Aashiqui 2

Aashiqui 2

poster featuring a couple hugging each other

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Mohit Suri
Produced by Mahesh Bhatt
Gulshan Kumar
(Presenters)
Mukesh Bhatt
Bhushan Kumar
Krishan Kumar
Written by Shagufta Rafique
Starring Aditya Roy Kapur
Shraddha Kapoor
Music by Original songs:
Mithoon
Ankit Tiwari
Jeet Gannguli
Background Score:
Raju Singh
Cinematography Vishnu Rao
Edited by Deven Murudeshwar
Production
company
Distributed by T-Series Films
AA Films (India)
Release dates
  • 26 April 2013 (2013-04-26)
Running time
 140 minutes
Country India
Language Hindi
Budget ₹90 million[1]
Box office ₹1.09 billion[2]

Aashiqui 2 (English: Lover 2) is a 2013 Indian musical romantic drama film directed by Mohit Suri. Starring Aditya Roy Kapur and Shraddha Kapoor in the lead roles, it was produced by Bhushan Kumar and Mukesh Bhatt under the T-Series and Vishesh Films banners. Set in the early 2010s, Aashiqui 2 is a love story centering on the turbulent relationship between musicians Rahul and Arohi, a relationship which is affected by Rahul's issues with alcohol abuse and temperament.

The film is a spiritual successor to the 1990 musical film Aashiqui, and initially caused concern in the Indian media that the film could live up to the high standards and success of the original. Production of Aashiqui 2 began in 2011, with the principal photography taking place in Cape Town, Goa and Mumbai on a budget of ₹90 million (US$1.3 million).

The film which premiered on 26 April 2013 received a positive to mixed critical reception and became a major commercial success at the box-office despite featuring newcomers, earning ₹1.09 billion (US$16 million) worldwide within the first four weeks. It was declared as a blockbuster by Box Office India after its three-week box office run, and is the highest-grossing film ever produced by Vishesh Films. The soundtrack to the film became very popular after its release; the songs "Tum Hi Ho" and "Sunn Raha Hai" topped the charts across various platforms in India. It was later remade in Telugu as Nee Jathaga Nenundali[3]

Plot

The film opens by showing a large crowd waiting for Rahul Jaykar (Aditya Roy Kapoor) – a successful singer and musician whose career is waning because of his alcohol addiction – to perform at a stage show in Goa. After nearly completing a song, he is unexpectedly interrupted by Aryan (Salil Acharya), who was losing his career due to Rahul's, during his performance. Rahul fights him, stops his performance, and drives to a local bar. He meets Aarohi Keshav Shirke (Shraddha Kapoor), a bar singer who idolises Rahul. After noticing Aarohi looking at a photograph of Lata Mangeshkar in the bar, he assumes that she wants to become a singer. Impressed by her simplicity and voice, Rahul promises to transform her into a singing sensation, and asks her to never perform again in bars. Due to his assurance, Aarohi leaves her job and returns to Mumbai with Rahul, who convinces record producer Saigal (Mahesh Thakur) to meet her. When Aarohi calls Rahul, he is attacked and injured by some thugs, and is unable to receive her call. His friend and manager Vivek (Shaad Randhawa) says that news of Rahul's accident should not be leaked to the media, and instead publicises a false story that Rahul has left the country to participate in stage shows. When Aarohi attempts to contact Rahul again, Vivek ignores the calls. After two months of futilely attempting to contact Rahul, a broken Aarohi is forced to sing in bars again because of her family problems.

Meanwhile, Rahul recovers from his injuries and Rahul again starts the search for Aarohi. He learns that Aarohi is working in a bar again and that Vivek had ignored her calls without informing him. Rahul apologises to Aarohi and fires Vivek, and they meet with Saigal for the recording agreement. Rahul begins to train Aarohi, who signs a music contract to sing in films and becomes a successful playback singer. Her family and Rahul are happy, but when people begin to gossip that Rahul is using her as a servant, he relapses into alcohol addiction. Aarohi, who loves Rahul more than her career, comforts him and they spend the night together. Despite Aarohi's mother's disapproval, Aarohi moves in with Rahul and things go well until Rahul's addiction worsens, causing him to become aggressive and violent.

