Gay abandon

“It’s no secret that producer Anand L Rai’s sequel to Shubh Mangal Saavdhan will focus on a homosexual relationship. After treating the prickly subject of erectile dysfunction with a combination of sensitivity and humour, the sequel—which has been titled Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan—will take on a same-sex romance presumably with a similar cocktail of laughs and feels. Ayushmann Khurrana has confirmed that he will return for the new film.

“Landing a male co-star to play Ayushmann’s lover in the film proved exceedingly difficult for the filmmakers, apparently. While they’ve reportedly locked Jitendra Kumar (a talented but relatively lesser known actor who’s appeared in popular web shows like Kota Factory) for the role, story goes that the filmmakers reached out to several young stars who politely declined. Kartik Aryan, Ishaan Khatter, Rajkummar Rao and Arjun Mathur were among those who were approached.

“While the others may have had reservations about playing a gay character in a mainstream Bollywood film, it is likely that Rajkummar Rao’s reason for saying no is because he might already be committed to playing a gay character in another big romantic comedy. Well-placed sources reveal that Rajkummar has more or less been locked to play one half of the lead in Dostana 2, which Karan Johar will produce next year. Little is known about the film except that original director Tarun Mansukhani is not expected to return, and that after the first film featured a straight couple pretending to be gay, the sequel is supposed to be about a gay couple pretending to play straight…Birdcage, anyone?

Last heard they hadn’t found a co-star to pair opposite Rajkummar. Good luck with that.”

14 June 2019 https://www.openthemagazine.com/article/cinema/gay-abandon