On February 21, Bollywood's first mainstream gay commercial "Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan" (Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan) was released on a large scale in India and topped the weekend box office with a box office of 327 million rupees (about 31.8 million yuan). .
The film tells the story of a gay couple Kadick and Harman returning home to attend their cousin's wedding. The romantic and uninhibited Kadick hopes that her boyfriend will officially introduce himself to his family. Early detection, almost caused a heart attack. From then on, the old father regarded Kadick as a thorn in his side, and tried his best to fight the mandarin duck, and even arranged an arranged marriage for Harman. But it doesn't seem so easy to get married smoothly - almost at the same time, India's Supreme Court is engaged in a century of debate on whether homosexuality is a crime...
In every sense of the word, Rise of the Real is a landmark gay film in India:
- India has previously produced feature films such as " Aligar" and " Love in Mumbai" that reflect LGBT life, but these films are all independent productions with small costs and small casts, and can only be screened in overseas film festivals and cannot enter A mainstream cinema chain in India with a huge audience.
- "Rise of True Heroes" is a mainstream commercial film developed and produced by T-Series, the third largest film company in India, for the general public. It has all the commercial elements of a Bollywood movie, balancing the controversial affirmative theme with plenty of song, dance and comedy.
- After the film project was approved in September 2018, the Supreme Court of India made a historic judgment to abolish the 157-year-old homosexual crime law (ie "Article 377" of the Criminal Code), and same-sex sexual activity was officially legalized in India.
- Sensitive subject matter did not bring additional resistance to "The True Hero": the cast was confirmed in September 2019, the filming was completed in December, the trailer was released in January this year, and it was reviewed by the Indian film censorship agency in February, including the male-male kissing scene All green lights are released.
- The film was released simultaneously in 11 countries around the world, including Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, and France. Only some Muslim countries have made a decision to ban it. Its streaming distributor is Amazon Studios, which means more regional audiences will be able to watch it legally in the coming months.
"Legally Seeing" is important because it's about whether a gay movie can be profitable and whether the industry is willing to spend more money on similar productions. In order to enhance the popularity, Bollywood has recruited Ayushman Khurana , a first-line star, known as "Peng Yuyan of India", to play the leading role (Chinese fans are more likely to pass the high-scoring suspense film "The Tuner" know him). And Khurana did not live up to people's expectations of him. In "True Heroes", he played an activist wearing a rainbow flag, raising his hands and shouting "I'm gay, I'm proud - ah no, proud" . "Every abdominal muscle exudes anger" is the best evaluation of his acting skills.
In an interview, Khurana said he was excited to be in the film. He said that the kiss scene with another male lead, Jitendra Kumar, was shot three times: "I didn't feel embarrassed, I just felt different. As an actor, you should be prepared. Kissing a man is obviously different. Experience. But I think it's more important to send a message that as many people as possible know that same-sex kissing is normal. That's what I do, this kiss is a must, otherwise it's gay on the big screen backwards."
Needless to say, in order to achieve a balance between the demands of equal rights and family entertainment, "The True Hero" sacrificed a lot of artistic creations that can be developed in depth. For example, whenever there is a fierce conflict, some funny soundtracks or jokes will suddenly drop from the sky to mediate the atmosphere; when arguing about what love is, Harman uses the parents' unhappy arranged marriage as an example, and then brings the topic to the parents' respective love history. , eschewed the original intention of discussing sexual orientation; family mobilization-style quarrels and one-second cutting songs and dances are the daily operations of Bollywood movies...
But it is precisely these vulgar bridges and routines that have a subtle "brainwashing" effect on the theme of equality. The movie seems to remind the audience every few minutes: Hey, we are no different from ordinary Bollywood commercials, so can you accept that our two male protagonists are together? What, still can't accept it? Come on, continue to sing, dance, and play jokes for me... um, are you willing to accept it now?
The commercialization model of "True Heroes" may not be universal, but it has opened a new page in the world's gay films. Prior to this, only two countries had continued to commercialize gay films: the United States and South Korea. American "Bird Cage", "Brokeback Mountain", "Love You, Simon", "Bohemian Rhapsody", South Korea's "The King's Man", "Frost Flower Shop", "Miss" are all commercial Great success. When we talk about commercial box office, population plays an important role - only with a certain population base can we ensure that niche themes can also reap considerable box office, and then mainstream filmmakers will make continuous attempts. And once India, with a population of 1.4 billion, joins the ranks of the commercialization of gay films, its potential can be said to be unlimited. The same principle applies to another country with a large population.
As for why gay movies need to be commercialized - because only when more and more people see it, can the LGBT community live in the sun, we can gain more and more understanding and tolerance from the society, and group rights can be more and more recognized. With protection and respect, all kinds of stigma will become more and more invisible!
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