Akaash Vani Movie Review - 2013 Bollywood Movies Review

Akaash Vani Review by movie critic and trade analyst Joginder Tuteja.
Movie Review: Akaash Vani (2013)
Cast: Kartik Tiwari, Nushrat Bharucha
Director: Luv Ranjan
Music Director: Hitesh Sonik
Runtime: 149 minutes

One thing that director Luv Ranjan does in telling this tale of Akaash and Vani is that he leaves behind the baggage of his last Pyaar Ka Punchnama. Frankly, quite a few filmmakers have time and again being tempted to bring back the winning formula. In order to cash in on the winning formula, there have been instances when directors have repeated their past work. However Luv avoids doing that and takes a risk in following an altogether different path with his second flick. Though the journey isn't as smooth as before, at least there has been an attempt which is worth mentioning.

Akaash Vani Movie Review

Coming together of two strangers, their friendship, crush, love, promises of being together, a desire for a dreamy journey ahead : all of this and more forms a breezy ride, not just for Akaash and Vani but also audience. Frankly, Luv does quite well in establishing his characters and the situations are truly real life. Though these are different (sweet) from the kind (outrageous) that one had seen in Pyaar Ka Punchnama, one can clearly sense the director's touch. The game is pretty much set and one looks forward to the set and match soon.

45 minutes into the film, the graph changes though. From light hearted moments, it is drama that takes over and by the time the film reaches the interval point and then proceeds ahead into the second half, the situations turn dark. In fact a few scenes turn out to be a little too discomforting and though one can see that Luv has managed to hold audience attention, you want sunshine to return into the lives of the lead protagonists.

This is where the film takes a dip since there is no respite whatsoever and though as audience you expect smiles to ruturn on screen, none of that really happens. Moreover, the film becomes entirely Nushrat centric (one has to mention that she does extremely well in this highly emotional role) but you do miss the effervescence thag Kartik brings on screen. Really, he goes missing for an extended duration and though it is the demand of the script, you want him to return sooner than later.

Once that happens, you expect the film to pick on steam. However the pace remains constant and the narrative takes it's own time to reach to culmination. Thankfully there are a few sweet moments that return on screen which bring back an occasional smile or two. Most memorable of them all is Nushrat and her friends going down the memory lane and revisiting the college times. Some of them indeed bring a lump in the throat and so does the one where Kartik and Nushrat sit on the bench at a railway station and break down. Its a beautiful scene where tears do all the talking with not a single word exchanged.


Akaash Vani Review

It is these very moments, primarily in the first 30 minutes of the movie and then intermittently in the second half where the film manages to grab your attention. Later, towards the last 15 minutes of the film, the proceedings pick up pace while also leading to a satisfying culmination. You connect with the characters and their emotions and even though the finale could have been euphoric, once can see that Luv had made up his mind not to convey anything in an overtly filmy manner.
In this endeavour of his, Nushrat and Kartik Give him complete support. In an author backed role, Nushrat is in a very good form and well portrays the emotions of a girl who is vulnerable with her acts in synch with that of a girl next door. Kartik too walks a thin line of not turning heroic and underplays his part well. Having said that, he is quite good in the college scenes where he is natural to the core. The young couple playing their friends have a definite part to play in the proceedings and justify their inclusion in the scheme of things. Amongst many senior character actors in the film, it is Kiran Kumar who enjoys maximum screen time and does well.

In between the light moments and the love story which is told on screen, Akaash Vani is one of those rare commercial films that has a message in store as well, which is directed at parents to be more considerate about the choices their children make in life when it comes to chosing their life partner. Though as an end goal this is well conveyed, one just wishes that the treatment would have maintained a faster pace, hence resulting in a film that would have warranted a two hour long stay in a theatre.

Rating:

Joginder Tuteja tweets @tutejajoginder







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