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List of Aashayein Reviews
Ratings:1.5/5 Reviewer:Rajeev Masand Site:IBNLive
Aashayein as you can see, is the kind of film that's yelling out to its audience: "Look at me! Look what a noble, heartfelt film I am!"John Abraham's shoulders may be broad, but he can't seem to lift this sinking mess of a movie. He struggles through the emotional scenes, never really helped by Kukunoor's shoddy writing and ham-fisted direction.Visit Site for More
I'm going with one-and-a-half out of five for Aashayein. Intended as a heart-felt story, it is in fact a serious test of your patience.
Ratings:2/5 Reviewer:Taran Adarsh Site:BollywoodHungama
Nagesh Kukunoor has been a frontrunner as far as choosing and narrating real stories are concerned. AASHAYEIN too seems like 'our' story. Here's a man who suddenly discovers that he has a few months to live. The indomitable spirit of living life to the fullest, under all circumstances, is what you expect from him. But AASHAYEIN gets so bizarre and abstract that you feel anesthetized after a point. Sadly, you don't react to the characters, you don't react to the film either. Like Kukunoor's previous attempts, AASHAYEIN is sensitively told and has several poignant and heart wrenching moments, but the story strays from realism and ends up being a fantasy, which leaves a sour taste in your mouth. On the whole, AASHAYEIN falters and fails on the writing level.Visit Site for More
Ratings:3/5 Reviewer:Nikhat Kazmi Site:TimesOfIndia
The film may have been lying in limbo for over two years now, but this does not detract from the quality of this small and sensitive film that takes a look at terminal illness in a totally non-filmy fashion. Okay, the theme may be depressing: the big bad C-word and the attendant fears that go with it. But Kukunoor chooses to look at it from the other side of midnight.... From a vantage point where fear and despair are replaced by a life-sustaining desire to wrench out all the beauty from the world before curtain call by a bunch of death row patients. Don't go looking for popcorn stuff and Aashayein is sure to hold your attention with its gentle grace and dignity. Also, watch out for heart-warming performances by John Abraham and Anaitha Nair who lend credibility to the role of terminal patients celebrating life before the final salute.Visit Site for More
Ratings:2.5/5 Reviewer:Aseem Chabhra Site:Rediff
The camerawork actually has no relation to the rest of film -- sometimes a well-meaning and heart-tugging story about the last few months in the life of man with lung cancer. Aashayein works like many of Kukunoor's successful films -- Hyderabad Blues, Iqbal and Dor -- unique stories that start with good intentions, but eventually the treatments amount to nothing spectacular. some critics respect Kukunoor, a US trained chemical engineer, who is now following his true passion. I just wish his films would be stronger than what they appear to be at the first glance.Visit Site for More
Ratings:2/5 Reviewer:Gaurav Malani Site:Indiatimes
Aashayein is the kind of story that will possibly appeal to you as a fanciful fictional novel. But cinema calls for a different kind of sensibility. While the movie starts as a basic-level drama about a cancer patient’s survival instincts much on the lines of films like Anand or Dasvidaniya , it switches genre to a fairytale fantasy in the second half with his whimsical pursuit to defeat death. In this merger of genres, it muddles up the message. Aashayein might be having its heart in the right place but doesn’t entirely appeal to the mind. Is that hoping for too much?Visit Site for More
Ratings:1/5 Reviewer:Komal Nahata Site:KOIMOI
Visit Site for MoreNagesh Kukunoor’s story is depressing right from the word ‘go’. His screenplay moves on a single track, that too, at a leisurely pace. The philosophical part of the drama (the portions of Govinda speaking about Rahul’s past and future) would not be understood by the majority of the viewers as it is too abstract. In other words, there is little joy or happiness in the drama. Likewise, there is hardly any entertainment value in the film.Nagesh Kukunoor’s direction, limited by and also like his script, holds appeal more for the festival circuit audience than the general masses. On the whole, Aashayein may be a well-made film but its commercial prospects are bleak because it lacks entertainment value and runs on a single track.
