What’s in a name? Plenty, if you ask the team behind Aashiqui 2. They will happily go blue in the face claiming Aashiqui 2 has no resemblance to the blockbuster Aashiqui, except that, like the original, this one too is an love story.
“It’s set in a new world. This is a film that caters to the conservative middle class who constitute our cinema-going crowd. It’s a complete family entertainer,†said Mahesh Bhatt, who directed the original. For Aashiqui 2, he handed the directorial reins to Mohit Suri of Raaz fame but remains its producer.
“Aashiqui 2 is more complex and mature than the 1990 film. As society evolves, films also evolves. This is a brave one,†said Bhatt. If you ask us, the original was pretty brave too.
Aashiqui, under the Bhatt directorship, featured two newcomers, Rahul Roy and Anu Agarwal. It was an intense love story with some great music and some bold scenes. Instead of two flowers rubbing against each other (a popular on-screen euphemism to depict lovers kissing in Bollywood films), the two lead actors locked lips with abandon. Suddenly, Roy and Agarwal were plucked from obscurity and mass hysteria followed (more about that later).
“Aashiqui 2 is completely original. We may have borrowed the brand name and put a number next to it, but it’s not a re-make. If you ask me nobody can do that. The essence behind the two films is the same but the love stories are different,†said Shradda Kapoor. In Aashiqui 2, the two-film-old actress plays a Maharashtrian girl, Arohi Shirke. One day, she runs into the rich, successful, attitude-dripping musician Rahul Jaikar, played by relative newbie Aditya Roy Kapur.
“He is famous and has money and is on this thrilling ride called success. But it’s happening so fast that he doesn’t really know how to get off. He’s not really happy with his life. He then meets Arohi and life takes on a new meaning. There’s renewed purpose,†said Kapoor.
As far as originality goes, the boy-meets-girl, boy-finds-girl-as-project may not sound fresh but if there’s one thing that Bollywood has mastered over the years, it is its ability to churn out Bollywood love musicals with robust speed. The premise of love stories may sound similar but its treatment will always be tweaked to give a fresh feel.
“We haven’t broached such a love story for such a long time. It’s unadulterated, pure love story which will find resonance among today’s youth,†pronounced Kapur. He deliberately stayed away from re-visiting Aashiqui to avoid any replication unwittingly.
His leading lady echoes his sentiment with: “love stories can be told time and again because they are timeless. The emotions that are ignited when you watch a romantic film, it is eternal.†Surprisingly, Kapur — whose brother is UTV Disney honcho Siddharth Roy Kapur and sister-in-law is acclaimed actress Vidya Balan — is not a “sucker for mushy chick flicksâ€.
“I was a VJ on Channel [V] for 12 years. Once you are on television, people are quick to tell you that: ‘Tu actor kabhi nahi banega’ [you can never become an actor now]. Surprisingly, I wasn’t a film buff either. I couldn’t imagine singing those love songs and all that rubbish. But then I did London Dreams and I found myself enjoying the process,†said Kapur who has acted in supporting roles in films such as Guzaarish and Action Replayy.
In his initial projects, there was always a much bigger star such as Hrithik Roshan or an Askshay Kumar hogging the limelight. Aashiqui 2 will be his first solo lead project.
“It’s a burden that I am more than happy to carry. I look at it as an opportunity and I have huge expectations from this one.†Producer Bhatt is also convinced that taking on newcomers is a sign of a strong script.
“I always like to take the path less travelled because it takes a lot of conviction in a film to make it with no stars,†said Bhatt, who has produced over 55 films. From introducing an adult actress Sunny Leone into Bollywood with Jism 2 to the hit thriller franchise Raaz. Bhatt has covered the whole length of dramas, thrillers and family films.
“I think of us as a bookshop. Just like how it has all sections such as horror, erotic, romance, philosophy— we cater to all kinds of audiences,†said Bhatt. When asked if Aashiqui 2 was his attempt to right the wrongs of the original Aashiqui, he said: “I never look back. Nostalgia is a drug that I don’t pander to.â€
AASHIQUI (1990):
'Aashiqui' is a romantic film of Bollywood released on 23 July 1990. It was commercially and critically successful particularly because of its music and even today the songs and music are still as popular as it was then. The film made the careers of singer Kumar Sanu and composers Nadeem-Shravan.
The film was a huge commercial success and one of the highest grossing films of 1990 mainly due to its music with the showings running to full houses. "Dheere Dheere Se", " Main Duniya Bhuladounga", " Ek Sanam Chahiye" and "Mera Dil Tere Liye" and "Tu Meri Zindagi Hai" were rages amongst the youth and general audience while other songs of the album also managed to create impact.
