Actor Ayushmann Khurrana last week reasoned that his movie ‘Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui’, an LGBTQ+ centric film, failed at the box office because India is a homophobic society.
Khurana’s justification for the failure of his movie ‘Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui’ came during an interview with Hindustan Times, wherein he explained the reasons for the failures of his three recent movies—Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui, Anek and Doctor G—all of which tanked at the box office.
Speaking about the non-performance of his movie in movie theatres, Khurrana said, “I started with movies on taboo subjects. I suppose the type of subjects—it has to be a community viewing, and it has to have a wider film—the kids have also been watching. In fact, my last three films, including an LGBTQ film (Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui), really don’t do well commercially because, unfortunately, our country is homophobic. Then there was Anek, a docudrama that was a very niche in terms of the tone of the film. Doctor G was an A-rated film, and given the kind of certification it got, the film did decently well in theatres. For a while, that was my learning for making a film.”
Starring Ayushmann Khurrana and Vaani Kapoor in lead roles and directed by Abhishek Kapoor, Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui is a love story of a trans woman and the challenges she faces in a broadly conservative society. The movie racked up Rs 3.75 crores on its opening day, a decent opening in pandemic-affected times, and was later affected by the rising number of COVID-19 cases. The movie ended up grossing Rs 33.64 crores, as per reports. Khurrana’s other films, Anek and Doctor G faltered at the box office, earning Rs 9.7 crores and Rs 31.49 crores gross at the domestic ticket window.
Despite three failures in a row, the actor said he is predisposed to taking risks and doing movies that do not widely resonate with audiences. “If I stop taking risks, I will be conventional. I have always been unconventional, and I make those choices. I will be taking them in the future as well, regardless of success or failure,” said The Vicky Donor actor, adding, “I just keep pushing the boundaries, and that’s the beauty of the budgeting of the films, too. My films are mostly low- to mid-budget, so no one loses money and I can afford to take risks.”
Ayushmann Khurrana will be next seen in Anirudh Iyer’s film An Action Hero, which is slated to release on December 2. The actor is also shooting for the sequel of Dream Girl with Ananya Panday as the lead actress.
