WhEN LovE Is TRAppED IN ThE quAgMIRE ThAT Is shoWbIz

AASHIQ u I 2

STArring: Aditya Roy Kapoor, Shradha Kapoor

Direc TeD by: Mohit Suri

HHH

It’s no coincidence that this surprisingly moving film is inspired by Frank Pierson’s 1976 drama

A Star Is Born. And I deliberately mention the funky psychedelic 1976 version and not the older (1954) version of the same story.

In spirit and in the way the two principal actors perform their parts of two soulmates and singers torn asunder by their allegiance to the same competitive spirit of showmanship, Aashiqui 2 is reminiscent of the Kris Kristofferson-Barbara Streisand film where he discovers a co-singer who steals his heart and also his career.

Hrishikesh Mukherjee made his melodious Abhimaan on the same theme. It was easy for Hrishida to portray Jaya Bhaduri as a better artiste than Amitabh Bachchan quite simply because she sang in Lata Mangeshkar’s voice.

In Aashiqui 2 the two protagonists are pretty much left to their own devices to create that unbearable frisson between two people whose love is trapped in the whirligig of showbiz. For their love to be liberated from the rituals of competitiveness, one of the lovers must make a huge sacrifice before the end.

For love to live, the lover must die. It’s a curious trade-off and one carried off in this film with an exuberance of emotions.

The premise for the plot presumes love to be selfless, all-giving and unconditional. Just to see Shradha Kapoor’s eyes melt in mutating emotions of unflinching devotion to her alcoholic lover makes us believe true love still exists. This petite beauty with eyes that never stay silent gives to her part so much heart, you want to just embrace her and protect her from her self-destructive mentorturned-tormentor.

Aditya Roy Kapoor as a rockstar who is rapidly slipping from the charts, gives all of himself to the character. And then some more. In Aditya’s persona, Rahul becomes a metaphor for all the success in showbiz that goes awry.

Like all the heroes of Mahesh Bhatt’s cinema, Aditya has to portray a man who frequently creates a scene and embarrasses the person he loves the most. This young actor is not afraid to look compromised on screen. A fearless actor, Aditya falters in the higher notes. But then, the singing here is not quite Lata Mamgeshkar, Mohammad Rafi and Kishore Kumar in Abhimaan. Having said that, it must be admitted that the music by Jeet Ganguly, Mithoon and Ankit Tiwari stands by the characters and never lets them down. The finely written poetry also helps to furnish the lovers’ journey with a feverish and fecund pitch.

Aashiqui 2 is a film with its heart in the right place. Writer Shagufta Rafiqui and director Mohit Suri ferret out those feel-good places in the script where the protagonists plonk their emotions with a confidence and conviction that reaches out to the audience.

Man, woman, music, ambitions, dreams and despair, director Mohit Suri traverses the angst-soaked territory with a sincere and deep understanding of the dynamics that destroy love and trust between couples in the glamorous and competitive profession. Aditya Roy Kapoor is impressively implosive while Shradha Kapoor plays off against him with a steely vulnerability that echoes Jaya Bhaduri in Abhimaan

Watching this smoothly-oiled drama of disintegrating love I couldn’t help remember Rahul Roy and Anu Aggarwal’s wooden performance in Aashiqui

Our cinema has a come a long way, and not always in the right direction. Aashiqui 2 makes us grateful for the movement of the love story away from the standard Romeo & Juliet format into the dark destructive domain of A Star Is Born

Sometimes love is just not enough. Su BHASH k J HA