Onir congratulates Rajkummar Rao-Bhumi Pednekar’s Badhaai Do: ‘At least some in uniform can be shown as homosexual’

Director Onir's upcoming project that shows an army man who's gay has been rejected by the defence ministry. The filmmaker congratulated the Badhaai Do team for celebrating 'the beautiful queer' as it showed Rajkummar Rao as a cop.

Onir has reacted to the Badhaai Do trailer. (Photo: Onir, Rajkummar/Instagram)

After watching the Badhaai Do trailer starring Rajkummar Rao and Bhumi Pednekar in the lead, filmmaker Onir took to Twitter to make his happiness known about the promo and its inclusion of the queer angle. The director tweeted, “At least Some in Uniform can be shown as homosexual. Looking forward to what looks like a fun film directed by #HarshavardhanKulkarni. Congratulations @RajkummarRao @bhumipednekar for stepping into and celebrating the beautiful Queer . #PRIDE.”

Onir’s tweet comes a few days after he revealed that his upcoming film, We Are, did not get a go-ahead from the defence ministry, which featured a central character as gay. Onir’s movie was set to be a four-part story with premise based in Kashmir, Kolkata, Mumbai and Bengaluru, and was inspired by the real-life story of Major J Suresh.

At least Some in Uniform can be shown as homosexual. Looking forward to what looks like a fun film directed by #HarshavardhanKulkarni, https://t.co/NfirgVUSSr . Congratulations @RajkummarRao @bhumipednekar for stepping into and celebrating the beautiful Queer . #PRIDE https://t.co/lBP9KhT7uz

— অনির Onir اونیر ओनिर he/him (@IamOnir) January 25, 2022

Speaking to The Indian Express about his film’s rejection, the director said, “In 2011, my film I Am showed a police officer sexually assaulting a citizen. That movie won the National Award for Best Hindi feature Film. I am really sad that in 2022, without any dialogue or discussion, I got a response from the Army that they analysed the script and it was ‘rejected’. I am told that ‘it is illegal’. Homosexuality might have been illegal under a colonial law but today 56 countries have moved ahead and recruited queer people in their army. It is the same attitude that kept women away from joining forces. This is the problem of a patriarchal society and their own insecurities. Even the ongoing discussion about marital rape law exposes this insecurity.”

Also See | Badhaai Do trailer: Rajkummar Rao-Bhumi Pednekar’s atrangi marriage is shaken up by her girlfriend’s entry. Watch

Talking about his next course of action, Onir had revealed that he may have to file a petition, and even then the clearance is not guaranteed. Meanwhile, Badhaai Do, touted as a spiritual successor to Ayushmann Khurrana’s Badhaai Ho, will most likely release in theatres in February.

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