To help Rahul fight his alcoholism, Aarohi attempts to rehabilitate Rahul, sacrificing her singing career in doing so. After Saigal reminds them about their dream of Aarohi becoming a successful singer, Rahul orders her to focus on her work. During Aarohi's stage show, Rahul meets a journalist backstage, who accuses him of using Aarohi for pleasure and money. Furious, Rahul beats up the journalist and starts drinking. He ends up in jail, and Aarohi comes to bail him out. Rahul overhears Aarohi telling Saigal that she is going to leave her career for him and is ready to give up her celebrity status because Rahul is more important to her. Rahul understands that he has become a burden in her life, and that leaving her is his only option to save her. The next day, he bids her farewell by assuring her that he will change his lifestyle and commits suicide by jumping from a bridge.

Distraught by Rahul's death, Aarohi decides to leave her career but Vivek persuades her to stay. He reminds her that Rahul wanted her to become a successful singer and killed himself as he did not want to be a burden on her and remain an obstacle in the path of her success. Aarohi agrees, and returns to singing. Later, she signs her name as "Aarohi Rahul Jaykar" in a fan's handbook as a tribute to Rahul and her unsung desire to marry him. As rain starts falling, she watches the couple who took her autograph sharing a romantic moment under a jacket as she and Rahul had done when he was alive.

Cast

Production

Development

In September 2011, the Indian media reported that Mahesh Bhatt and Bhushan Kumar were keen to remake the 1990 musical blockbuster Aashiqui.[4] Kumar approached Bhatt for a possible sequel, although it was Shagufta Rafique's melodramatic romantic script which persuaded him that the film had potential as a sequel and decided to proceed with the project.[5] Given Aashiqui 's status in Hindi cinematic history as one of the finest Indian musicals of all time, many expressed concerns towards the decision to remake the film, dubious that the producers could come up with a soundtrack on par with the quality of the 1990 film.[6] Bhatt stated that they completely resisted the temptation to use the soundtrack of the earlier film, and promised that Aashiqui 2 would revive the era of melodious film music, as Aashiqui had done 22 years ago.[7]

It was reported that Madhur Bhandarkar had been approached to direct the film, but later turned down the offer because of other working commitments.[8] It was confirmed in November 2011 that Vishal Mahadkar, director of Blood Money, was to direct the picture,[9] but the following month it was announced that Mohit Suri had replaced Mahadkar as director at the last minute. Bhatt confirmed the development, saying "Earlier we had finalised Vishal for the project. But now we have scrapped that idea and found a fresh one. We got Mohit to direct the film".[10] Several media outlets falsely reported that the film is a remake of the Vishesh films 1990 love triangle Awaargi. However, Mahesh Bhatt denied the rumours and said "Aashiqui 2 is not a remake of any of our films. It's an original script. A very contemporary love story dealing with mature emotions."[6]

Casting

The film's producers launched a nationwide talent hunt to discover new faces for the film, initially refusing to employ established actors. However, the actors who came to audition were not promising enough for the roles, and the idea was scrapped.[11] Mahesh Bhatt said, "It was a disastrous talent hunt. We discovered that people lacked the courage to audition. Those who are amateurs went for audition ...and people with certain talent were like why should we risk public rejection."[12] When Suri saw some pictures of Aditya Roy Kapur and met him, he found Kapur perfect for the role and cast him to play the male lead.[11] In June 2012, Shraddha Kapoor was signed to play the female lead.[7] Bhatt said, "Yes, Shraddha Kapoor is playing the lead with the two boys Aditya Roy Kapur and Shaad Randhawa. We found her to be very talented. All three actors have extremely challenging dramatic roles."[7] When asked about replacing new actors with known ones, Suri said "People said I couldn't make a film with new actors and expect an audience to come in. But I was pretty sure I wanted Aditya and Shraddha to play my protagonists. My writer Shagufta Rafique and I saw them as the protagonists. See, Aditya and Shraddha may have had unsuccessful films before. But that never took away from their talent."[11]

Filming

Principal photography for the film began in October 2012 with film's lead cast.[13] The film was shot in Goa, Mumbai and Cape Town.[14] During the filming in South Africa, Shraddha Kapoor needed medical attention after kneeling on broken glass fragments during the scene in which she had to kneel on the floor and talk to her co-star Aditya Roy Kapoor.[15] Aditya Roy Kapoor also received burns to his hand during the filming of the scene in which they light some Chinese lanterns in Cape Town.[16]

