Badhaai Ho (Congratulations) is a 2018 Bollywood family dramedy directed by Amit Ravindernath Sharma.
Jeetu and Babli are an average middle-class Delhi couple. They have two grown sons — Gullar is in high school, and Nakul in his mid-20s with a stable 9-5 and relationship. They still haven't lost their amorous feelings for one another, however, leading to a surprise pregnancy in middle age. Considered highly unconventional in India, Babli's pregnancy becomes a source of derision from her circle. The family must now pull together and face the problem head-on if their relationships are to survive.
The film was released on 18 October 2018. It was later remade in Tamil and Indonesian. The 2022 film Badhaai Do, tackling another unconventional family dynamic in India (homosexuality), is billed as a Spiritual Successor to this film.
Tropes:
- Exact Eavesdropping: Nakul just happens to drop in as Sangeeta is talking smack about Nakul's family. He breaks up with her daughter.
- Good Girls Avoid Abortion: Babli is unwilling to abort her pregnancy, considering it sinful.
- Housewife: Jeetu is the one who works; his wife Babli takes care of the kids and house.
- Maternity Crisis: Babli goes into early labor while preparing for her own baby shower!
- Obnoxious In-Laws: Jeetu's mother Durga smothers him and is always quarreling with his wife Babli. One such argument leads to their late-stage conception. Durga defending Babli to her daughter and daughter-in-law is a turning point.
- Old People are Nonsexual: Babli and Jeetu conceiving in middle age is a source of shock and shame, because this reminder of intimacy in middle age is highly unusual.
- Parental Sexuality Squick: Nakul is unable to get it up with his girlfriend because he keeps thinking of his mother's pregnancy.
- Practically Different Generations: Nakul is in his 20s and Gullar is in high school when their mother gets pregnant with their younger sister.
- Uptown Girl: Nakul is middle class, and his girlfriend Renee is well-off. Nakul's mother's pregnancy actually drives a wedge between them because Renee's rich mother finds it improper and shameful.
