Rajkummar Rao on Badhaai Do: People compromise in their relationships due to societal pressure – Exclusive! – Times of India


Junglee Pictures’ Badhaai Do features Rajkummar Rao and Bhumi Pednekar in unique roles that depict a marriage of convenience. This film about love, romance, comedy and a totally new perspective on the LGBTQI community promises to be equally fun and thought provoking. In conversation with ETimes, director Harshavardhan Kulkarni and Rajkummar reveal all that’s special about this movie. Rajkummar also recalls his tryst with a bulking physique and of course, eternal love and happiness being married to the love of his life Patralekhaa. Excerpts from a freewheeling conversation…

Love or inclusivity which is the more dominant theme of Badhaai Do?

Rajkummar Rao: For me, it’s love!

Harshvardhan Kulkarni: Yes, love! Love which leads to inclusivity. When there is love, it will automatically lead to inclusivity. Our film is also about the bonding between people, and the fact that love is the primary feeling, regardless of the fact that the two people may be from the same sex. It doesn’t matter who these people are or what they do, but the fact that there can be love between them.

The Badhaai franchise essentially has an identity now of breaking stereotypes. Badhaai Ho was about a woman getting pregnant in middle age, while Badhaai Do is about a lavender marriage. Are we right when we say that this franchise is all about pushing the envelope?

Rajkummar: That’s what it seems like now, with both these films.

Harshavardhan: The best person to answer this is our writer Akshat Ghildial, who had created Badhaai Ho and now with Suman Adhikary has crafted Badhaai Do. Our film is about breaking stereotypes and it is a spiritual sequel. Also Akshat says that our film is 2x in all forms. It’s a double of everything, because even the complexities are far more. The humour is scaled up, too, the families are bigger. So in essence everything is ‘do’ (two in Hindi) and therefore Badhaai Do.

Rajkummar, as an actor, do you think about creative risks in movies with an off-beat subject? Or do you keep your focus on the character?

Rajkummar: I only think about the story and my character. If you’re a creative person then you have to take risks. If you keep doing the same thing over and over again then you’re not in the process of creation, that’s recreation of whatever you’ve done earlier. I get very excited when I get a script that’s unique in nature or it’s different from whatever I’ve done before. Anything that challenges me or pushes me, I got for it.

Were you aware of Harshavardhan’s first Hindi film Hunterrr and were you anticipating a similar sort of risqué story this time around as well?

Rajkummar: I knew about Hunterrr even while Harsh was making the film. You see, he’s my senior from the film institute. Of course, now we’re buddies and really close, but I have been well versed with his work. I have always had that faith in him as a filmmaker. The first time I met him for Badhaai Do, was a weird sort of meeting. I had loved the script, but then I was also committed to doing another project on the LGBTQI community, but that film didn’t work out. So I went back to Harsh and told him, ‘Let’s do this!’. Badhaai Do has given me two friends for life, Bhumi and Harsh and I am so proud of this film.

What was your first reaction when you first heard or read the Badhaai Do script?
Rajkummar:
My first reaction was that it is a wonderfully crafted script, with great structure and screenplay. The balance between the humour and the sensitive side of emotions and drama was great, too.

Junglee Pictures have been brave in producing unorthodox concepts without being bogged by the creative risks. Is it assuring to see producers backing up such different stories?

Harshavardhan: Junglee has always been that way. Look at their roster of films. Every film that they’ve done has managed to push the boundaries of storytelling. They’ve never played it safe. Even with our film, they’ve backed us up and said this film needs to be in theatres and it needs to be watched by the community. Very few producers are going to take that kind of risk.

Rajkummar: Even from a creative perspective, Junglee gave us a lot of freedom. Not many producers will give you that kind of freedom, but they allowed Harsh to make this film the way he wanted it.

Rajkummar, your character of Shardul is a policeman, who’s also coming to terms with the idea of coming out, plus there are the usual aspects of romance and comedy. Is this the most layered character that you’ve ever played?

