‘Chandigar Curry Aashiki’ review: A thoughtful drama about a bodybuilder’s love for a trans woman

When she tells him what many of us have already guessed, he stands in front of her with a bare torso, partially showing off his musculature.
In a movie about changes in the body, now is the perfect moment to receive a revelation. Gym owner and bodybuilder Manu (Ayushmann Khurrana) and Zumba trainer Maanvi (Vaani Kapoor) are a heavenly marriage. “Sex is a good thing, much better than usual,” says Manu.
This is ballet until Maanvi quit Google. She is a trans woman. This is a massive update on the Hindi films of yore, in which heroines would conceal their pasts (an old boyfriend, a forced marriage) minutes before the interval.
Abhishek Kapoor`s Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui is a thoughtful and often carefully plotted exploration of prejudice against assigned gender identity. Using the devices of the average mainstream Hindi movie – softfocus glamour, choreographed songs, a loud and quirky family, situational humour – the movie comes out in support of people who dare to break out of the boxes into which they have been trapped since birth. The decision to use a bankable nontrans actor to play a trans woman is presumably part of the conceit.
The clash between orthodoxy and free will is based on story idea by Simran Sahni. Kapoor and screenwriters Supratik Sen and Tushar Paranjape simplify the complexity of transgender identity as much as possible in this kind of film. Manu reacts disgustingly as expected and refuses to accept Maanvi as his condition. Firm and comfortable with her choices, Maanvi calms Manu’s wrath with calm and dignity.
Social messages are urgent but rarely informative. Aside from the last part that lasts longer than expected, Abhishek Kapoor skillfully and fluidly reveals the wonders that love makes possible. While
Chandigarh Kare Aashiki tries to normalize Manu’s crisis, one of the big fights with Maanwi takes place in the mall’s children’s section. The 117-minute film also alleviates some important problems faced by those seeking a transition. Unlike Ayushmann Khurrana and Jitendra Kumar playing a same-sex couple in
Hitesh Kewalli’s Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan (2020), Chandigarh Kare Aashiki uses a few handy acronyms in his subversive journey.
Maanvi’s apparent fortune removes one of the biggest hurdles for people to accomplish many complex tasks: money. The rich-looking Manu family are too comical to take their protests seriously.
. By fitting Maanvi to a typical Hindi movie character, the film risks creating burdensome expectations, even if it destroys others. Her curvaceous beauty and full legs make her look like a supermodel every time she sees it, and the camera sometimes actively emphasizes her physical features. Would
Manu fall in love with Maanvi if less attractive in the traditional sense? There is never an adequate answer to this question, as it turns out to be a fight between over-masculinity and exaggeration.

Kheench Te Nach, Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui (2021).

The movie was rated differently. Far ahead of the emotionless MX Player Pati Patni aur Panga (2020) series.
Ayushmann Khurrana works well for swollen Manu, but Vaani Kapoor is a real surprise. She’s never trusted so much weight before and she does everything to the best of her ability.
Mukesh Chabra’s casting ensures that a well-chosen protagonist is surrounded by well-chosen actors. The Manu family has two powerful sisters: Tanya Abrol and Savan Rupovali. Manu’s friends are brilliantly played by identical twins Gutam and Gurav Sharma. Like Maanvi’s father, Kanwaljit Singh plays a short but impressive role.