Screenwriter Gazal Dhaliwal, who has worked on projects like Mismatched, Qarib Qarib Single, and Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga, took to social media to praise Ayushmann Khurrana and Vaani Kapoor’s film Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui. Dhaliwal wrote that she saw ‘genuine heart and honest effort’ in the film.
Dhaliwal shared a picture of Ayushmann Khurrana, who plays bodybuilder Manu in the film, and Vaani Kapoor, who plays a trans woman Maanvi. Dhaliwal wrote, “I was moved by #ChandigarhKareAashiqui. I saw genuine heart and honest effort in this attempt to tell a difficult story - especially within the framework of mainstream Hindi cinema.”
In the film, Manu falls in love with Maanvi, a zumba teacher, and everything goes well until he finds out that she is a trans woman. After that, Manu must deal with his internalised transphobia along with the bigotry he sees from others.
“I was wary after watching the Trailer, but the film took me by surprise. There are so many nuances of the life of a trans person that it gets right. The self-doubt, the self-confidence, the insecurities, the hopes, the loneliness, the inexplicable anxiety of falling in love, and the absolute grit. I felt seen. (I do have some issues too, btw... but this post is for love.)”Screenwriter Gazal Dhaliwal
Commending Vaani Kapoor’s performance as Maanvi, the screenwriter wrote, “She did her very best in trying to bring authenticity to her character. Would it have been ideal if a trans woman played 'Maanvi'? Of course! But at this stage, whatever it takes to bring out trans stories, I'm on board. Vaani did bring a certain fragility as well as power to her role. The pain on her face was not alien to me.”
“@ayushmannk is flawless in playing 'Mannu' - when he is a toxic transphobic man as well as when he is just a helpless boy in love who has learnt that 'normal' is a ridiculous concept. @paranjapetushar, #SupratikSen Congratulations! The character is in your words and your words clearly had hard work and deep empathy in them,” Dhaliwal further wrote.
Dhaliwal added that everything she mentioned are Abhishek Kapoor’s wins, who wrote the story for Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui with a screenplay by Supratik Sen and Tushar Paranjpe. Dhaliwal added, “I'm happy you made this film. I also envy you for beating me to it. And I keep my fingers crossed hoping that it's a big success... because we need more trans stories. Many more.”
Gazal Dhaliwal, however, did add the disclaimer that she doesn’t speak for all trans people but others might have a different opinion to hers, adding, “All our experiences are valid.” She ended the note with a trigger warning for any trans people planning to watch the people, “…there is quite a bit of triggering stuff in there. It's there to make an overall point, but it can be disturbing. Was for me.”
Dhaliwal wrote the screenplay for the 2019 film Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga with director Shelly Chopra Dhar. The film explores a same sex relationship between Sonam Kapoor Ahuja’s character Sweety Chaudhary and Regina Cassandra as Kuhu. The film also deals with the process of accepting one’s sexuality and Sweety’s attempt to come out to a conservative family.
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