EXCLUSIVE: Abhishek Kapoor on Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui- “Credit to Vaani Kapoor as most mainstream heroines will not take on this role”

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By Athulya Nambiar -

December 14, 2021 - 6:22 PM IST

Filmmaker Abhishek Kapoor has struck the right note with his recently released film Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui starring Vaani Kapoor and Ayushmann Khurrana. Set in Chandigarh in Punjab, the film narrates the tale of a man falling in love with a woman who he later comes to know is a transwoman. Abhishek Kapoor who is known for films like Rock On!!, Kai Po Che, Kedarnath said that Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui is one of his most important films. “I think this is an important film to bridge a gap and start a conversation, "Abhishek Kapoor said in an exclusive chat with Bollywood Hungama.

EXCLUSIVE: Abhishek Kapoor on Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui- “Credit to Vaani Kapoor as most mainstream heroines will not take on this role”

While Ayushmann Khurrana is known to take up scripts that challenge societal norms and break stereotypes, Vaani Kapoor has been commended for her sensitive yet strong portrayal of a transwoman in the film. “Ayushmann Khurrana is a fabulous actor. He has made some very, very courageous decisions in his career to be where he is today. So even today, when he takes on a film like this, knowing that the main protagonist is Vaani, all credit goes to him for standing there and being the man to accept her and to understand her. And of course, a lot of credit to Vaani for going for this part because most mainstream heroines will not take on this role. She's been very courageous, very trusting of me to take this role,” Abhishek said.

The idea for the film came from a lady by the name of Simran Sahani who came to Abhishek Kapoor in 2017 with the idea for a film on a transgirl. Kapoor asked Sahani to let the idea stay with him and he went on to make Kedarnath. The idea stayed with Kapoor and he worked on it with his team of writers. “The more I dived into it with my team of writers, I understood the community much more. I met a lot of people from the trans community. I met a lot of partners of trans people also to understand how it is. There was a lot of research that went in. When I started the film, I found out that Simran had twin boys, and both of them had made a transition and they are girls now,” the director shared.

Meanwhile, Abhishek Kapoor has also been asked questions on casting a transwoman for the role played by Vaani Kapoor. When asked about this recurring conversation on casting choices, Abhishek said, “This is a conversation that happens in the West. So sometimes we just like to talk about what's happening in the West. But it is not practical. The society there is far more evolved and they are already 20 steps ahead of us. They have also crossed a huge journey to get where they are and we are just starting ours. I think it is very important for us first to have a conversation, and tell people stories in a language they understand so that they understand the point you are trying to make. Once there is some kind of communication, there's some understanding, then there will be acceptance and then there'll be a normalization. And at that stage, you will have trans people coming up. This is the first film not the last. In the West, there are 100 films on the topic made in different ways because their society is way ahead of us.”

“I am not making this film for the Oscar. I am making this to make a contribution to our society. It would be amazing if we witness a change here and then there will be a sense of having made a contribution to society. There is a vast difference between the audience here and the audience in the west. We want to win the Oscar but also have song and dance sequences in movies- that is the reason our films don’t win the Oscars. My ambition has not been that. I'm not competing with the West. I'm just doing what is needed to tell the story to who I am telling it,” he added.

ALSO READ: “Hope no cis-het actress ever plays the role of a trans-woman,” says Vaani Kapoor