Aashiqui

Aashiqui -- Romance

MAIN CAST:

Rahul Roy -- Rahul

Anu Aggarwal -- Anu

Tom Alter -- Arnie Campbell

BRIEF PLOT OVERVIEW:

In an interesting twist on the usual "meet cute" scenario, Anu and Rahul meet at a police station after the latter causes a ruckus at his father's wedding and the former tries to run away. Arnie Campbell, the manager of the orphanage where Anu lives, punishes his wards cruelly and treats Anu like a personal Cinderella. When Campbell catches Anu and Rahul meeting one night, he threatens to tear them apart forever.

FILM -- 3/5

Aashiqui is like a lot of other Bollywood romances: it relies on charm more than creativity, and for the most part, it works. There's a fine line between wooing and stalking, however, and I don't think the screen writers quite caught the distinction ("Now no one can stop me from loving you...not even you!"). Certain parts of the film cross over in to the realm of the ridiculous, and not in a good way. For example, when Rahul confronts his father as he remarries...that scene just didn't work. With some tweaking and prodding, however, it could have been an excellent moment. And the fight scene? I mean, I get that this is masala, but it just doesn't work in a film that's 95% romance! Aashiqui features some really great dialogue ("Don't hunt for sparks in a pile of ashes,") that is unfortunately ruined by poor lighting. I'm sorry, but washing the characters in neon blue light does NOT make a scene more dramatic! The dubbing in this movie is godawful as well, especially when the actors replicate heavy breathing even though their character's mouth is shut and their chest is hardly moving. And the costumes? Awful, even by 80s standards. On the plus side, there are a lot of moments in Aashiqui that are inadvertently Very Very Gay, so I quite enjoyed them. On a sidenote, the film is beautifully packaged with the popular image of Anu and Rahul kissing beneath a jacket on the cover and on the disc itself.

CHARACTERS -- 3.5/5

Rahul Roy plays a character named Rahul (ha ha, funny funny) and is a lot like a bad Shahrukh Khan: all of the melodrama with next to none of the charm, and he snarls all throughout his lip syncing. He has his shining moments, however, namely when he's with Reema Lagoo, who plays his mother with an understated fire I really enjoyed. Anu Aggarwal plays Anu (noticing a trend here?) very well; she speaks with her eyes a la Tabu, but with a less intensity. At one point, Anu walks down a catwalk, resplendent in white, and she was so damn beautiful my breath caught in my throat! Rahul and Anu have really great on-screen chemistry. The characters themselves are predictably bland: good Hindu boy meets good Hindu girl, they have a chaste love affair, they would die for each other after sharing little more than a glance, etcetera etcetera...I had trouble believing it a few times, because despite the strong chemistry, Rahul Roy and Anu Aggarwal don't have quite the same sincerity that Kajol and Shahrukh Khan had in Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge. I was also a little annoyed with Tom Alter, not so much because of his acting, but because his character was the stereotypical "evil ferangi." It's like any villain in a pre-new millenium movie HAS to fit a melodramatic archetype, or he just won't fit in. Ugh! The supporting cast is okay, and actors like Mushtaq Khan add some humor to the film.

SOUNDTRACK -- 4/5

Aashiqui is best known for its music, and there's a good reason for that. It has a solid and super-catchy soundtrack, albeit a very 80s one, so if you're not in to that kind of music, you might want to give this album a pass. "Dil Ka Aalam" is unnecessary to the plotline, but it's so much fun that I don't really care. "Dheere Dheere Se" is addictive from the start, but "Mera Dil Tere Liye" and "Tu Meri Zindagi Hai" are relatively forgettable. "Main Duniya Bhula Doonga" and "Jaan-e-jigar" are pretty and really grow on you. My favorite song from the film is probably "Nazar Ke Samme," which is upbeat, funky, and just plain fun! Aashiqui isn't on my top 10 list--not by a long shot--but it's definitely on my top 50.

OVERALL -- 3/5

You have to take Aashiqui for what it is to fully enjoy it, and what it is is a timepass flick with a popular soundtrack and a meandering, aimless storyline. Otherwise, you'll wait around for an incredible performance or a superbly-written scene and be vastly disappointed. Aashiqui is enjoyable the first time around and has some replay value, and it's certainly worth the $3 I paid for my copy.

TOTAL SCORE -- 13.5/20 (really good)