Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui (2021/ Cinema Release/ Comedy/ Romance/ Drama)
Director- Abhishek Kapoor
Writers- Abhishek Kapoor,Tushar Paranjape, Suprarik Sen
Cast – Ayushmann Khurrana, Vaani Kapoor, Gaurav Sharma, Gautam Sharma, Tanya Abrol, Kanwaljeet , Satwant Kaur, Anjan Shrivastav, Girish Dhamija
It always feels great to see cinema pushing the envelope and CKA tries to do so with an extremely taboo subject. I am sure it must have been a tight rope walk even though they had our ever reliable Ayushmann, the “King of Taboo” in Bollywood , if I may call him so.
Plot
Manu Munjal is the quintessential Punjabi munda flexing his dole-shole & has a loud domineering family.
When he meets the new “Jumba” instructor at his gym, Maanvi , it’s a hot and torrid affair.
But hell breaks loose when Maanvi shares her past with him.
Analysis
The film starts on a familiar note with all the tropes that scream “over-the-top-Punjabi vibes”.
Quite seen before honestly, yet works every time.
The humour, the banter , the punjabi dialogues and the well selected cast come together to give a light and entertaining first half.
Falling short of being superb or rip roaring, it was engaging & entertaining. But I could hear a part of me craving for something higher or some doses of peals of laughter.
In the second half, our protagonists’ lives have fallen apart and made us quite curious as to how would the story would now handle the turn around which is bound to happen.
That’s where the story makes an emotional pitch and I would say strikes the right chord. Right from the biological angle, the psychological aspects and the social impact, they have tried a well rounded approach to the subject.
And what I appreciate is that they did win an emotional buy-in at the end of it all.
In an environment where we love to lust over our heroines, forget Manu , I think it must have been a challenge to ensure a buy-in from the audience when they get to know the that the hot girl was not always a girl.
Performances
Ayushmann Khurrana wears the character like a second skin.You might not find any new tinge to him as an actor, but as usual, he’s a pleasure to watch.His physical transformation and hard work is worth applaud.
Vaani looks absolutely hot and pulls off the character well. She tugs at our hearts at all the right moments.
Loved the twin friends, Gaurav and Gautam Sharma.
Kanwaljeet, Satwant Kaur ,Girish Dhamija ( wasn’t aware that he’s been a writer to so many good films) , Anjan Shrivastav and Tanya Abrol , all add effect with their acts.
Music was a good mix ,groovy, trendy & quite punjabi, in tandem with setting.
Recommendation
CKA handles a tough subject sensitively balances it well with humour and emotions. It keeps us entertained and manages to push our boundaries and I think that alone is worth so much appreciation.
Score 3 on 5 plus 0.5 for the what they pulled off reasonably well!