Review: Love stories are love stories after all. Mostly, boy-girl-girl, some romance, mush-gush, conflict, make-up or breakup and end of story. Well, here the boy meets the girl too, but he has a past (not out of cliché affair, marriage, child marriage or criminal history), which becomes difficult for Manu to bear. Without giving much away (the story idea is credited to Simran Sahni), let’s assume that Maanvi has bravely faced all odds, and ‘transformed’ into the new person she has always wanted. While she feels liberated and proud of her new identity, and what remains true to her true self, will society and her family accept her choices and accept her for being ‘not normal’ in their normal world.
The director, Abhishek Kapoor, doesn’t beat around the bush and gets to the point straight and quickly. After introducing Manu, his friends and his family, he lets us delve into Manvi’s world, slowly and subtly revealing his past. While preparing us for Maanvi’s revelations, he is preparing us to learn more about Manu’s initial disbelief, shock and horror, the girl he loves dearly. And when the moment comes, he handles it finely – in performances or dialogues – without too much drama or drama.
While Abhishek maintains light-hearted humor in most situations, he handles the harsh reality of the subject with sensitivity and maturity. That explains it all – people’s rude and abusive reactions to learning the truth about the subject, the need to address our general lack of knowledge and information, and the way our society is increasingly divided on the concept of being ‘inclusive’ Is. ’, and giving each individual the freedom to be who they are and what they want to be. Abhishek does it deftly and weaves in witty punches – soft and supple, nothing too heavy-handed. Supratik Sen and Tushar Paranjpe are also credited for their honest and relatable screenplay and dialogues, which is evident in many scenes. Whether the Munjal family is pushing for Manu’s marriage, his widowed father (Girish Dhamija) is waiting to marry his Muslim girlfriend, Maanvi’s father (Kanwaljit Singh) is supportive of his choice, even if his Whether the mother strongly disapproves, or Manu’s over-the-top sisters interfering in all of Manu’s affairs—there is never a dull moment, almost all scenes as tight as Manu’s six-pack and bulging biceps.
The performances here are ‘tip-top’! Ayushmann Khurrana gets into the character’s skin (literally!) Watch for his superphysical makeover. He portrays Manu perfectly, and well, the fact that he is actually a Chandigarh boy would certainly have helped in cracking it. He runs, walks and talks.
Vaani Kapoor sinks her teeth into her character from the word Go and delivers a no-holds-barred performance. Vaani and Ayushmann not only look great together but also share great chemistry onscreen.
Gautam Sharma, Gaurav Sharma (as Manu’s twin friend) are hilarious, Anjan Srivastava (Manu’s grandfather), Kanwaljit Singh, Tanya Abrol and Girish Dhamija play supporting roles very well.
Bindiya Chhabria’s production design is vibrant and cinematographer Manoj Lobo has beautifully shot this offbeat love story. Chandan Arora’s editing is crisp. The Sachin-Jigar soundtrack with songs by Priya Saraiya, Vayu and IP Singh takes the story forward. Though the Holi song initially appears abrupt, it serves as a fitting trigger to kick Manu and Maanvi’s romance into top gear.
In a post covid era, where we are grappling with the new normal every day of our lives, it is time to dig deeper and question what ‘normal’ really is. Have we created self-made norms and normalcy to meet the needs of some people in the world who are trapped in this false sense of normality? Isn’t it time to shake things up a bit, step out of the comfort zone and break the shackles of stereotypes? Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui does just that, while still comfortably entertaining you.
,