The Indian middle class is a complex concept. The aspirations, dreams and even the ‘bold’ decisions always come with a clause here and a boundary there. No one lives by a more moralistic code than the Indian middle class. If at all there is a group of Indians for whom Sanskaar, Parivaar and Log kya kahenge? matters the most, it is the Indian middle class. There is a beautiful dichotomy here, especially as the ones who are worried about what society will talk about them, have no qualms in being a part of this same group when the topic of discussion isn’t them. As I said, the Indian middle class is a complex concept.
This is the world inhabited by the Kaushiks — Jitender (Gajraj Rao), his wife Priyamvada (Neena Gupta), their kids Nakul (Ayushmann Khurrana) and Gullar (Shardul Rana), and his mother (Surekha Sikri) — and this is the world that gets turned on its head when Priyamvada, the mother of two, gets pregnant. And of course, what follows is a cliche-ridden, but in a good way, take on the family’s struggle to come to terms with the impending arrival of the ‘chota mehmaan‘.
Everything in this film is a cliche. The Kaushiks are shown as middle-class as possible. They have a 13.5-year-old Wagon R with their surname displayed on it in garish red. They stay in a locality where privacy is a myth and weekly tambolas after Hanuman kirtans blaring out of loudspeakers are a way of life. Throw in a nagging mother-in-law, a love affair for the elder son with an ‘upper-society’ girl(Sanya Malhotra as Renee) and extended family members who belittle the family for their ‘indiscretion’, you have ticked every box a film like this has to offer.
Badhaai Ho is not a film that works despite its cliches. It is a film that works because of it. Cliches exist for a reason: They work. And the film works mainly due to some superlative acting by every actor and even better writing by Shantanu Srivastava, Jyoti Kapoor and Akshat Ghildial.
Take, for instance, the scene when Surekha admonishes her son and daughter-in-law for the unplanned pregnancy. One of the first things she asks him is when did he find the time to ‘do it’ while he can’t spend more than a minute with her. A beautiful stretch to remind how this pregnancy becomes hardly about Jitendra and Priyamvada, but about dadi, Nakul, Gullar, their neighbours, their extended families, and even the doctors.
The film holds a mirror on how we treat sex in our society and when Renee asks Nakul if he will stop having sex with her once they are ‘older’, Nakul looks stumped. Does romance and sex come with an expiry date in a marriage?
Jitendra and Priyamvada are that couple who have a condom nestled safely under their bed. So, it is clear that the pregnancy was not a result of a one-off night of unbridled passion. In fact, the consummation scene happens after Jitendra returns from a tired day at work, dines with his entire family, tries to resolve a fight between his mother and wife, and finally at the end of the day, slides in next to his wife and reads out one of his poems, while incessant rain and guitar chords provide the background score for this recital. It is once again, a cliched indication of the physical intimacy that is going to happen. We saw 20 years back in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai what happens when rain and music collaborate, and now we see the same in Badhaai Ho.
Watching Neena Gupta and Gajraj Rao act is such a delight. It is interesting how Bollywood is writing the parts of parents these days. Last year, in Bareilly ki Barfi we had the inimitable Pankaj Tripathi and Seema Pahwa, and this year undoubtedly belongs to the supremely effective Gajraj and Neena.
Such is their portrayal that when there is a slight shift of focus to the younger couple, Ayushmann and Sanya, there is a sense of impatience that creeps in. Not that their roles are bad, or the acting is sub-standard or that their conflict isn’t important, but it is just that the equation between the elder couple — the furtive glances, the understanding smiles, the sympathetic nods, the flirtations, and the fierce defences — feels more rounded off.
Sanya’s infectious laughter and expressions of displeasure over Ayushmann’s outburst in front of her mom (A restrained but measured Sheeba Chadda) and Ayushmann’s umpteenth, but still effective, portrayal of a Delhi launda ensure that despite the dip in the pace, the film stays afloat. Every family member gets a redeeming scene where they decide to stand by Jitender-Priyamvada and each of this scene will leave you sheepishly wiping your tears off. Special mention to Abhishek Arora for his effective background score. Songs by Tanishk Bagchi, JAM8 and Rochak Kohli are numbers that enliven the proceedings.
This is the second directorial for Amit Ravindernath Sharma after Arjun Kapoor-Sonakshi Sinha’s Tevar, a remake of the 2003 Telugu blockbuster Okkadu. This time, he takes on an original script and the tectonic shift in the making and sensibilities is a welcome change.
Ayushmann, in his outburst at Sanya’s mom after she brands his family as a circus she wants nothing to do with, says, “We are a simple, normal, genuine, middle-class values filled family.” And just like his family, Badhaai Ho too is a simple, normal, genuine, middle-class values filled film that reminds us that it is not only all about loving your parents but also to remember that our parents do more than just love each other. Nudge, nudge.
An edited version of this article can be found here. This review was written for Cinema Express, the cinema division of The New Indian Express. All copyrights belong to the organisation.
Avinash Ramachandran 