Ayushmann Khurana bulks up in his maiden brawny role, Vaani Kapoor-Khurana’s chemistry looks refreshing but the trailer subtly hints that there is more to Vaani’s character Maanvi than it meets the eye.

By Mayur Lookhar

Seldom do we find a mystery element in a love story. Often such films are archetypal in their story telling. But there is a mystery attached to writer-director Abhishek Kapoor’s upcoming romantic drama Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui [2021]. The title itself was unique and captivating. The trailer though has added an element of intrigue to the film.

Manvinder aka Manu Munjal [Ayushmann Khurana] is a brawny dedicated fitness trainer from Chandigarh. He has his dreams [weight lifting] but the Punjabi stud loses his heart to Zumba trainer Maanvi Brar [Vaani Kapoor]. The man, who wasn’t keen on marriage earlier, is now desperate to settle down with Maanvi. But as she says in the trailer, “there’s something else” that breaks this relationship.

The moment Maanvi hands over her cell phone to Manu, the man has a stunned expression after watching the content in it. We don’t get to see that but certain lines in the trailer suggest that there is more to Maanvi than it meets the eye. “You are a different girl,” says Manu to Maanvi earlier. Manu’s shocking reaction to being told about that ‘something else’ and him using s/he in the same sentence subtly hint towards a serious conflict of interest. Manu’s friends asking him how he wasn’t able to know the bitter truth whilst having sex, all the more leads to suspicion about Maanvi’s true identity. We wonder whether there is a ‘trans’ element here, but we leave it upon the viewers to decide for themselves. It is inappropriate to lay question over one’s personal identity.

Director Abhishek Kapoor and his co-writers Supratik Sen [Story, Screenplay] and Tushar Paranjape [Screenplay, dialogues] certainly have an intriguing new age romance drama up their sleeves. The maker’s have fittingly called it a ‘mind bending’ story.

Khurana, often known for his slice of life, underdog characters is seen in his maiden brawny character. The man looks like a beast. Whilst he has the muscles but Manu comes across as another simpleton, a space that Khurana has owned over the years. Khurana’s bulked up but Manu is no machismo character. Though angry, but Khurana doesn’t loses the humility that’s often the hallmark of his slice of life characters.

Vaani Kapoor seems to have found an interesting character up her alley. Often cast in customary glam doll roles, the YRF find would hope to excel in this T-Series production. Khurana is usually the one to face issues in social satires, but here it appears to be the lady who has a personal or physical issue. Kapoor and Khurana seems to have a fine chemistry between them already. The film though would be a true assessment of their pairing.

Set in Chandigarh, the non Punjabi speaking audiences would hope that chaste Punjabi dialogues are in short quantity. Former Indian cricketer Yograj Singh is cast as the guru of Manu. There will be cursing from the aggrieved neighbour. Pan India audiences would hope that the film isn’t exclusive or selective in its communication., Though a Punjab setting, but this is no cliched romantic Bollywood drama.

Watch the trailer below. Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui [2021] is set to be released on 10 December in cinemas.