Soundtrack

Marketing and release

The first teaser was released on 22 March 2013, and was well received by critics and audiences.[17] Unlike other films whose theatrical trailers are released first, the makers of the film chose to release the songs before the trailer.[18] The first song, "Tum Hi Ho", was released on 23 March 2013 to unanimous critical reception from critics and became very popular among the audiences. The song became an instant hit with approximately 2 million views on YouTube within 10 days of release, which helped in the marketing of the film.[19] Various versions of the song were uploaded by amateur singers, guitarists and DJs on social networking sites.[20] It has been trending on Twitter and YouTube since its launch.[21]

The film's preview poster showing Aditya and Shraddha under a jacket in a rain-drenched street with the streetlight casting a glow was released along with music on 8 April 2013.[22][23] At the music release event, Aditya and Shraddha recreated the scene from Aashiqui from under a jacket (much like the poster) on the stage.[22] The theatrical trailer was released in mid-April 2013, two weeks before the film's release, and was well received by critics and audiences.[18][24]

Unlike most Bollywood films which indulge in months of promotion before the release, Aashiqui 2 had less than three weeks for promotion before its release.[21] A music concert where singers (who sang songs in the soundtrack album) performed to their respective songs was organised to promote the film.[25] The makers of the film launched the Aashiqui 2 jackets, as seen in the film's poster. Statues resembling the signature image of the couple hiding under the jacket were placed inside various theatres.[26] Due to the romantic theme of the film, it was originally planned for a Valentine's day release on 14 February 2013, but this was postponed because of production delays.[27][28] The film's new release date was 10 May 2013,[29] but it was released a fortnight early on 26 April 2013 in over 2800 screens across India.[30][31] The film was not released in key markets such as UK, US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.[32]

Reception

The film received mixed to positive reviews from critics, who praised the performances, chemistry between the lead pair, and the music. Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama rated the film 4 out of 5 stars, stating that it "brings romance back on the Hindi screen – intense, pure, selfless and heart wrenching. A stirring account with brilliant moments, bravura performances, strong emotional quotient and addictive music, this one's an absolute must watch for the romantics." He praised the lead cast's performances, writing that " ...Aditya Roy Kapur's depiction of the intense character is outstanding... [which] clearly demonstrates his potency as an artist of caliber and competence. Shraddha also gets to sink her teeth into this challenging character and the attractive youngster is simply amazing, more so towards the demanding moments in the second hour. Furthermore, the chemistry between Aditya and Shraddha is incredible."[33] Indiatimes gave the film a rating of 3.5 out of 5 and said, "Suri pitches the story with old-world romance, high-drama and well-crafted heart-breaking moments."[34] Indo-Asian News Service rated the film 3.5 out of 5 and wrote, "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", and that, "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."[35]

The film also received some mixed reactions from critics. Writing for Hindustan Times, Anupama Chopra rated the film 2.5 out of 5 and believed that the film didn't fulfill its potential, but said, "It's an interesting scenario and Suri and his actors set it up well. Aditya gives Rahul's angst a certain charm. He is earnest and broken. And the real triumph here is Shraddha, whose porcelain face has a haunting vulnerability. She's very good as the woman in the throes of a grand passion who believes that love will show the way."[36] Resham Sengar rated the film 2.5 and questioned the logic behind the script and believed that several of the scenes either dragged on excessively or were too abrupt, which affected the quality of the entire film.[37] India Today also gave the film a rating of 2.5 stars out of four, and argued that the film was only a success because of its soundtrack, saying that the film "merely banks on the power of saleable music and the novelty of a fresh cast to enable brothers Bhatt, Mahesh and Mukesh, [to] make maximum moolah within minimum budget as they have done all along."[38]

Box office

On its opening day, Aashiqui 2 collected about ₹52.5 million (US$780,000)[39] and collected ₹179.2 million (US$2.7 million) during its first weekend.[40] The film collected ₹346.5 million (US$5.1 million) in its first week.[41] In the second week, despite new releases, it collected ₹173.5 million (US$2.6 million), which took its two-week box-office collections to ₹470 million (US$7.0 million).[42] It remained steady on weekdays and collected ₹165 million (US$2.5 million) in its third week and total collections rose to ₹635 million (US$9.4 million).[41] The film had the highest third week collections of 2013 to that date.[43] The film's revenues remained consistent in its fourth weekend and took its total to ₹710 million (US$11 million).[44] Box Office India declared Aashiqui 2 a super hit after its three-week box office run. As of 20 May, it was the second-highest grossing Hindi film of 2013 and the highest-grossing film produced by Vishesh Films.[41][45] According to Box Office India, Aashiqui 2 is the best trending film at the box office since 3 Idiots as the fourth week's collections were nearly ₹75 million (US$1.1 million) nett, which was more than every film released in the last ten years apart from 3 Idiots. The fourth week collections were the third highest of all time.[44] The film collected ₹57.5 million (US$850,000) nett approx in its fifth week.[46] The film went on to gross approximately ₹780 million (US$12 million) in its sixth week at the domestic box-office.[47]

