Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui: Tolerance, Acceptance  Love Masti  Sharaarat

Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui

Starring  Ayushmann Khurrana, Vaani Kapoor

Directed  by Abhishek Kapoor

Rating: **** ½

The  most modest  praise for this  wonderful film would be that it is by far the best post-Covid Hindi release.Which is not saying much, considering the abysmal  near-unpalatable  fare that  Bollywood  has been shamelessly shelling out since  the Pandemic.

Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui is quite simply the film everyone must see. It tell us  about tolerance, and  acceptance  without getting preachy and screechy. Director Abhishek  Kapoor manages the near-miraculous feat  of keeping the tone blithe  and buoyant even when the going between the  couple  gets  really  rough.

There is a  disarmingly  fine-tuned  moment of pathos  running into  humour without  collision when the film’s  lead pair  has  a showdown on  the  street of  Chandigarh. Two  cops, concerned about ‘Bahenji’ stop to inquire.

You have to see   the rest  of the sequence  to  know what  fluent screenwriting is all about.

Director Abhishek Kapoor has  in  the past shown  us his brilliant side in  fits  and starts  in Rock On(the  film that introduced  Farhan Akhtar as an actor and singer) , Kai Po Che(the one that made Sushant Singh Rajput a movie  star) and in  Kedarnath( a smart  ingenious  idea felled by a clumsy climax).

In the horribly mistitled  Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui the writing(by Supratik Sen, Tushar Paranjpe) is clearly on  the  roll. It flows freely and fluently  making space  for chuckles and sobs without seeming to be doing anyone  a favour.

It is  no  coincidence  that  the  film’s hero is  a  beefy brawny Big Moose,Manu  a gym instructor  who doesn’t think twice before making a fool  of himself  in public.  Manu’s  relationship with  Maanvi  begins  with a fart. It cannot go anywhere  but up from there. The  dizzying  romance is filled with  clasps  cuddles kisses and  fucks…And oh yes,  the songs which are  not particularly  likeable. But then who is listening? We have eyes and ears  only for  the work in  progress.

Director Kapoor  captures the rhapsodic turmoil  of  the electrically attracted  couple with a purpose.When Maanvi’s big revelation about her gender comes, we know this clunky oafish walking-talking muscle  machine  will take time to  come around.

The aching sweetness and the numbing wait for  the apology acceptance and reunion  are  filmed with a  furious  fluency. Except for  a  few  overdone sequences  of  Manu’s two nosy sisters prying into his love life, the  narration’s momentum never flags.

I  have always  believed that a film with a strong social message  can only  work when the tools  of  storytelling are well oiled  and  fully alert and alive  to  the  job on hand.Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui  seldom falters  in  telling it like it is.

Life is often cruel specially to those who are physically and emotionally constructed differently from the mainstream .And  in real life, it may not be  as easy to  get the Manus of  the world to  accept the  Manvis.  But hell, at least a film such as this offers hope  of an more inclusive society.And it does so with  an infectious  vivacity.

Using the language of  conventional storytelling director  Abhishek Kapoor  tells us all about accepting the unconventional.

And what a pair of  committed lead  actors Kapoor has! Ayushmann Khurrana is  Manu in  body and spirit, a boorish  beefy no-brainer  who learns  the lessons  of love and acceptance the  hard way.Khurrana again  proves  himself  one of  our finest  most committed  actors.As for Vani Kapoor,  she is a  revelation. Sinking into her  meaty character  of a  woman with a gender disorder Ms Kapoor makes Maanvi vulnerable yet strong. Beautiful yet confused. Vani’s Maanvi is heartbreaking.