Aashayein

Well, the last two flicks of Nagesh were a gross disappointment. But, not this time. He has come back to his forte, that of, sensitive and touching cinema. John has given his best till date and the seventeen year old Anitha was outstanding.

The story revolves the last few days of a lung cancer patient. The way he deals with his pain, his isolation and paradox of life. In this process he discovers that he needs a purpose in life which is shown by a child who resembles a monk. Slowly he discovers, instead of gloating and wasting life, he devotes himself for the happiness of others. There are frequent references to Karma and the hidden messages are nicely conveyed through this film. He uses his surplus of funds for the fulfillment of desires of his friends and thus kind of liberating them. The parallel story of Indiana Jones is well woven and strikes a parallel to the needs of the protagonist.The films ends on a positive note and the protagonist still seeking a new adventure.

The music is outstanding with the same team as that of Dor. It Blends very well with the situations and embellishes the movies further.

All in All ! Nagesh is Back ! Looking for further great movies from him.

I watched this movie because I like John Abraham and kind of liked some of it's songs, and I am literally thrilled after watching this movie. I agree that many things didn't go well in this movie like writing part, cinematography part and in some of the scenes acting was clumsy too but the overall impact of the movie was very intense. I don't know that is it a rumor but some of the sources claimed that John and Nagesh Kuknoor(director) didn't charge at all for this movie as the subject was beyond economics. Padma(Anaitha Nair) was the cream of the movie and she enlightened the screen every time she appeared, I hope she will get more project like this. Sonal Sehgal got the more publicity then Anaitha Nair although her appearance and impact was low, and I personally enjoyed the on-screen chemistry between John and Anaith. I recommend this movie as a must watch movie for everyone as it has a great message and elements concerning everyone

Terminal illness is a depressing subject. Venturing into that territory is generally abstained. On that note, Hrishida's "Anand" and Mani Rathnam's "Geetanjali" feature in my top-of-mind-recall. Though both depressing but great writing pushed it high on entertainment quotient. Of course fantastic performances, sub-plots, auxiliary characters and the rich music add flesh to the bones.

"Aashayein" is is Mr. Kukunoor's ode to both classics (and very subtly he fits in the "Anand" bit into the story).

☼ John Abraham:: Perhaps his best performance till date. This time around you will certainly see an actor behind the good looks and the dimpled cheeks. About the character, I wasn't completely convinced with the compulsive gambler bit. He could have simply been rich carefree and cool character.

☼ Anaitha Nair:: Every terminal illness story warrants a character depicting "live life kingsize". This time around it is Anaitha Nair. She pours her heart out to breathe life into the character of Padma (paradoxical statement indeed!). The writing deserves a special mention.

☼ Sonal Sehgal:: Doesn't get enough scope as Anaitha Nair steals the thunder practically right under everyone's noses. Nearly gets relegated to "miss-goody-two-shoes" had her character was not resurrected in the penultimate moments.

☼ Girish Karnad:: Under-utilised.

☼ Farida Jalal:: Under-utilised again. And perhaps a younger actress should have been chosen for the role in question.

☼ Prateekha Lonkar:: Not enough meat in the role.

☼ Vikram Inamdar:: Nagya's lucky mascot from "Hyderabad Blues" gets a compassionate but short role.

☼ Elahe:: Another lucky mascot in a blink-and-miss role.

I particularly found that the sub-plots did not get enough screen time to be fleshed out (reference to Girish Karnad & Farida Jalal).

Music was not promoted adequately. Shreyas Talpade's special appearance was not warranted, in fact John Abraham should have done it for greater impact.

Though the response was a mixed bag, I particularly found the "Indiana Jones" layer complimenting neatly to the character of John Abraham.

"Aashayein" has suffered a great deal owing to the rift between the makers. Lack of promotions marred the recognition it rightfully deserves. And last but not the least, Nagesh is a well-rounded entertainer and no questions to that. Having said that, it is my opinion that he should let go the writing department and channel his creative abilities to deliver goods of his standards on a more frequent basis.

Watched Aashayein (2010) movie today .. Directed by Nagesh Kukunoor . Worth a watch .. though boring few times ... The movie still sends a strong message of living life with a meaning . And the music also is awesome . All the supporting actors play their parts very well . So credit also goes to them for a good performance .

Acting by John Abraham is really good . Loved the music . Background score is decent . But Anaitha Nair , who portrays Padma steals the show . A really good performance by her . All in all a decent family entertainer . But the magic that Nagesh created through Iqbal is certainly missing . So 9/10 for the movie ....

Movie seems to be a low budget movie.But i like the fact that there are no villains in this movies, at least physically. This movies is a great example to show how much fragile life is. Here 'Indy' get struck by fortune and disaster at the same time.

Whole movie is an emotional roller coaster while the main character struggles through his own illness and also struggle to cope with the deaths of his fellow mates. Movie has a good ending which make the audience think about life in a different prospective.

For me character 'Padma' was the main attraction where she enlighten the sad mood in the movie with her stubborn and obnoxious behavior.

I think everyone should watch this movies to understand life on prospective of people who already try to live while they are obviously dying. thank you!