Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui movie review: Ayushmann bhava!

Chandigarh Kare AashiquiUA DramaromanceDir Abhishek KapoorCast Ayushmann Khurrana Vaani KapoorRating Now Irsquom often unsure as you should be while writing social media posts on movies How much should one reveal about a film without that knowledge screwing up someone elsersquos experience the ldquospoiler alertrdquo as it wereFor instance Salman Khanrsquos Ek Tha Tiger 2012 is a love story where the hero and heroine respectively are spies from India and Pakistan mdash a fact hidden from all of the picturersquos publicity material Would it not be better if you waited for that reveal during the film rather than entering knowing it alreadyItrsquos like avoiding scoresoutcomes for a match if you have missed its live telecast The general rule I follow is the moviersquos halftime Anything before that isnrsquot a spoiler strictly speakingAnd so while the crew behind Abhishek Kapoorrsquos Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui did their best to conceal that this is a film about a man falling for a woman who was herself a man once mdash shersquos a ldquotrans girlrdquo as she puts it mdash therersquos just no way to talk about this movie without mentioning that in the first place noSpeaking of Salman the Chandigarh hero here plays just his type of role mdash a muscular jock slightly misogynistic ideally with brains fixated on his macho image Absolutely the last person yoursquod cast for such a Punjabi alpha munda is the softie Ayushmann KhurranaI donrsquot know Is it that desi leading men over generations hardly ever changed anything about themselves for a role mdash including their hairstyle and the audiences didnrsquot expect better either mdash that a stunning transformation of the hero alone is reason enough for a lot of us including me to be floored by a film already and persistently go with the flowKhurrana with a pony tail and buzz cut from the sides fullon cuts on his biceps and washboard abs and legs that look like theyrsquove moved mountains for this movie does just that mdash stun you with his makeover first Giving gym goals that I sense a lot of smalltown India is attempting at the moment This showcasing can sometimes even be the point of the whole picture Certainly true for certain parts hereAlthough wersquove seen Shahid Kapoor pull off the same in Udta Punjab 2016 as did Vicky Kaushal in Manmarziyaan 2018 transformation wise Khurranarsquos seems a couple of notches over The film itself attempts to do with Chandigarh what Manmarziyaan did with Amritsar mdash guide you through its by lanes learning a little about the posh sectors and downmarket quarters Dera Bassi of this PTownTo be fair with not even with half the pulsating energy of that Anurag Kashyap pic though A twin dressed in the same clothes is clearly a nod to Manmarziyaan This feels slightly flat and sparse in comparison But as you know this is also a very different kinda love storySet around uncles aunties behenjis and gabru jawans Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui is about a gym instructor who hooks up with the Zumba teacher over some daytime drugs and drinking presumably That this happens over Holi is a nice touch actually before moralists start accusing Bollywood of inventing Indiarsquos drug culture What follows is much sex and dhokha if you insistThat the girl has gone Denmark meaning undergone sexchange operation in the past shocks the living daylights outta the guy once he learns this fact As a counter factual I wonder if the conflict would deepen still if he had known her closely or casually as a man once and that she identifies herself as a woman now Thatrsquos not the caseYou wonder still what someone like her would go through dealing with everyday life let alone if it involves love at all While capital of two Indian states and a union territory of its ownmdashcanrsquot get higher in admin status mdash Chandigarh is still a small town in many ways hardly allowing for the comfortable anonymity that metropolitan cities doIn an inspired piece of casting Vaani Kapoor Shuddh Desi Romance War Bell Bottom plays this transgender character Sure Khurrana will get all the obvious audience attention itrsquos actually Kapoor who deserves more critical notice for picking a part that Irsquom willing to bet my bottom rupee most Bollywood stars wouldnrsquot touch fearing subsequent loss of sex appeal among core male fans Within constructs of popular entertainment then a decent score included checking all boxes of a wellmeaning movie still the filmmakers eventually manage to immeasurably empower an invisible community that could do with a lot of mainstream empathy and lovemdashretaining your interest as an audience especially in the filmrsquos second half thatrsquos actually better than the first God knows thatrsquos rareLet me think of similar tentpole Hindi movie attempts in the recent past Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga 2019 mdash such a stretch Khurranarsquos own Shubh Mangal Zyaada Saavdhan 2020 mdash so unnecessarily overthetop This one way better for sureAlso Read Ayushmann Khurrana is bridging the gap between tentpole and parallel cinema

Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui movie review: Ayushmann bhava!

Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui
U/A: Drama/romance
Dir: Abhishek Kapoor
Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Vaani Kapoor
Rating: ***

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Home / Entertainment / Bollywood News / Article / Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui movie review: Ayushmann bhava!

Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui movie review: Ayushmann bhava!

Chandigarh Kare AashiquiU/A: Drama/romanceDir: Abhishek KapoorCast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Vaani KapoorRating: ***

Trending Stories

Latest Photos

Latest Videos

Latest Web Stories

Mid-Day Fast

Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui
U/A: Drama/romance
Dir: Abhishek Kapoor
Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Vaani Kapoor
Rating: ***