Shubh Mangal Zyada Savdhaan/Amazon Prime

On Amazon Prime right now, Shubh Mangal Zyada Savdhaan (SMZS) is risque, compelling and hilarious. I was not sure if a story like this, set in a small town, with the zaniest of characters, would crack it. But, it worked for me, and that’s definitely not easy since I don’t really enjoy light movies.

Before you get confused about another similarly named movie Shubh Mangal Savdhaan, as I was; let me tell you that it was a film in 2017 with the perky jodi of Ayushman Khurana and Bhumi Pednekar. A brave movie to talk about erectile dysfunction and yet marketed as a family film. It was a big hit.

But this one, SMZS, with the extra word ‘zyada’ thrown is, is a 2020 release on the internet. And thus we, currently in India’s Covid 19 induced lockdown can watch it as we weigh our options daily for film and television viewing.

Here too, we see Ayushman, with Bhumi in a blink and you miss it appearance. They are not paired romantically. Instead our hero romances another hero! It’s not a bromance, it’s a gay romance and I didn’t really warm up to the theme, but for the lack of anything better on the table, I ended up staying up late, glued to my telly. I didn’t regret it.

Now, both these two films are different and yet connected by the common theme of marriage. And both are by the same script writer. And both are hugely entertaining, all thanks to the extraordinarily ordinary looking and super talented Ayushman. He’s completely in tune with his roles, give him anything and he will blow your mind away.

This one is about two gay lovers who need to convince one of their families about their love and also show a finger at society for being homophobic. How this is done is largely what the movie is about and it tickles your funny bone all the way. Who would have thought that Article 377 could be dealt with, in such a light vein?

Neena Gupta as the mother of Jitendra Kumar, who plays Ayushman Khurana’s lover, is a treat to watch, even more than the entire stellar cast who fit perfectly into their characters. Must watch. Must laugh! Hilarious.

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