Rajkummar: I would say this is one of the most layered characters that I have portrayed. Of course, the humour aspect is most noticeable, but there’s so much more that’s going on within him. We just wanted to normalise his sexuality, we never wanted to focus on just the part that he’s gay. There’s so much more to him than that. It was really fun playing Shardul. It was a challenging character, too. That muscular physique wasn’t easy, plus working with Harsh, it’s never that easy (laughs).

The scene with your muscular physique is certainly a nod to the female gaze, something that Harshavardhan has explored before with Hunterrr.

Rajkummar:
Truly, Harsh has turned me into a ‘mass ka hero’ (laughs). He managed to put mass on my body, which was never there. When Harsh told me that he wants me to be in a particular physique, I thought to myself, ‘Nobody has ever asked me to do that before’. People have wanted me to come in and play characters and act, but here’s this guy, who’s written this beautiful character but on top of that he wants me to be a macho guy as well. My takeaway was, this guy knows his job.

Harshavardhan: That shot was definitely not easy. I remember Raj did not drink water for 2 days. That’s the day I realised for the first time how difficult it is for actors to pull off those muscular shots. As a director, I just go up to the actor and say, just build your body. But I saw Raj hitting the gym, after a 12-hour gruelling shift on the sets he would pump iron every single day. And then on the dining table, when all of us were eating anything and everything served, this poor guy was just eating broccoli or a dry piece of paneer. I was very guilt ridden for making Raj go through this torture. But that effort that he put in, is the fun that he was talking about earlier. He’s gone through so many physical challenges for this role, but all that effort was fun.

How gruelling and tough is it to go through such a body transformation?
Rajkummar:
It’s very tough, especially for someone like me who’s a vegetarian. I can’t even do that (makes a gesture of an injection syringe being pumped) kind of stuff. The film has a dialogue that goes, ‘Humne toh woh sab bhi nahi liya hai, injection vinjection’ (laughs). Hats off to people who maintain such bodies throughout the year. It’s not easy to keep a six pack all the time.

Rajkummar you’re no stranger to movies, characters and stories centred on marriages. You recently got married too. How much did your on-screen experience help you with your off-screen matrimony?
Rajkummar:
No! Films have a fictional world, with real emotions attached, mind you. But here, it’s about my life, it’s about the person who I love and I have been in love with for the last 11 years and will continue that forever. Harsh was there at the wedding, he will tell you, I was just so happy. People were saying, ‘Itna khush dulha bhaiya humne kabhi nahi dekha (We’ve never seen a groom this happy)’ (laughs).

Hunterr was a risqué subject, but Badhaai Do, while bold in some aspects, is still a lot closer to the family entertainer genre. Did you find a stark difference in your process of telling these two stories?

Harshavardhan: Nothing has changed in my process. It’s definitely not the same story, so the world is very different. Even the humour that Hunterrr had and Badhaai Do has is very different. Making this film was far more challenging, because we are telling the audience that this is a funny film. Now to make them laugh, that’s such a tough proposition. So you have to work harder and make sure that you create things and moments that are out there, like the physical comedy that Raj was talking about. When you’re working with the ‘real’ genre you’re more comfortable because you know you’re from that world, but with a film like Badhaai Do, it’s a lot tougher.

Rajkummar, do you feel a marriage of convenience can last the test of time?
Rajkummar:
I have known people who have had a marriage of convenience. A friend of mine told me the other day that he knows people who are in such an arrangement of a lavender marriage and they’ve been in the relationship for years now. It’s ironic. I can’t say that it’s an ideal situation to be in, because of societal pressure and family pressure. At times, you can find yourself in the wedding scenario and then you’re just stuck there for years and you can’t even get out of it. I hope we become way more accepting as a society and culture, in the future, so no one has to be in such an arrangement. Because people do it only because of societal pressure and fear of what’s going to happen if I come out. And it’s that fear why we end up in relationships like a lavender marriage.

What is the message that Badhaai Do is going to leave the audience with?
Harshavardhan:
I always say that the heart of the film should be in the right place. I think the audience is going to see a story told from the heart, after a long, long time. Hopefully, the audience is going to take home a lot of things from the movie and there will be a lot of stuff for them to go home and process.

Rajkummar: Our story is a whirlpool of emotions and I am confident people will be able to attach to a lot of stuff in Badhaai Do, beyond the fun and experience of the movie.

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