"He should definitely watch our film"
The controversial United States President Donald Trump has shocked everyone worldwide with his tweet approving Bollywood’s homosexual romantic-comedy film, Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan (2020).
Bollywood actor Ayushmann Khuarrana stars as an openly homosexual man. He is fighting to change the conservative opinion to date his boyfriend.
Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan (2020) is the first publicly advertised gay film to be released in India since the approval of homosexuality in the nation in 2018.
The film released on Saturday, February 22, 2020, and has been met with mixed reactions as homosexuality is still considered taboo in India.
Unfortunately, the film has been banned in the United Arab Emirates where homosexuality is considered illegal.
The trailer of the film was released in January 2020 and showcased Ayushmann Khurrana battling for his right to love a man.
In the trailer, he exclaims, “Friends, Shankar Tripathi is suffering from a very bad disease and that disease is called homophobia” while donning a rainbow cape.
Gay rights activist, Peter Tatchell uploaded a tweet supporting the Bollywood film for tackling a taboo subject. On Twitter, he posted:
“India: A new #Bollywood rom-com featuring a gay romance is hoping to win over older people, following the decriminalisation of homosexuality. Hurrah!”
India: A new #Bollywood rom-com featuring a gay romance is hoping to win over older people, following the decriminalisation of homosexuality. Hurrah! https://t.co/U6qO9PucV3 @TheQueerAsia @beinglgbti @cadrsunilgupta @NazProjectLdn
— Peter Tatchell (@PeterTatchell) February 20, 2020
Yet, what many did not expect was to see the US President Donald Trump come out in support of India’s acknowledgement of gay rights.
Donald Trump retweeting Peter Tatchell’s tweet promoting the film with the caption, “Great!”
Great! https://t.co/eDf8ltInmH
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 21, 2020
Undoubtedly, Donald Trump’s support for the film shocked many. Good Morning Britain presenter Piers Morgan expressed his shock. He said:
“Wow. President Trump tweeting supportively about a ground-breaking gay Bollywood rom-com is not what I expected to see on Twitter today. Great to see.”
Ayushmann Khurrana revealed his surprise at Donald Trump retweeting news of his film. Speaking at Hindustan’s Shikar Smagam 2020, he expressed:
“It was (a) very surprising tweet. I want him to work for LGBTQ rights in his country.”
“I hope the LGBTQ community in (the) US gets his support. He should definitely watch our film, it’s very important for him.
“Doing it through comedy is important because it’s a big taboo in small cities. The audience will come for entertainment and will take home a message.”
Ayushmann continued to mention that his career is based on carrying out experiments with his films and said, “I will be over the day I stop taking risks.”
Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan (2020) also stars Jitendra Kumar, Maanvi Gaagroo, Neena Gupta, Gajraj Rao, Pankhuri Awashty and more.
The gay romance film is certainly a step towards breaking the taboo surrounding homosexuality in India.
Watch the Trailer to Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan
