Director Abhishek Kapoor on dealing with a sensitive subject matter in ‘Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui', why Fitoor is close to him, and more

When it comes to delivering hits, director, producer, and writer Abhishek Kapoor has quite the track record. His films, including Rock On!, Kai Po Che, and Kedarnath, connected with the audience and set the cash registers ringing. 

His latest film, Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui is scheduled to release in theatres on December 10, starring Vaani Kapoor and Ayushmann Khurrana. 

The film is special in many ways. It was shot amid the COVID-19 pandemic, has a trans element (Vaani plays the role of a trans woman), and is also allegedly a zero-waste movie. 

In this free-wheeling chat with YourStory Weekender, Abhishek talks about why his latest film is close to his heart, the rise of OTT platforms, and how his failures are closer to his heart than successes.

Edited excerpts from the interview:

YS Weekender (YSW): Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui (CKA) releases today. Tell us more about the project. How did you develop Vaani's role as a trans woman?

Abhishek Kapoor (AK): It is a light-hearted movie that deals with a very important subject matter. This project has been in the pipeline since 2017. I have a very good team of writers, all well aware of this subject.

The idea of CKA came from Simran Sahni; she’s not a mainstream writer but the idea fascinated me because understanding the mind space of a trans person is not easy. It is not something that everybody is able to comprehend. 

As a cisgender, we take it for granted that our minds and bodies are in sync, but there are people out there for whom it is not a given.

This is the narrative around which we have made the movie. We don’t want to show Manvi’s character as a victim. Vaani plays a very graceful and empowered woman. She has a past and we wanted to bring it up. We got into the headspace of her character to understand it. She is someone who got the surgery done five years ago. 

But the masses also have a way of seeing things. We wanted to reach out to the audience in a way they understand because when you understand, you accept and then normalise. 

This is not a film that has been done before. But hopefully, this will pave the way for more conversations, for more transgender writers and actors to work in the industry.

YSW: What was the experience of shooting amid a global pandemic like?

AK: The pandemic tried and tested us as human beings. Nobody had expected to be locked up for one-and-a-half years. But at the same time, I discovered Zoom. And while I was writing this film, I was working with my music composers, Sachin and Jigar. We zeroed in upon six to eight tunes. 

As a filmmaker, you are living in two worlds. One is the world in which we all live in and the second is where you are writing these characters, who have real-life dilemmas even if they are not physically manifested. When you are writing them, it is a void, but when they are completed there is a mould…and you feel a sense of responsibility to showcase them to the world. 

So whether there is COVID-19 or not, we continue to work to the best of our ability. 

CKA is a movie that we are also producing (under Guy in the Sky production house). So we took all the necessary measures and were very cautious. We quarantined for 14 days before starting the shoot, and created a bubble. Everyone on the set was wearing PPE kits. The movie that we were making was not a serious one but the atmosphere on the sets was so tense (because of the circumstances). 

However, the bubble kept us secure and we were able to unleash our potential completely while making the movie. CKA is also a zero-waste film. We had a waste management team that helped collect all waste generated and recycle it. This is something not common on film sets. 

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YSW: From music to spirituality and now romance (with a twist), you have made films of different genres and yet there is so much freshness in them. How are you able to achieve this?

AK: I immerse myself completely in a film when I am making it. I give it everything I have. There is not even an iota of energy or a thought that I let slip by. It is like watering a plant. Moreover, when I make a film, I let the right people come in or sometimes, the right people are themselves attracted. 

For me, coming from my earlier film to the next means that I shut the door on the previous one, unlearn a lot of things, and start again from zero. A new film is a new world, a new journey- something I have never done before. 

In my subconscious, I may have some knowledge of the craft but when I make a new film, I make it with absolute purity. 

YSW: OTT has grown massively in the last 18-20 months. Theatres have now reopened but occupancy is not like the pre-pandemic era. Do you think OTT will redefine movie consumption? 

AK: I don’t think it is going to be an OTT versus theatre battle. They are going to work in tandem. OTT, during the lockdown, really made a mark. It opened up so many avenues by offering very different kinds of content. 

OTT is great; it’s liberating for a person to not think in just one format (a movie) but in different ones like web series. I also see a lot more 3D films and stuff coming on OTTs.

Technology is advancing at a very fast pace and it is going to keep us on our toes, but I think people will still go to theatres. 

YWS: Will we see you getting into the OTT space anytime soon?

AK: Yes. I would love to. I enjoy the format but I need to have something to say. I don’t want to do something for the heck of it just because everyone is doing it. 

We have a production house. As a director, there is only a certain amount of output that I am able to produce but as a producer, I can do much more. So I am hoping to produce some great stuff for OTT platforms, introducing great talent. We are ready to spread our wings.

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YSW: OTT has also paved the way for new and different talent in the film industry. Actors who may not fit into the typical construct of a ‘Bollywood hero’ have found immense success. Your thoughts?

AK: The way content is consumed is bringing about this change. When you talk about OTTs, the west that has reached out to us. They really know how to crack their business models. And we are influenced because there is so much variety. 

We, as Indians, want to indulge in the OTT format of storytelling, ideas etc. This is how OTT is bridging the gap. Content is the king on OTT and characters telling stories are paramount. And if you want to be a part of this journey, you have to be a great actor. 

There will always be movies that celebrate the star power of certain actors who have a fan following but the future is moving towards the quality of narrative. Viewers today are smart and much more educated; you need that kind of content to entertain them. 

YSW: Out of all the movies you have made, which is your favourite?

AK: I have not made too many movies. In fact, there have been gaps between my movies as a film director. So every time I make a movie, the current one is my favourite. With the other movies, they are already out and people have done with them whatever they wanted to. 

So, right now, Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui is my favourite film, also because it deals with a very sensitive matter. My intent has been to contribute and become an ally of the transgender community. I hope it drives home and achieves all that we intended to.

YSW: How do you deal with films that don’t do well at the box office?

AK: I have had a couple of successes but my failures have taught me so much. The ones that have done well - they feel good but they don’t teach you anything. Fitoor, for example, didn’t do well but it is very close to me because I learnt so much from it and it enriched me. 

YSW: What is next on your plate?

AK: Going forward, I don’t want to take up so much time between my films, so I am trying to bring in more people to join me on this journey as directors and co-filmmakers because there are so many stories to tell. 

I also have a couple of scripts, but first I want to push this movie out. After that, I will take a week or 10 days to decide my next move.