Mohar Basu mohar. basu@ mid- day. com In 2016, producer Karan Johar had revealed how he knocked on Fawad Khanu2019s door when as many as six Bollywood actors had refused to play the homosexual character in Kapoor & Sons.
Cut to present, Ayushmann Khurrana and Kartik Aaryan are bravely headlining two same- sex love stories u2014 Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan and Dostana 2, respectively.
The industry may firmly believe in first- mover advantage, but Aaryan is unperturbed that his comedy will hit screens several months after Khurranau2019s February 21 release. Stating that the industry is batting unitedly for this cause, he says, u201c The storylines of the two films are not similar.
In fact, the subject is so important that we are all invested in it equally. Neither of us is looking for commercial advantages here, nor [ is the Dostana 2 team] feeling slighted that their movie will arrive before ours. We have not represented the queer community appropriately for decades; may 2020 be a year of celebrating such stories. Be it Dostana 2 or Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan, I am glad that these films are finally starting a conversation. Slowly, the hiccups that producers would usually have about such subjects are smoothening out.u201d Recently, Khurrana told mid- day that he was discouraged by industry folk from playing a homosexual character on screen.
Ask Aaryan if he faced any resistance, and he says, u201c I go with my gut feeling. It doesnu2019t matter what my family, or my PR team advises me. In this case, I discussed the idea with my college friends who encouraged me to take it up.u201d It has been heard that Aaryan and Janhvi Kapoor play siblings who fall for the same man in the Collin Du2019Cunha film. u201c As a movie buff, I was sold on the scriptu2019s entertainment value,u201d he smiles.
u2018 Neither of us is seeking commercial advantageu2019 Unfazed that Ayushmannu2019s Shubh Mangal enjoys first- mover advantage over his Dostana 2, Kartik says highlighting LGBTQi+ stories more important than box office success Khurrana and Kumar in Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan pic/ instagram
