Shardul Thakur is a closeted police officer unhappily stationed at a women's precinct in Dehradun. One afternoon, a woman named Suman "Sumi" Singh, who works as a physical education teacher at Wynberg Allen School, visits the station to report a man who has been stalking her. Unbeknownst to Shardul, the man had catfished Sumi on a lesbian dating app, then threatened to expose her sexuality unless she slept with him. Shardul roughs up the stalker, who reveals Sumi's secret. A few days later, Shardul approaches Sumi and proposes that they marry each other to placate their families, who have been pestering them about still being unmarried in their early 30s. Despite being strangers, Sumi accepts.
After returning from their honeymoon, Shardul and Sumi move into police quarters, carrying on the appearance of being a heterosexual couple. Sumi begins dating Rimjhim, a woman who works at a medical clinic and was rejected by her family after coming out. Rimjhim moves into Sumi and Shardul's apartment, forcing them to lie to multiple people that Rimjhim is a cousin. Sumi reveals to Rimjhim her desire to raise a child. Some time later, Shardul is assigned to patrol a Pride protest—a gay "wedding"—and meets Guru, a famed criminal lawyer who is proudly out. They begin dating, and Shardul introduces Guru to both Sumi and Rimjhim.
Later, Shardul and Sumi visit Shardul's family for Diwali. Shardul's relatives interrogate the couple about why they have not yet had a child, and Shardul lies to his brother-in-law that Sumi is infertile. The next day, Shardul's family tricks Sumi into taking a fertility test, which has normal results. Shardul's mother moves in with the couple to make sure they have a physical relationship; Rimjhim temporarily moves out. Sumi lies to her mother-in-law that it is in fact Shardul who is infertile, providing falsified test results from the clinic where Rimjhim works. The two families agree that, given the situation, the couple should adopt instead, which leaves Sumi overjoyed. Sumi and Shardul submit an application at an adoption agency.
One day, Shardul's mother accidentally walks in on Sumi and Rimjhim in bed and reveals Sumi's sexuality to both families; Shardul asks Sumi not to reveal his sexual orientation to their families. Sumi's mother and brother insult and reject her, while her beloved father remains silent. Shardul visits his family, who are also furious. At first he simply defends Sumi to them, then in a show of solidarity, comes out himself. Although several of his relatives shun him, his mother is accepting. Back home, Shardul is again assigned to patrol a Pride parade, but this time puts on a rainbow mask, coming out to his co-workers. Sumi and Shardul plan to divorce, but learn that they have been approved for an adoption, and decide to stay married so that they can raise the child.
One year later, Shardul and Sumi's sit for an adoption ritual at their apartment, with Rimjhim included as a third parent. Many of their family members, but not all, are also in attendance. Shardul's superior and his wife—still unaware of the couple's secret—arrive unexpectedly, prompting Rimjhim to leave Sumi's side. Sumi's father motions for Rimjhim to sit back down, telling her that "a mother must be present at the ceremony." Shardul then invites Guru to sit beside him. The superior, confused, moves to leave, but his wife stops him. The two couples smile as vibrantly as a rainbow.
Badhaai Do earned ₹1.65 crore at the domestic box office on its opening day. On the second day, the film collected ₹2.72 crore. On the third day, the film collected ₹3.45 crore, taking total weekend domestic collection to ₹7.82 crore.[3]
As of 10 March 2022[update], the film grossed ₹24.55 crore in India and ₹3.78 crore overseas, for a worldwide gross collection of ₹28.33 crore.[3]
Critical response
Rachana Dubey of The Times of India gave the film 4/5 and wrote "Badhaai Do attempts to normalise the big-screen depiction of the gay and lesbian community and their romantic relationships. The film sensitively portrays the immense loneliness and sense of isolation that a gay person feels, especially when they lack a window to communicate openly with their family, and are forced to deal with issues on their own"[18] Prathyush Parasuraman of Firstpost gave the film a rating of 4/5 and wrote "Badhaai Do is largely, and rightfully preoccupied with the sexuality of the characters, characters who are not paragons but people, they burp and fart and have loose anger and dark circles".[19] Devesh Sharma of Filmfare gave the film a rating of 4/5 and wrote "The film makes a point that all kinds of love exists in the world and we shouldn't just pick one colour out of the rainbow but embrace the whole spectrum".[20]
Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV gave 3.5 out of 5 and wrote "The film unequivocally champions the cause of individuality and inclusivity while delivering an engaging story that is funny, thought-provoking and intriguingly angular in one fell swoop".[21]Zoom gave the film a rating of 3.5/5 and wrote "Rajkummar Rao, Bhumi Pednekar and team shoulder this bold film to show that 'love is love'"[22]Stutee Ghosh of The Quint gave the film a rating of 3/5 and wrote "Badhaai Do Has Solid Performances, But Seems Overeager to Impress".[23] Mohar Basu of Mid-Day gave the film a rating of 3/5 and wrote "Badhaai Do is an honest effort in the right direction, and one of the reasons it works is because it makes you wonder why the law doesn't allow members of LGBTQiA+ community to marry and have children".[24] Shantanu Ray Chaudhuri of The Free Press Journal gave the film a rating of 3/5 and wrote "the film is eminently watchable, thanks in no mean manner to the two lead actors and the occasional throwaway line like being a lesbian 'hamare life ka hissa hai, puri life thodi na hai".[25]
Pinkvilla gave the film a rating of 3/5 and wrote "Badhaai Do strives to start a conversation but shines light on the actuality that we have a long way to go by holding a mirror to the society".[26] Sukanya Verma of Rediff gave the film a rating of 3/5 and wrote "Rajkummar Rao is solid in what we've come to recognise as strictly Ayushmann Khurrana territory".[27] Ankita Bhandari of Zee News gave the film 2.5 out of 5 stars and wrote "'Badhaai Ho' appears to be just another take on LGBTQ+ issues, this time adding the adoption angle to the otherwise commonplace matter of coming out of the closet and making your families understand".[28]Shubhra Gupta of Indian Express gave the film 2.5 out of 5 stars and wrote 'Badhaai Do' falls into the same trap films with 'brave subjects' gravitate towards[29] Monika Rawal Kukreja of The Hindustan Times wrote "Rajkummar Rao is in full form and on point as a gay cop. Bhumi Pednekar, too, delivers an excellent performance.[30]
