The Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui filmmaker on making a movie on a marginalised community, and why it is important to open channels of communication with them
Abhishek Kapoor’s Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui has been lauded by the audiences for putting the spotlight on the transgender community. Starring actors Ayushmann Khurrana and Vaani Kapoor, the film revolves around a fitness enthusiast who falls in love with a Zumba instructor only to realise later that she is a transgender woman. Kapoor, director of films such as Rock On!!, Kai Po Che and Kedarnath, tells Forbe​s India that he wanted to create awareness and start a conversation about a section of society that is ‘fragile and abused’. Edited excerpts:
Q. Are you happy with the response to Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui?
It has been quite overwhelming because it is a different subject. It has never been attempted and it talks about a community that is in the dark… people are calling it an invisible community. And the community itself is so fragile, so scared, and has been abused much—in films, generally, and by society… they are so misunderstood. For them to step out and say that ‘we liked the way we are being represented here’ is more than enough for me.
Q. It has been termed ‘bold’ for the representation. Was that the intention when you decided to make the film?
Yes, one does not just make a movie because one wants to. You have to dive into it and meet people in the community. You have to understand them. By the time I had done my research, it was normalised for me in my head. But the world has to open their heads because where we are at right now, with Covid-19 and the world shutting down, people have to open their minds about what is going on… whether it is with the environment, their ambitions, capitalism or people at large. The movie was made after the first Covid-19 lockdown. It was hit by the repercussions of Covid. But we came out on the front foot and hoped to make a difference.