Rajkummar Rao’s sis-in-law Parnalekha praises his Badhaai Do: ‘Finally my community has a film’

Actor Rajkummar Rao’s sister-in-law Parnalekha is proud of him and his work in Badhaai Do. Parnalekha, who is actor Patralekha’s sister, shared a post on Instagram, praising the movie.

Badhaai Do stars Rajkummar Rao in the lead with Bhumi Pednekar. They play a gay man and a lesbian woman who decide to get married to avoid constant pressure from their families. The film shows the emotional bullying that people from the queer community have to suffer in society.

Parnalekha said that Badhaai Do is finally a film for (her) community. “Badhaai Do is an intimate revolution that will activate a desire of transformation in the way ‘LGBTQIA+’ oriented films are made in India. Finally, my community has a film; wherein, two girls are not sexually objectified for being two dykes in love, and two men aren’t being called ‘meetha’ and ‘chukka’ for being homosexual studs. At the end of the day, it’s all about the sensitivity in ‘the gaze’ and not only about ‘the gays’ in LGBTQIA+ films.

She added, “Really appreciated the ‘absence’ of the ‘male gaze’ in this sensitive queer outing. The emotional, physical and psychological consequences of ‘lavender marriages’ are intense, honourable, honest and dramatic. Add a bit of humour to this conflict and you get a light-hearted dramedy called Badhaai do. Watch it!”

She even wrote words of appreciation for Bhumi and Rajkummar. “@bhumipednekar Thank you, for Sumi! She is me. Shuddered! Some of them leading ladies have in the past when asked to play a lesbian. Not you! You’ve led the way! Somewhere, in some corner of rural India, you have inspired a ‘tomboy’ to live her/his/theys life with integrity, honesty and bravery. Thank you, for being you,” she wrote.

Also read: Bhumi Pednekar shares mom’s reaction to her romancing a woman in Badhaai Do, wants everyone to watch it with family

“Rajkummar Rao: Charlie Munger, often speaks of making friends with the eminent dead. Basically, one of the richest men in the world is urging folks to read books written by the greatest thinkers, philosophers etc of all time. It warms my heart to know that your name will appear in the acting books, and that a 100 years later, some random loner or aspiring actor will have found a friend in you. To Shardul and to your brave choices as an actor,” she added.

Rajkummar replied to Parnalekha’s post with her nickname. “Silvieeeeee I love you,” he wrote. Bhumi also left heart emojis on her post.

Badhaai Do released in theatres on February 11. It also stars Chum Darang, Gulshan Devaiah, Seema Pahwa and others.