'Aashiqui' is a romantic film of Bollywood released on 23 July 1990. It was commercially and critically successful particularly because of its music and even today the songs and music are still as popular as it was then. The film made the careers of singer Kumar Sanu and composers Nadeem-Shravan.
The film was a huge commercial success and one of the highest grossing films of 1990 mainly due to its music with the showings running to full houses. "Dheere Dheere Se", " Main Duniya Bhuladounga", " Ek Sanam Chahiye" and "Mera Dil Tere Liye" and "Tu Meri Zindagi Hai" were rages amongst the youth and general audience while other songs of the album also managed to create impact.
No mention or credit for Rahul Roy : Guess he is taken out of the equation for reasons not mentioned. It is very very sad that his career cane to a grinding halt especially after Dil wale Khabi Na Hare which is still not on dvd.
'Aashiqui 2' emerged a HIT with solid collections on Monday. The film collected around 3.50 crore nett on Monday as per early estimates which is just 35% lower than its Friday collection.
The four day business is around 21.25 crore nett and the first week business will be around 29 crore nett. The film was steady at multiplexes on Monday and was much better than the normal Monday fall at multiplexes. So even the areas which were not so strong on day one held up well on Monday. Mass circuits were rock steady from UP to CI to Rajasthan.
The film will is likely to do similar first week business to Chasme Baddoor though stronger competition in the coming weeks may prevent it matching that film for lifetime business.
A1 was full of ripped off songs from old Pakistani film soundtracks. Haven't heard A2 yet - but hope it is original.
A2 has a couple of recycled Bengali songs - but the music director is Jeet Ganguli, who composed the originals. I think the others are original - I haven't heard them elsewhere.
'Aashiqui 2' Emerges First SUPER HIT Of 2013 6 May 2013
'Aashiqui 2' has emerged the firstSUPER HITof the year as it grossed around 8 crore nett in its second weekend taking the business of the film to around 42 crore nett. The film will comfortably surpass the 50 crore nett mark making it the third biggest grosser of the year after Race 2 and Special 26.
The film had started fairly well but sustained supremely well in the weekdays and the second weekend has also done very well despite the huge competition from Shootout At Wadala. The top ranking films of 2013 till date are as follows:
'Aashiqui 2' Grosses 47 Crore In Two Weeks 10th May 2013
Aashiqui 2 had a good second week despite the release of Shootout At Wadala as it collected 13 crore nett taking the two week total to 47 crore nett approx.
The film is sure to cross 50 crore nett and could even do it by the end of the third weekend. The film is a bigger hit than the other sleeper hits of the past two years like Murder 2 and Kahaani. It has the same budget as Murder 2 but has already crossed the share of that film and will also cross the share of Kahaani soon and is also less costly than that film.
Aashiqui 2 should finish with business in the 52-55 crore nett range.
'Aashiqui 2' Is BLOCKBUSTER: Heads For 70 Crore Plus Business 18 May 2013
Aashiqui 2 has emerged aBLOCKBUSTERas it is sure to cross 70 crore nett and may even go to around 75 crore nett. Vishesh Films which are known to give sleeper superhits have even surpassed themselves with Aashiqui 2 which is the biggest hit ever from the banner.
The film has remained unaffected by the new releases be it Shootout At Wadala, Go Goa Gone or this week's Aurangzeb. The film is likely to stay strong at the box office until the release of Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani releasing the week after next.
The film which had a production budget of 6 crore and a further 6-7 crore cost of promting and releasing will eventually do a distributor share in India of around 34-35 crore. The first three week collections of Aashiqui 2 are as follows:
Week One - 34.65 crore nett
Week Two - 17.35 crore nett
Week Three - 11.50 crore nett
TOTAL- 63.50 crore nett
Week two dropped 50% while week three dropped just 34% which is just outstanding as 60% week to week drop is the norm today.
I wonder if Aashiqui-2 producers obtained permission from "A Star Is Born" producers for its remake, or is it in Public Domain ?? Or, may be it's just a coincidence that both films are the same ??
I wonder if Aashiqui-2 producers obtained permission from "A Star Is Born" producers for its remake, or is it in Public Domain ?? Or, may be it's just a coincidence that both films are the same ??
'A Star Is Born' has already been remade twice in Hollywood, in 1954 with Judy Garland and James Mason, and in 1976 with Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson. Original was in 1937 with Janet Gaynor and Fredric March. However, it has some similarity to the earlier film 'What Price Hollywood?' (1932).
Warner Bros. has plans to finance another new remake, with Clint Eastwood possibly directing the film. Ownership and copyright status:
Selznick International Pictures sold the film's copyright including film, story, screenplay, and score to Warner Brothers in 1954. Warner that year issued the first movie remake. However in 1965, the film entered the public domain due to Warner's failure to renew its copyright registration in the 28th year after publication. The original 35mm master elements remain with Warner Bros.
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