AASHAYEIN

Hope against hope

Hoping against the hope, director Nagesh Kukunoor’s “Aashayein” sees the light of the day after a delay of nearly two years. Well, better late than never. After disappointing us with his Akshay Kumar-starrer “8x10 Tasveer”, Kukunoor now presents a story of Rahul Sharma (John Abraham) who wins big in betting. But his happiness is short-lived when he is diagnosed with lung cancer and he has only three months to live. How Rahul makes the most of his remaining life and how it changes him is what “Aashayein” is all about.

A flustered Rahul comes to know about Padmashraya, a place where people with failing health spend their last days. So without informing his girlfriend Nafisa (Sonal Sehgal), Rahul leaves for Padmashraya. There he meets other inmates like retired general manager Parthasarthi (Girish Karnad), who has been diagnosed with throat cancer, former prostitute Madhu (Farida Jalal), an AIDS patient and teenager Padma (Anaitha Nair), a cancer patient.
From here the story strays and ends up being a fantasy. Even the hospice is no less than a resort, where inmates enjoy a beach party and 17-year-old Padma wants to get intimate with the hero. The seriousness is clearly missing in the story.

“Aashayein” has certainly broken the hunk image of John Abraham as one can see a new John with some more clothes. Debutant Sonal Sehgal is impressive. Her love-making scene with John is one of the highlights of the film.
Made on the lines of Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s classic “Anand”, the movie fails to make an impression. Even though released after two years’ delay, the outcome was evident – no hopes from “Aashayein”.