CAST Rajkummar Rao, Bhumi Pednekar

DIRECTED BY:Harshvardhan Kulkarni

BLUF Sumi and Shardul lead dual and socially-suppressed lives as closeted people. When they settle for a marriage of convenience to please their extremely nosey  families, they presume cover for their personal lives. And what happens after that is the story of this movie.

THE MEAT AND THE POTATOES

Shardul (Rajkummar Rao) and Sumi (Bhumi Pednekar), live in the small town of Dehradoon and however much they try, they cannot help but be closeted, being sapphic. They enter a lavender arrangement to get rid of never-ending badgering by their families to get married.

They start living together as roommates and carry on with their love interests and lives for a year without any major issues. It is when they visit Shardul’s family for Diwali that the family starts pestering them about having kids.

They go along the machinations of their very intrusive family to humor them while hiding their secret. It is when the family packs Shardul’s mother to go live with them that things start unraveling for the couple.

Sumi’s relationships with her “real” significant other Rimjhim falls into jeopardy and the couple scramble to hide the truth. Shardul is in between relationships and on his gaydar enters Guru who is not closeted – leading Shardul to rethink his own inhibitions.

When Sumi’s truth is revealed to the families, Shardul is triggered to bring his truth forward when his family castigate and vilify Sumi as diseased and oust her.

The fact that there is still no legitimacy for same-gender unions is also picked up in the movie very delicately.

IN THE KNOW

Bollywood has a history of using satire to talk about awkward issues so while touching a topic as sensitive as acceptance of homosexuality, movies like Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan and Dostana have spoken on the subject before.

Director Harshvardhan Kulkarni treats the subject in an extremely mature and delicate manner. At no point does the message get trivialized or belittled.

What makes the movie stand apart from other narratives is the fact that the actors own the space naturally. The movie serves to document how homophobic the Indian society is, even when people are educated professionals. At no point does the narrative become sententious or sermonic. In telling us the story of Shardul and Sumi and their struggles, the narrative remains focused on the struggles of their lives. The dynamics of small-town families and their attitudes is extremely well broached without being judgmental about them.

Rajkummar is brilliant in his portrayal in especially how naturally he performed the scenes. His obsession with his muscled body and protein shakes seems to erode the stereotype that gay men look effeminate. Bhumi Pednekar is in the skin of Sumi. Her intimate scenes with her girlfriend Rhimjhim (Chum Darang)  are extremely aesthetically captured.

The music is passable and the movie too long. But on the whole a very well told and directed story.

WHAT WE LOVED

Actors,

Direction

Screenplay

WHAT WE MISSED

Too long.

Music Meh