A Gay Man’s Mother Explains Why We Need More Films Like ‘SMZS’

“Wished movies like Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan existed when I was young,” says Harish Iyer’s mother Padma Iyer.

(Photo: The Quint)

Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan released on 21 February. Ayushmann Khurrana and Jitendra Kumar-starrer film is the story of two men who are fighting it out against society and their family to come to terms with their sexuality and relationship. The movie is garnering positive reactions across the board.

The Quint got Harish Iyer to talk about his thought on watching the film with his partner, Yash, and his mother.

What were your thoughts about the film?

Harish: I think that it was like watching my family. And it’s not just about gay people, it’s about people falling in love with each other. I am gay and Yash is bisexual and he has a girlfriend as well. So there’s nothing. Irrespective of what dimensions we talk about, I think love in the end wins. This film doesn’t humourise LGBT relationships. It doesn’t make you believe in LGBT people. There are no make-believe scenes. If there’s a make out scene, then it’s a make out scene. The moment I could hear 377 and there are cops who have come to arrest the couple because they are getting married. Technically, you can’t arrest if someone is getting married even if they are gay. But the fact that they took that cinematic liberty and showed how transformations take time and the fact that you don’t have to understand everything to just allow people to love because many a time, you won’t understand.

What did you think of the parents characters in Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan?

Padma: I would say that children take a lot of time to understand themselves. They are not sure about their own sexuality. I think it takes them time to understand that they are gay or lesbian or whatever and when they come out to their parents. How can they expect their parents to understand in just a day? Today you have stories based on LGBT community which is very good. During my time there was nothing like this. We never knew what’s gay.

Which scene stood out for you in the film?

Yash: There’s this scene where Ayushmann and Jitendra are kissing in a train and Jitendra’s father sees this happening. Because you can see the frames, you can see the father’s reaction and you can see the fact that he’s about to vomit and he does vomit. That is the reality in which we live where if two men are seen kissing each other, the first reaction to that is revulsion. I think that has been portrayed very succinctly in the film.

Video Editor: Ashish Maccune