incident but keeps it a secret. When he sees him coming, Shankar aims a water hose at Aman that drenches him. He embraces him up and asks him to stay away from Kartik. At the wedding, Shankar continuously eyes off Aman and Kartik, and has a funny confronttation with the latter, but in a few moments, Kartik and Aman share a kiss instead, leaving everyone awestruck and helpless. Kartik is then whsiked away by Chaman to the railway station, while Shankar blackmails Aman into agreeing to marry Kusum; meanwhile, Ashok refuses to marry Goggle, who escapes with her horse to the railway station. She tries to commit suicide but Kartik stops her, and they both decide to return home in hopes of winning Aman's respect back.
Returning home, Shankar presuades Sunaina to rechristen Aman with a new name in order to cleanse him of his "sins", but Goggle soon returns, with Kartik reappearing in the Tripathi household. However, Shankar beats him up with a stick. Kartik falls down and is unconscious. Unable to see this, Aman locks himself up in his room and agrees to marry Kusum under pressure from Shankar, asking the Tripathis not to harm Kartik in return. His family is happy and starts the wedding preparations. Kartik wakes up and finds out about the wedding, trying to convince Aman to avert this mishap. Aman is unable to defy his family, but Kartik then declares that he will leave as soon as the wedding ends. Kusum steals all of Sunaina's jewellery and escapes, leaving behind a letter in Aman's room. Kartik gets his bag to leave and notices the letter. He reads the note and, delighted, pretends to be the bride. Shankar suspects something is wrong, and inadvertantly chases the "bride", when Kartik suddenly reveals himself to everyone's surprise. Goggle hands over Kusum's note to Sunaina, sending everyone into a shock. Aman confesses his love for Kartik, but the priest refuses to proceed, considering it "unnatural".
At that moment, the police arrives with Kusum to arrest Aman and Kartik as it is illegal to be gay. Sunaina asks Shankar to stop the police, but relents upon seeing Shankar's silence. Shankar tries to stop the police. The police refuse to leave, but Kartik suggests waiting till the next morning when the Supreme Court will deliver its judgement on the decriminalization of homosexuality. Finally, as positive news hits the headlines, Aman and Kartik reconcile, and Shankar decides to burn all of his black cauliflowers. Aman and Kartik get ready to leave for Delhi. Shankar insists on dropping them off at the train station, rebuffing Kartik's wish to ride to the station. Kartik tricks him and drives to the train station. At the station, a tearful reconciliation follows between Kartik and Shankar. Kartik and Aman run to catch the train just in time.
Cast
- Ayushmann Khurrana as Kartik Singh
- Jitendra Kumar as Aman Tripathi
- Neena Gupta as Sunaina Tripathi
- Gajraj Rao as Shankar Tripathi
- Manu Rishi as Chaman Tripathi
- Sunita Rajwar as Champa Tripathi
- Maanvi Gagroo as Rajni "Goggle" Tripathi
- Pankhuri Awasthy as Kusum Nigam
- Neeraj Singh as Keshav Tripathi
- Bhumi Pednekar in a special appearance as Devika
- Hardik Gabbi as Pintu
- Mahesh Seth as Devika's father
- Brij Kumar Pandey as Pandit
- Sayed Javed as Police Officer
- Bappi Lahiri in a special appearance in the song Areey Pyar Kar Le as himself
Release
On 20 January 2020 official trailer of the film was launched by T-Series. The film was released on 21 February 2020.
Soundtrack
The film's songs are composed and written by Tanishk Bagchi, Vayu and Tony Kakkar.The song "Gabru" was originally composed by Yo Yo Honey Singh. The song was released in 2011 in the album International Villager. The song is sung by Romy & music was recreated by Tanishk Bagchi.
The song "Arey Pyaar Kar Le" was a remake of the song "Yaar Bina Chain Kahan Re" from the 1985 film Saaheb, was originally composed by Bappi Lahiri, lyrics by Anjaan and sung by Bappi Lahiri and S. Janaki then was recreated by Tanishk Bagchi.
The song "Kya Karte Thay Sajna" was originally sung by Anuradha Paudwal and Mohammad Aziz, composed by Anand-Milind and written by Majrooh Sultanpuri from the made-for-television film Lal Dupatta Malmal Ka. It is recreated by Tanishk Bagchi, voiced by Zara Khan and written by Vayu.
Box office
Shubh Mangal Zyada Savdhaan earned 9.55 crore net at the domestic box office on its opening day. On the second day, the film collected ₹11.08 crore. On the third day, the film collected ₹12.03 crore taking total opening weekend collection to ₹32.66 crore., with a gross of 72.36 crore in India and 14.03 crore overseas, the film has a worldwide gross collection of 86.39 crore.
Reception
The film holds an approval rating of 92% based on 12 reviews on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 7.65/10.Pallabi Dey Purkayastha of The Times of India praised the cast, writing that "if Ayushmann highjacks the film with his infectious energy, a mellow Jitendra balances it out with his poker-faced humour and the relatability factor that he maintains throughout the film" and "it is noteworthy as to how well the supporting cast renders its complete support to the lead pair," while critiquing that "since the film is primarily invested in the small-town drama pertaining to the taboo around same-sex relationships, the writer-director fails to tap on the elements exclusive to small cities like Allahabad" and that "while the first half is engaging, the second half loses its sheen pretty early on and could have been trimmed down by a good 20 minutes."
Anupama Chopra of Film Companion noted that, "Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan wants to be both – an impassioned defense of same-sex love as well as a family entertainer. But the writing can’t seamlessly blend the disparate elements."
Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV proclaimed that "The comic flights of fancy do not always take off in the right direction or land smoothly, but with the actors going all out to make the film work, some parts of Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan are genuinely funny and quirky. The film may be erratic in parts, but its entertainment quotient is delightfully high for a film tackling a clash between conservatism and freedom, between tradition and modernity."
Monika Rawal Kukreja of Hindustan Times commented that "Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan is an important film that talks about an important subject conveyed in the simplest manner without sounding preachy at any given point. It touches your heart, makes you laugh and stays with you for a long time."
Devesh Sharma of Filmfare gave the film a rating of 4/5 and urged the audience to "Watch the film for its hilarious comedy, slick all around performances and ultimately for its powerful message of love and acceptance."