When Badhaai Ho hit theatres in 2018, it was much more than another comedy feature—it was a phenomenon that had the audience whispering, laughing, and almost in communion with each other before the show even began. A sensation in its own right, the trailer featured Ayushmann Khurrana’s stunned visage upon learning that his aged parent were going to have a baby promising an outrageous yet relatable story. It is a Bollywood comedy unlike any other, and it is a comedy that is much more than a comedy. It is a Bollywood comedy that reflects something much deeper—the reality of Indian families, particularly their awkward silences, double standards and sudden, often inexplicable, displays of affection.
Badhaai Ho is much more than the story of an elderly couple facing late parenthood. At its core, it is about the embarrassment and the attitude and responses of families around, and the changing of traditions. The particular family of this exploration is the Kaushiks, a lower middle-class family and in the context of middle-class Delhi.
Jeetendra Kaushik (Gajraj Rao), a railway ticket collector, and his wife Priyamvada (Neena Gupta) cope, somewhat unenthusiastically, with a problem they have not prepared for—a pregnancy. Their sons, Nakul (Ayushmann Khurrana) and the younger Gullar, have and show feelings of disbelief and irritation. For Nakul, the situation is especially tragic as it complicates his relationship with Renee (Sanya Malhotra) and is likely to attract social scrutiny.
The awkwardness and, consequently, the comedy stem not just from the situation being discussed, but from the predominantly Indian manner of addressing it. Horrified relatives, personal and public, gossipy neighbors, and younger people trying to get by a little modernicthespirited conservatism. In a dual, even contradictory manner, the pregnancy alluded to the necessity of progress and growth. Intimacy and affection of all patterns, even unpleasant, are needed for evolution. Tradition must march on and, in the process, grow with it.
The Actors and Their Journeys
Khurrana’s casting was not just smart; it was symbolic. By 2018, Ayushmann’s career was built on playing ordinary men tangled in extraordinary situations (Vicky Donor, Dum Laga Ke Haisha, Shubh Mangal Saavdhan). With his middle-class upbringing in Chandigarh, he understood Delhi’s mohalla humour and family politics. Ayushmann has often spoken about the tension of tradition and aspiration in his own life, making his character, Nakul, torn between the loyalty of parents and the social scare of ridicule, seem lived in.
Neena Gupta was, in many ways, the film’s emotional anchor. After being sidelined in mainstream Bollywood for years, Gupta, like many of her peers, publicly expressed her desire for substantial roles. With Priyamvada, Gupta received recognition that was long overdue: the industry had, all too often, pigeonholed her for being an older actress. Off the screen, the character of a woman unafraid to embrace motherhood again, despite the societal whispers of motherhood, resonated powerfully with Gupta, who raised her daughter Masaba as a single mother in the 90s.
Gajraj Rao’s overnight recognition is unprecedented in the industry. He was the only one to portray clarified Jeetendra with such affectation. In interviews, he recounted his surprise at the audiences’ enthusiastic rapture for his performance. In the industry that celebrates heroes, the most delicate portrayal of fatherhood in cinema was that of Rao, a figure most of the film’s dad’s characters placed a single word with silence.
As for the cranky grandma, her performance, like all else, was unsurpassed, most of all in her delightful capacity for improvisation. Most of all, one of the most viral lines in the film were hers. Like all the best characters, she was a double. The old generation in Indian families folded with a blend of traditional conservatism that fought with love.
The film’s Delhi is not superficially cinematic. It is not a single highway and it is not a single glass window. Its a nest of crowded trains, the old roofs of the colonies, and the sick clutter of bourgeoise homes. The environment itself becomes a character, reflecting the claustrophobia of pilloried communities. The gossip-fuel malignancy of a wound. The Kaushiks’ shame collapses as the people around them see, hear, and cast their measure.
The persistent contradiction between modernity and tradition evident in Delhi poses similar reflections in the conflict of the film. Nakul’s corporate world and his girlfriend’s upper-class lifestyle are in stark contrast to the grounded and earthy dimensions of his family. Yet, this contrast is not merely comic; it signifies the soft and almost invisible tug-of-war in the psyche of young Indians, caught between aspirations of upward mobility and the not-so-hiddeng grounding of family.
Hype Moments That Built Anticipation
There are certain culturally relevant landmarks, and the release of the film’s trailer is one of them. Ayushmann’s deadpan line, “Abhi toh main shaadi karne ki soch raha tha… abhi toh mummy-papa ne shuru kar diya” quickly went viral and became a cultural reference point. The singularity of the film’s subject, in an industry dominated by formulaic action dramas, was bound to create buzz and excitement like never seen before.
In this context, Ayushmann’s reputation as the “king of unusual scripts” certainly provided the anticipated credibility to the buzz generated around the film. The film also marked an important point in the celebration of Bollywood’s older female protagonists as Neena Gupta’s character was seen as a more “progressive” role. Gupta’s works on the intersections of ageing, work, and motherhood received a great deal of praise and positioned these topics as relevant and discursive in the public sphere.
What Most Don’t Know
Badhaai Ho had its own unique production issues. For a time, another actress was considered for the role of Priyamvada. However, it was only after Neena Gupta was cast that the production team realized that she was able to bring the warmth to the role, as well as the quiet defiance. This ended up being one of the best casting decisions of the decade.
Along with the writing, it was director Amit Sharma’s insistence on restraint that shaped the film. He eschewed excessive melodrama and kept the humor grounded. The choice of authentic, everyday locations as opposed to studio sets was a deliberate decision. It gave the film its real, and at times, uncomfortable feel. Finishing touches to the script included the use of realistic family dialogue with pauses and ellipses.
Reportedly, the on-set atmosphere was easy-going. In numerous interviews, Ayushmann commented that working with Gajraj Rao was as if he was with his father. The unscripted, improvised interactions of Rao and Surekha Sikri frequently made it to the editing cut, providing the film with a sense of spontaneous charm.
What the Film Left Us With
Badhaai Ho did more than entertain audiences when it was first screened in theatres; it sparked discussions about the love, desire, and dignity associated with the later years of life. Over family dinners, these discussions were most certainly the center piece in households across the country. While the younger audience found the film’s awkward moments and situations relevant, the older audience found the message most validating—affection has no time limit, and parenthood has no age restrictions.
A film that makes one laugh and invites deep, critical thinking is indeed a wonder. Badhaai Ho was one of those rare occasions. It was one super hit in the box office, and in the way it incrementally pushed society towards acceptance, even if it was through the proxy of humor.
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