By : Shrishti Mehra
Vidya Balan stated that while the Kerala public is more literate to accept their idol as a gay character, Bollywood’s major stars have a long way to go.
Vidya Balan believes that no prominent celebrity in Bollywood, particularly one of the Khans, will play a gay guy, as Malayalam icon Mammootty did in Jeo Baby’s Kaathal: The Core last year. Vidya stated on the podcast Unfiltered with Samdish why this is “quite impossible” to happen.
What Vidya stated
“We have to realize that the audience in Kerala is more literate. That makes a huge difference. Kerala has a significantly different texture for the lowest common denominator. I’m not denying Mammootty’s accomplishments. But perhaps it’s easier there. It is a mirror of his community. I believe they would be more open to this. They also hold their actors in high regard, as they do anywhere in the South. They adore them, particularly the male superstars. So it’s even more admirable that he went ahead and accomplished it. He did not believe it would reflect on my masculinity. “He’s a much more confident actor,” Vidya remarked.
After seeing Kaathal: The Core, Vidya claimed to have messaged Dulquer Salmaan to thank his superstar father. “I don’t think there’s a better sign of acceptance or support to the community, and then exposing others’ minds to the same, than the biggest star of Malayalam film producing it in addition to acting in it. Sadly, I don’t believe any of our Hindi actors could pull off a movie like Kaathal,” Vidya stated.
She did, however, say that she’s hopeful of the new generation to break that notion. She took Ayushmann Khurrana’s example, who played a gay man in Hitesh Kewalya’s 2020 romantic comedy Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan.
About Kaathal: The Basic
Mammootty and Jyothika’s first film together, Kaathal: The Core, is directed by Jeo Baby of The Great Indian Kitchen fame. They depict a married couple in which Jyothika’s character files for divorce due to her husband’s gender identity.
The movie, which was distributed by Dulquer Salmaan’s Wayfarer Films, was supported by Mammootty Kampany and penned by Adarsh Sukumaran and Paulson Skaria. Joji John, Jisshu Sengupta, Muthumani, Chinnu Chandni, and Sudhi Kozhikode are among the actors who play important roles in the film.