Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan is doing exceptionally well at the box office. Although Sunday did not see any major jump in numbers from Saturday, it is still running as was predicted by Trade experts. In three days, the film has earned Rs 32.66 crore and by doing so, it has earned the highest opening weekend numbers for any movie with gay themes. The last film which got really good numbers from the same genre in the first three days was Kapoor & Sons. The film had earned Rs 26.35 crore back in 2016. Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan: Can Ayushmann’s Film Succeed in Bringing Homosexuality to Mainstream Cinema After Sonam's Attempt to Do So Failed?

Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan's good business is good news for filmmakers who want to say more such stories and also for the LGBTQ communities. Bollywood is known to make fun of homosexuals in their narrative and Kapoor & Sons had changed that where Fawad Khan's sexual preference was very maturely handled. Aligarh showed the dark side of it all. But the conversation starter will still be Dostana. Although gimmicky and tad offensive, it talked about the acceptance of gay love stories as well. But SMZS's collections are something that will propel such movies to a more comfortable narrative now.

It will be wrong to say that Bollywood hasn't experimented with gay themes. My Brother Nikhil is an outstanding movie in this aspect. Girlfriend was a weird and badly executed film but made an attempt to address the topic. However, none of these movies could achieve box office excellence as much as Ayushmann Khurrana's film. So happy days are ahead for the community in terms of representation in Bollywood.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 24, 2020 01:42 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).