The new Bollywood film Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan, India’s first gay rom-com, is making no bones about its subject matter. After getting a positive response at the box office the movie has now managed to get international recognition. US President Donald Trump took to Twitter Saturday to laud the new Bollywood movie.
Peter Tatchell, a human right activist’s tweet caught US President Donald Trump’s attention, who lauded the film. Replying to his tweet, Trump wrote, “Great!
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1230881724445249536?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Soon after this, reacting to Trump’s reply, Tatchell wrote, “Donald Trump just retweeted me. Shock horror! I tweeted a @PinkNews article about a new gay Bollywood movie & he retweeted it. I loathe Trump & tweet against his anti-LGBT+ policies, climate destruction denial, misogyny & collusion with the far right.” He also said, “I hope this is the beginning of President Trump’s genuine embrace of LGBT+ rights & not just a PR stunt.”
https://twitter.com/PeterTatchell/status/1230912581734477825?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
After Donald Trump’s tweet, several Indians replied tagging Ayushmann Khurana in the comment thread saying that he should be proud the US President was endorsing his film. Moreover, Trump supporters in America too jumped at the opportunity to call him a “LGBTQ hero.”
Read: Ayushmann Khurrana starrer Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan banned in UAE for homosexuality
Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan, a directorial debut of Hitesh Kewalya, is a love story between two men in small-town India. In the movie, the homosexual couple tries to win the acceptance of their conservative family. The makers of the movie have tried to break the taboo against homosexuality by aiming to deal with that with humour through Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan.
The day of its release the movie was banned in Dubai and other cities of UAE over its homosexual content.
In many Islamic countries, homosexuality is severely punished. In India, though Section 377 was decriminalised in September 2018, however, same-sex relationships continue to largely remain a taboo.