Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui

The had great concept and the way it chooses to represent it was good. The pacing is slow and the film gets boring sometimes. Other than that the acting performances were amazing.

Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui is a movie that takes a very niche place in Bollywood which has been carved out for a Massy with Message film (aka the Ayushman Khurana Genre). It does that job very well.

The humour, entertainment quotient and drama are all reminiscent of a typical Bollywood drama. But the only thing which makes it unique is its premise. Progressive or not is debatable but this is a necessary film which perhaps noone can deny.

The tone deaf jokes, occasional cringy dialogues and its idea of giving medal for accepting-a-Trans-woman-as-normal attitude might seem odd and unacceptable to few at this age and time.

But it should be minded that this film is being targetted towards a very different audience. This film does the job of igniting the potential to have that conversation among average Joes while also ensuring a level of drawing room comfort. That is something. And for that the writing has to be commended.

In terms of acting both Khurana and Vaani did a good job. Their performances were fun and acceptably charming.

Overall this is a film which can be enjoyed even with its flaws.

We all love Ayushmann's choice of scripts that strike a balance between catering to mainstream Bollywood sensibilities and conveying subtle, progressive messages. CKA is yet another film that starts in typical rom-com fashion - Manu (Ayushmann), a gym owner and bodybuilder, loves Maanvi (Vaani), a Zumba instructor. But there's a little secret that changes its entire course. It's that Maanvi is a trans woman. When the revelation is made, Manu acts the way most taunting (cis-gender) Indian men would do, but he also uses very harsh language at Maanvi in the process. In real life, for such a couple to reconcile, it would take a lot longer than a single hospital episode. But this is commercial Bollywood, mind you! If it wants quick(er) closure, it'll give you exactly that.

Also, what if Maanvi was not a self-reliant, strong-willed, reasonably wealthy person? Doesn't that lessen some of the most significant hurdles that trans persons face in the form of complex surgeries? These convenient shortcuts are forsaken simply because the intent is appreciable. I also wish the climax was centered around giving closure to Maanvi instead of something that's comparatively less significant. We could also have used some more insight into gender reassignment surgery, especially since the film had the golden opportunity to go there.

One of the few things it wholly gets right is the occasional humor. I thought it would be offensive to a great extent, but thankfully it isn't. Even better that some of it arises from unique situations. While we can easily question why Vaani was chosen to play a trans woman, she gives it her all. For once, it isn't Ayushmann doing all the heavy lifting in an Ayushmann movie. And it was a neat move on the writers' part to show Manu doing all the homework on LGBTQ himself, instead of some doctor spoon-feeding him.

'Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui' was a pretty average movie It was also very 'safe'. Not really a good movie on Transgender issues to be honest.

It bypasses most of the 'harder parts 😉' of being a transgender through the surgery.

That surgery that the girl had is still rare and costs crores and by the look of it, the girl's family wasn't that rich. It's not also available everywhere especially in India. You have to travel abroad and that cost has to be taken into consideration.

Also most Trans women don't get the surgery because it's rare, expensive and it has many many risks. So they bypassed the 'meat 😉' of the messaging by basically making her a full on girl rather than an actual currently living realistic trans woman.

You can praise it all you want for the 'social messaging' it brings but I am not here to be a puppet for a 'social protest'. I am judging the movie for what it is and it is BORING.

I think what makes this movie different from normal stereotypes, or even Ayushmann's other movies was that it was more for the actress but subjectively, Ayushmann gave all the proper support as and when required. And I would say, Vaani Kapoor did her level best, coming out of those cliche roles and side actress stuff.

But above all, it's the concept and its showcase that was the main feature of this film. If I leave aside the manly drama, the sub urban jokes and the sex, the remaining movie happened to be brilliant. Not that the other stuff wasn't good but no where close to this: the agony and assault that Maanvi/Manu faced in her day today life and how boldly she/he was able to handle those blows. And that was what both emotional and comprehensive. Again, it was just a movie and in real life, things are totally different. And they will remain immature, maybe even 20 years down the line whenever any such matter arise.

Overall, a good movie.