I got to listen to the audio of Aashiqui 2 trailer featuring “ Tum hi ho” few days back and I just couldn’t resist myself from playing it in loop, although it was not the original full song (And should I mention I got it from a special person? J).
theatrical opening it deserved.Composers: Mithoon, Jeet Ganguly, Ankit Tiwariīest Tracks : Tum hi ho, Sunn raha hai na, Meri Aashiqui, Aashiqui theme, Chahu mai ya na, Aasan nahi yahaan I’m just sorry it didn’t get the wide U.S. This is a smart film that knows just what it wants to be and delivers. The few hiccups in Aashiqui 2 don’t derail the plot, and the focus stays on the characters, where it belongs. The same guy shows up again later as a now-successful singer, still holding a grudge against Rahul. (Who opens a show with a power ballad?)ĭuring that same scene, it’s not clear why the guy in the audience who starts the fight has such a problem with Rahul, whom he claims ruined his life. Virtually every song is a power ballad, including the one Rahul opens his concert with at the start of the film. While the songs are good, the soundtrack lacks variety.
Since the movie is about a pair of singers, the soundtrack plays a prominent role in Aashiqui 2. As Aarohi contemplates abandoning her career to help Rahul dry out, Sehgal asks her, “If your love was his cure, then why hasn’t it worked yet?” The supporting cast is solid, especially Mahesh Thakur as the fatherly record producer Sehgal.
Her reaction to autograph and interview requests is, “I’ll do it later.” I doubt that a performer as standoffish as Aarohi could achieve the kind of popularity she supposedly does. Whenever she’s in front of an audience, Aarohi looks like she’d rather be anywhere else. Shraddha Kapoor is at her best during the film’s many dramatic scenes, but she struggles during scenes of Aarohi’s success. Even as Aarohi’s success validates his instincts and pleases him emotionally, it reminds him that he used to be the one in the spotlight. He humanizes Rahul, giving insight into the troubled artist’s ever-changing moods. I’m glad I didn’t, because he has turned into a fine actor. He gets that time, and the audience is able to appreciate the overpowering hold that alcohol has on him.Īfter his grating performances in Action Replayy and Guzaarish, I was ready to write off Aditya Roy Kapoor as hopeless. A character as complicated and potentially loathsome as Rahul - a rich guy willing to throw away a life others would kill for - needs time to grow on the audience. The straightforward plot allows a lot of time for character growth. However, Rahul’s alcoholism prevents them from enjoying her success. She makes it big, and the couple falls in love. Rahul’s focus on Aarohi’s career at the expense of his own drives a wedge between him and Vivek, but Rahul’s hunch about Aarohi is right. Convinced that he can turn the singer, Aarohi (Shraddha Kapoor), into a star, he gets her to return to Mumbai with him. He’s blown away when he hears one of his songs being sung by the young woman who fronts the hotel’s resident cover band. Rahul’s best friend and manager, Vivek (Shaad Randhawa), isn’t about to let Rahul walk out on the gigs he’s secured for his temperamental diva buddy, no matter how lowbrow they are compared to the stadiums Rahul once played.Īfter bailing on a gig after a fight with an audience member, drunk Rahul winds up in a hotel bar. Unfortunately for stars like Rahul, they are industries themselves as much as they are artists. Having squandered most of his fame by being an unreliable, quarrelsome drunk, Rahul is ready to quit the music biz. I’m almost willing to forgive them in the case of Aashiqui 2: a focused, well-told story that deserves to be seen, even if it has nothing to do with the 1990 hit Aashiqui.Īashiqui 2 jumps right into the downward spiral of rockstar Rahul (Aditya Roy Kapoor). Sibling producers Mukesh and Mahesh Bhaat are the main perpetrators of Bollywood’s tendency to call any new film a sequel in order to trade on the reputation of a previously successful film.