Vivaan Shah on pre-marital pregnancy: I think it is an issue which is very new to the country

‘Laali Ki Shaadi Mein Laaddoo Deewana’ is a light-hearted romantic comedy that is going to hit the theatres on April 7. Though it deals with the sensitive issue of pre-marital s*x and subsequent pregnancy, the makers have given it a flavour of humour that makes it perfect as a family watch.

We had an exclusive chat with the ‘Laaddoo’ of the cast, aka actor Vivaan Shah, who plays one of the leads, alongside Akshara Haasan and Gurmeet Choudhary. The actor spoke at length on various issues, including the most infamous topic in Bollywood today, i.e. nepotism. But what gauged our attention most, were his views on pre-marital s*x, and pre-marital pregnancy.

The actor had a very balanced approach on the matter and was quite well-informed on the subject too. He said, “Well, I think pre-marital pregnancy is an issue which is very new to the country. It is something that America has been dealing with for a long time, especially the Blacks in America. I mean it’s been a huge issue with African-American communities, you know, especially in the ghettos. You hear a lot of rappers talking about it. It’s been a huge issue for America since the 80s, but it is a very new phenomena out here, and I don’t quite know if we have the same concerns because, out here I think marriage has far more gravity than it does in the West. I mean we take marriage a little more seriously, because if you see in America people get married 5-6 times, they get divorced, left right and centre and I think out here we place a lot more importance and emphasis on marriage, so which is why any issue of pre-marital pregnancy is a very new one to our culture and to our society.”

Vivaan further stated that it’s quite difficult to take a stance on the issue and define it within the constraints of morality. He added, “I don’t my stance on it because it is a very complicated issue and it is difficult to say whether it is right or wrong or to make a moralistic high ground on it, but I would just tell people to be responsible, and that doesn’t just apply to pregnancy, that applies to marriage.”

He also took a dig on the people of his generation who seem to take the decisions of marriage in haste. “A lot of times I have noticed, especially people in my generation take the plunge in haste. You know, they don’t realise that marriage is something you do after you settle down, after you get stability in your life, whether professionally or personally, or spiritually. People in my generation are too much in a hurry to get married. So perhaps that’s one reason why pre-marital pregnancies do occur,” he added. (Also Read: Gurmeet Choudhary, Vivaan Shah and team ‘LKSMLD’ launch the music in a grand way)

Well, we do agree with Vivaan and really appreciate how well-versed he is on a topic as sensitive as pre-marital pregnancies.

Kadambari Srivastava

Grammar Nazi, word weaver, dreamer, bibliophile, technophile, caffeine addict, foodie, shuttling shopaholic! Mash it in a Bollywood recipe and voila! Pushpa, you’ve got her!