Actor Vaani Kapoor says her movie Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui is a conversation starter as it aims to present an authentic on-screen representation of trans people in mainstream Bollywood cinema.
The Abhishek Kapoor directorial places the struggles and dilemma of a trans woman, played by Vaani, without looking at the community through the lens of victimhood, she said. The actor, whose turn as Maanvi in the film, has brought her career-best reviews, believes the film has served its purpose of igniting a conversation around trans people and their rights.
“We just wanted to normalise this and break stereotypes. There exists this perception, built over all these years, when we were growing up. The reference points we witnessed in films and shows, I think we don’t need to live by it today. That is a wrongful representation.
“A man dressed in a woman’s saree is not the correct representation of a trans girl. They are as stunning, beautiful and ‘normal’ as any other cis girl,” Vaani told PTI.
The romantic drama flips the boy-meet-girl trope, when Maanvi’s lover, played by actor Ayushmann Khurrana, comes to the realisation that she is a trans woman.
The journey — from shock, disgust to embracing and educating — is what Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui captures.
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