After a vocal trans-gender avatar in Dream Girl, it is time for Ayushmann Khurrana to push the envelope even further with his next project Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan where he plays a gay character who not only comes out of the closet but also wants to marry his partner.
The partner in this unabashed gay comedy will be played by internet sensation Jitendra Kumar whose skits on The Viral Fever have the nation in their grip. Sources say the gay angle would not be dealt with in any apologetic or hesitant manner. “Unlike Onir’s brave My Brother Nikhil where no intimacy was shown between the gay partner Sanjay Suri and Purab Kohli, in Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan there will be many intimate moments between Ayushmann Khurrana and Jitendra Kumar. This would be the first gay love story of Indian cinema where the central relationship would not accentuate the gender of the lovers,” says a source close to the project.
Ayushmann is no stranger to unconventional roles and films, especially those that address sexual taboos. In his debut film Vicky Donor he played a sperm donor. In Shubh Mangal Saavdhan Ayushmann’s character suffered from erectile disorder. In Badhaai Ho, he dealt with his mother’s pregnancy and in Dream Girl he was a cross-dressing actor impersonating a woman phone-sex worker.
When asked what it would be like doing a kissing scene with his male co-star in Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan, Ayushmann had opined it would be no different to kissing a female co-star.