‘You’re no Ranveer Singh or Ranbir Kapoor’: How Gajraj Rao’s wife convinced him to accept Badhaai Ho

Gajraj Rao, who played the role of the expectant father in Badhaai Ho, was rather hesitant to be a part of the film, after the initial excitement. Badhaai Ho has completed three years since release.

Badhaai Ho, starring Ayushmann Khurrana, Gajraj Rao, Neena Gupta, and Sanya Malhotra, not only emerged as one of the highest-grossing films of 2018, it also won a slew of National Film Awards. As the film completes three years of its release today, fans again took to social media to remember the casting of Gajraj Rao and Neena Gupta in the film. The two played a couple in their fifties who are having another child, much to the chagrin of their family. Ayushmann played the role of the son in the family, who cannot accept his parents’ pregnancy.

Gajraj Rao, who played the role of the expectant father in the film, was rather hesitant to be a part of the film, after the initial excitement. “Amit Sharma (director) and I have known each other for more than two decades. When he narrated the script to me, I found it amazing. My first thought was, ‘Is this for real? Am I actually getting this offer?” He told Mumbai Mirror. However, he had serious second thoughts.

His wife was on board with the idea of the film. “When I told my wife that it was a story about a couple expecting a child in their 50’s, and that people might make fun of me, she blatantly told me that I’m no Ranbir Kapoor or Ranveer Singh and even if the film does not work, it won’t affect my image. So I decided to go ahead with it.”

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However, he began to be apprehensive and self-conscious. “I was conscious if I could do justice with the character of Jitendra Kaushik as I was never offered such a big role.” He added that the director was ‘hell-bent’ on casting him. Rao added that it took a few days for the feeling to sink in, and that he finally grew confident.

Ayushmann told Times Of India that he was thankful that the film triggered a conversation on late pregnancy. “We wanted to show people why it’s not as big a deal that we make it out to be. We wanted people to see this issue from a more inclusive lens and tell them that it should not be seen as a taboo.”


Ayushmann’s next film is Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui, that is also a family-entertainer.

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