Internationally, Aashiqui 2 collected around US$150,000 over the first weekend because its limited release meant it was only released in UAE and Pakistan.[48] The film collected ₹1 billion (US$15 million) worldwide in its fourth week.[49]

During its entire theatrical run, the film earned ₹1.09 billion (US$16 million) worldwide.[50]

Awards and nominations

Filmfare Awards[51][52]

IIFA Awards[53][54]

Screen Awards[55][56]

References

  1. ↑ Indo-Asian News Service (29 May 2013). "Aashiqui 2 joins Rs.100 crore club". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 29 May 2013.
  2. ↑ "Aashiqui 2 - Movie - Box Office India". Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  3. ↑ Sachiin Joshi to make a comeback Telugu remake of Aashiqui 2
  4. ↑ Lalwani, Vickey (22 September 2011). "Madhur Bhandarkar to remake Aashiqui?". The Times of India. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
  5. ↑ "The dream is the same, dreamers have changed: Mahesh Bhatt". The Times of India. 3 April 2013. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
  6. 1 2 Jain, Rupam (8 February 2012). "Mahesh Bhatt announces "Aashiqui 2"". The Times of India. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
  7. 1 2 3 Indo-Asian News Service (7 June 2012). "Shraddha Kapoor bags Aashiqui 2". NDTV. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
  8. ↑ "No 'Aashiqui' remake for Madhur Bhandarkar". Masala. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
  9. ↑ Lalwani, Vickey (19 November 2011). "Vishal Mahadkar to direct Aashiqui 2". The Times of India. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
  10. ↑ Shah, Kunal M (24 December 2011). "Mohit Suri to direct Aashiqui 2". The Times of India. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
  11. 1 2 3 Jha, Subhash K. (1 May 2013). "Mohit Suri on the success of Aashiqui 2". Bollywood Hungama. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
  12. ↑ Press Trust of India (10 July 2012). "Aditya, Shraddha right choice for 'Aashiqui 2': Mohit Suri". The Times of India. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
  13. ↑ Indo-Asian News Service (14 October 2013). "`Aashiqui 2` goes on floor, Shradha excited". Zee News. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
  14. ↑ Indo-Asian News Service (4 July 2013). "Aashiqui 2 shooting to start from next month". NDTV. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
  15. ↑ "Shraddha hurts herself: The actor accidentally got injured when she knelt on broken glass during a scene". Daily News & Analysis, accessed via HighBeam Research (subscription required). 5 November 2012. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  16. ↑ "Aditya Roy Kapur Burnt His Hand While Shooting For 'Aashiqui 2'". Yahoo!. 19 April 2013. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  17. ↑ "First look of Aashiqui 2". Filmfare. 20 March 2013. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
  18. 1 2 "Aashiqui 2 Official Theatrical Trailer Feat. Aditya Roy Kapur, Shraddha Kapoor". Koimoi. 15 April 2013. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
  19. ↑ Sharma, Sarika (4 April 2013). "Tum Hi Ho from Aashiqui 2 a hit on YouTube with over 1.5 mln views in 10 days". The Indian Express. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
  20. ↑ Shrivastava, Priyanka (16 April 2013). "Aashiqui 2 tops the charts as Tum Hi Ho becomes love anthem of the year". Daily Mail. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
  21. 1 2 "How Bhushan Kumar led Aashiqui 2 to a roaring success". Bollywood Hungama. 29 April 2013. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
  22. 1 2 Mankermi, Shivani (10 May 2013). "Aashiqui 2 music launch brings back memories of prequel". India Today. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
  23. ↑ "Coating love the Ashiqui way... again". Pune Mirror. 15 April 2013. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
  24. ↑ "WATCH: Love and passion in the first official trailer of 'Aashiqui 2'". Zee News. 15 April 2013. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
  25. ↑ "Shraddha and Aditya at the Aashiqui 2 concert". Filmfare. 25 April 2013. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
