I am on cloud nine! The world is gradually getting back to normalcy and our film has released in cinemas. We have always believed this film was meant to come to theatres. It has a brilliant mix of humour and emotions, which makes it the perfect choice for family viewing. And when you need laughs, they also have to be big. There could not have been a better film for me to begin my year and the second innings of my theatrical run with.

To me, Badhaai Do is as special as my debut film was. There’s a reason we were so guarded about this film and we didn’t let any pictures or BTS material slip out. We were sure we would come out with a bang. This is one of those films which needs to be put out there. I have received so much love from across the board. Of course, I have seen such love pouring in for some of my other films also, and I consider myself fortunate for that. But the love for Badhaai Do is special because it’s my first film to release in a theatre after two long years. It’s a very special film. The reactions to its material only shows that people are excited to come back to some great content. It’s the kind of response we were hoping to get.

Apart from the message that the film aims to give, I was hooked on Badhaai Do right from its narration. I was laughing and tearing up at the same time. It was because I was so moved by what the characters in the film were experiencing, their turmoils, their desires, their complications and their little joys. The tears rolling down my cheeks and the laughter on my face was the result of an amalgamation of so many things I subconsciously felt about these characters. I realised that this was so entertaining and such an important communication. This is a film that talks to a large part of our demographic. It is through entertainment that you can fan discussions around some really crucial subjects. This is my kind of cinema – that entertains and forces you to think afterwards. In this story, I saw two people who wanted love, who wanted to own their choices, and who wanted acceptance for these things from their families. The story has such nuanced satellite characters, representing different voices from our society. At no point are the two central characters and their sexual preferences used as a source of cheap humour. I felt that it had been treated with sensitivity. Badhaai Do is a winner because it opens itself up for family viewing.

Badhaai Do is definitely a film that needs to be watched together with your family. It’s about celebrating love and acceptance. We have taken the route of humour to talk about something that our society is uncomfortable addressing. I watched the film for the first time with my mother next to me. She is accepting of one’s choices, yet she has never seen me romance a person from the same gender. After we watched the film, I asked her if she felt different after seeing me romance a woman. She said not at all. Through the film, because of the way it’s been treated and the sensitivity with which it’s been written, she only saw two people wanting to be together and the struggles of individuals from the community. We can only normalize this if we can watch this with our families.

Nope! I latched on to the film immediately after the narration. I am offered many films with social messaging and the scope for pushing the envelope but I hadn’t laughed so hard and felt so much for any other project. This film made me feel the kind of things that no other film did. So, I never had an iota of doubt. My vision and thoughts as an actor have always been to break boundaries and tread new territories. I was looking for something like this. I wanted to reach out to people with the right story and put things into perspective. I remember our conversation around Valentine’s Day a year ago where we spoke about self-love. It’s such a cosmic thing – I was experiencing Sumi’s life at that time. I was living her life each day, thinking to myself how strong and brave she is. And how love cannot be contained in compartments and we all have the right to choose our partners.

I can’t think of a particular day or an individual incident but there were difficulties every day. Because Sumi is a vulnerable girl, who is not allowed to follow her own path. There were days when I was so conflicted in my heart and mind because I have lived with a lot of freedom and lived on my terms. Sumi doesn’t have the room for that. That itself was tough to break into. The director and writers helped in a big way. There were small little things that were actually tougher to portray on screen. I wanted Sumi to look raw and real and so the focus on makeup and hair was minimal. I wanted her to be relatable for any girl in the country. I wanted to keep her as real and vulnerable as she is in the screenplay. Getting there was a challenge every day. As an actor, through years of working, you build certain inhibitions and I had to get over all of those to be Sumi. The world created around me by the director, the writers and the co-actors made it simpler.

Raj made it easy. The chemistry in Badhaai Do was never about being attracted to each other. There was a great friendship that spilled over from real to reel. Our friendship made our chemistry so incredible. We play two people who’ve had a similar journey, have led similar lives, and have similar fears. These two people share great comfort in being each other’s friends, roommates and having a bro-code. Their life experiences bring them close as friends. And again, our director Harshvardhan Kulkarni had a role to play here, too. Raj and I were so excited to work with each other. Both our parts are juicy and we have done so many kinds of roles that at no point did either of us think that he or I have a better or edgier character. Both parts were equally demanding. Sumi and Shardul are like Jay-Veeru and Amar-Prem. While we organically became each other’s friends, we also got a lot of guidance from our director to meander through our characters’ friendship.

With Badhaai Do, I grew as a person. The takeaway was that we all have a little judgement in us. With this film, mere andar ka jo bhi tha, thoda bahut, woh bhi chala gaya. We discriminate so much against people but I feel so light since I have managed to leave that out of my life. I genuinely feel that this film helped me evolve and it made me a better person. It contributed immensely. I felt a sense of bravery when I did this film. I have always been a supporter of the conversations around the LGBTQIA+ community but my attachment with it has grown with this film. The film is a joyride that comes with a certain amount of heartbreak for the audience, which drives a thought home.