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INTERVIEW: Abhishek Kapoor on Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui, & 15 years in B'wood: ‘Wish I had directed more films’
Abhishek Kapoor get's in a candid conversation with Pinkvilla to discuss Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui, Trans community and a lot more. Read details
After helming films like Rock On, Kai Po Che, Fitoor and Kedarnath among others, Abhishek Kapoor’s sixth feature film as a director was Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui, which coincided with his 15th year in the industry in the capacity of a director. He exclaims, “I wish, I had directed more films.” Abhishek adds, “But it is what is. I have made 6 films and they are all different from each other because I have taken my time through them. I feel quite happy and satisfied that I got a chance to tell stories the way I wanted to.”
Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui chronicled the tale of a trans-woman. Explaining the inception of this film, Abhishek says, “A lady walked into the office with this idea in 2017. It had a trans girl at the centre of it, however, she intended to write it in a very different way. I asked her to park the idea with me as I was very fascinated by the idea. We did a lot of research then and I am just thankful to have got the opportunity of making this film.”
The director insists that they purposely kept the core idea of the film under wraps. “We made a two-hour film and a two minute trailer won’t do justice to the subject. It wouldn’t even do justice to what we wanted to do for the community. We wanted the people to discover it in theatres and understand the correct perspective,” he shares, adding further, “Transgender community has never been understood. We have not exactly even been empathetic towards their situation.”
Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui is among the rare social films which doesn’t adopt the preachy route. Was it a conscious decision to keep it simple? “These are not conscious decision, but emerge out of the individual who I am. This is my natural flow of telling the story,” Abhishek answers. While Gattu kept things slow in the first 15 years of his journey, he is looking to bankroll more stories going forward. “I am planning to produce a lot of films. I have few scripts in the development, lot of good stories to tell.”
The director reveals that they had the option of selling the film for a direct to digital premiere, however, held back for a theatrical release. “At the end of day, the story has to reach the consumer. It was made for the big screen with all the music, song, and dance. We had the option to go to OTT, but we took a chance. This is the fastest film I had shot, not exactly a big film – so we could afford to come on the big screen. It will be out on OTT within a month,” he avers and signs off saying that OTT isn’t exactly a threat to cinema. “It’s just another avenue that has opened up. It has given people access to newer stories and content,” Abhishek concludes.
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