In Zoya Akhtar and partner Reema Kagti’s new season of Made In Heaven on Amazon Prime, there were at least three realistic sub-plots.

One was the excited cousin at a star couple’s destination wedding, a much-guarded event where managers ensured no photograph was leaked. It was reminiscent of the Katrina Kaif-Vicky Kaushal wedding in Rajasthan where restrictions were in place for all guests. Like the celebrity marriage in Made In Heaven, the wedding planners had kept a tight vigil on guests, who were not allowed to use their phones. Amusingly, even the Arya Samaj priest (who also conducted the K.L. Rahul-Athiya Shetty marriage and the recent wedding ceremony of Sunny Deol’s son Karan with Bimal Roy’s granddaughter Drisha Acharya) had two bouncers escorting him from his room to the mandap and back. There were perhaps more bouncers than guests at Katrina’s wedding.

An obvious similarity between real life and what was shown in Made In Heaven was also the introduction of a transgender. It was like a reality show since it featured Dr Trinetra Haldar Gummaraju who was born Angad 26 years ago in Karnataka. After undergoing gender confirmation surgery in 2020, Angad became Trinetra, a well-known activist for LGBTQ+ rights. So playing Manav-turned-Meher with all the ensuing emotional upheavals was simply Trinetra playing herself in the web series.

In two different ways, Made In Heaven also emitted a strong message that young adults must be encouraged to do what their hearts desire. In one track, a videographer had to choose between studying at NYU and staying back to pursue an offer from Amazon; he chooses the latter much to his family’s disappointment. In another, a young boy, in love with a woman 10 years older, does what’s honourable and readies for marriage though his heart yearns to learn music at Berkeley.

All these make for great stories. But what when what happens on screen doesn’t stay on the screen?

One day last year, it seemed as if a scene from his own 3 Idiots had jumped from the screen into his house when Rajkumar Hirani’s best-laid plans for son Vir went awry. Raju, the only Hindi filmmaker with a 5/5 score of five blockbusters in a row, had always presumed Vir would follow in his footsteps. Encouraging him to make films right from his school days, Raju got his son to assist him while making Sanju. Imagine his surprise when Vir announced, “I want to become an actor.”

Knowing how tough it was to be an actor and succeed in the profession, Raju tried his best to dissuade him. But Vir wouldn’t budge. The clincher was when his son reminded Raju of what he had advocated in 3 Idiots — parents must let their children bloom the way they want to. Raju the father was stumped. Nobody knows that Rajkumar Hirani’s son Vir now studies at Rada, the Royal Academy Of Dramatic Art in London. And when he returns, Raju will have the biggest project of his life — to ensure that Vir has the best launch possible for a brand-new actor.

In June 2001, Sunny Deol’s Gadar had clashed with Aamir Khan’s Lagaan and the film industry looked on with alarm. Though vastly different in tone and texture, both had heroes pitted opposite people inimical to India. Lagaan had Bhuvan, a hero in a dhoti, playing a cricket match with the British oppressors. Sunny as a truck driver had uprooted a hand pump and taken on Pakistan in the cross-border romance. Lagaan won critical acclaim and was India’s entry for the Oscars. Gadar was trashed by critics who called it “gutter” and decried it for jingoism. Both did very well at the box office although what the critics hated did three times more business than Lagaan.

“There’s space for any number of films,” said Anil Sharma whose Gadar 2 now clashes with OMG2. “As a movie buff, I myself watched both Oppenheimer and Barbie which were released on the same day.”

One isn’t sure if the Gadar and Lagaan story will repeat itself this weekend.

Bharathi S.Pradhan is a senior journalist and author