  26. ↑ Menon, Serena (26 April 2013). "Aashiqui 2: the proverbial rock star returns?". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
  27. ↑ Indo-Asian News Service (8 July 2012). "'Aashiqui 2' to be released on Valentine's Day". CNN-IBN. Retrieved 26 April 2013.
  28. ↑ Thakkar, Mehul S (29 October 2012). "'Aashiqui 2' gets postponed again". The Times of India. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
  29. ↑ Pitale, Sonali Joshi. "May 10 is lucky for the makers of 'Aashiqui' sequel". Mid Day. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
  30. ↑ Ranawat, Purnima (26 April 2013). "Today's big releases: Aashiqui 2 and Iron Man 3". NDTV. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
  31. ↑ Razdan, Esha. "Aashiqui 2 sails smoothly amidst Iron Man 3 fever!". Dainik Bhaskar. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
  32. ↑ Adarsh, Taran (30 April 2013). "'Lucky Di Unlucky Story' scores, 'Shadow' fails!". Bollywood Hungama. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
  33. ↑ Adarsh, Taran (24 April 2013). "Aashiqui 2: Review". Bollywood Hungama. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
  34. ↑ "Aashiqui 2: Review". Indiatimes. 25 April 2013. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
  35. ↑ Indo-Asian News Service (27 April 2013). "'Aashiqui 2' review: Some scenes blossom into fresh statements on love". CNN-IBN. Retrieved 29 May 2013.
  36. ↑ Chopra, Anupama (26 April 2013). "Anupama Chopra's review: Aashiqui 2". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
  37. ↑ Sengar, Resham (27 April 2013). "`Aashiqui 2` review: Flawed direction and other nitty-gritty kill it!". Zee News. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
  38. ↑ Chakravorty, Vinayak (26 April 2013). "Aashiqui 2 movie review". India Today. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
  39. ↑ "Aashiqui 2 Has Decent Opening Day". Box Office India. 28 April 2013. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
  40. ↑ "Aashiqui Excellent Three Week Run: Daily Collections". Box Office India. 23 May 2013. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
  41. 1 2 3 "Aashiqui 2 Is BLOCKBUSTER: Heads For 70 Crore Plus Business". Box Office India. 18 May 2013. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
  42. ↑ "Aashiqui 2 Grosses 47 Crore In Two Weeks". Box Office India. 10 May 2013. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
  43. ↑ "Top Third Week Collections 2013: Aashiqui 2 Tops By A Distance". Box Office India. 22 May 2013. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
  44. 1 2 "Aashiqui 2 Continues Phenomenal Run: Crosses 70 crore". Box Office India. 25 May 2013. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
  45. ↑ "Aashiqui 2 Second Highest Grosser Of 2013, Beats Special 26". Koimoi. 20 May 2013. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
  46. ↑ "Aashiqui 2 Week Five Territorial Breakdown". Box Office India. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
  47. ↑ "Aashiqui 2 Touches 78 Crore Nett In Six Weeks". Box Office India. 8 June 2013. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
  48. ↑ "Aashiqui 2 Released Only In UAE And Pakistan". Box Office India. 1 May 2013. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
  49. ↑ Indo-Asian News Service (29 May 2013). "Aashiqui 2 joins Rs. 100 crore club". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 29 May 2013.
  50. ↑ "Worldwide TOP TEN 2013". Box Office India. 12 December 2013. Archived from the original on 4 January 2014. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
  51. ↑ "59th Idea Filmfare Awards Nominations". filmfare.com.
  52. ↑ "Winners of 59th Idea Filmfare Awards". filmfare.com.
  53. ↑ "IIFA Nominations Announced and Bhaag Mikha Bhaag leads with 10!". Bollyspice. 20 February 2014. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
  54. ↑ "IIFA toasts to winners of the Technical Awards at IIFA Magic of the Movies". IIFA. 25 April 2014. Retrieved 27 April 2014.
  55. ↑ "Screen Awards 2015, Latest News on Screen Awards 2015, Photo Gallery The Indian Express". indianexpress.com.
  56. ↑ "Annual Screen Awards 2014: The Complete List of Nominees". International Business Times. 8 January 2014.

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