Akaash Vani

About the film

Akaash Vani is a 2013 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film directed by Luv Ranjan, and produced by Kumar Mangat Pathak and Abhishek Pathak under the banner of Wide Frame Pictures. This is the second collaboration between the producer and director who created the 2011 film Pyaar Ka Punchnama and stars two of its leads, Kartik Aaryan and Nushrat Bharucha, in the titular roles. The film was released worldwide on 25 January 2013.

Plot

Akaash Kapoor (Kartik Aaryan) is a bold and fun-loving young man, while Vani Mehra is a conservative but friendly girl. They are both accepted in the same college in Delhi and after a series of adventures, they soon become friends, forming part of a group of four. Akaash and Vani eventually fall in love and embark on a four-year relationship, which is kept secret from Vani's traditional parents.

As their final year ends, Akaash decides to go to the UK for further studies. Vani returns to her hometown of Dehradun to attend her sister's wedding, after which she plans to study for an M.B.A. She tells her sister about her relationship with Akaash, but her sister reacts negatively, saying their parents would disapprove. The next day, amidst the wedding preparation, Vani finds out that her sister has eloped with another man, who she was in love with but was not accepted by her parents. Vani's parents are heartbroken and have to endure the shame of their neighbours and community. In fear of society's response, they decide to marry Vani to the son of an acquaintance. Pressured by her parents and feeling guilt over her sister's actions, Vani reluctantly agrees. She emotionally ends things with Akaash via a phone call and requests him not to try and meet her. Akaash is devastated but slowly becomes bitter and detached with time.

Vani's husband, Ravi Sinha (Sunny Singh), is a charming but controlling man who pressures Vani to have sex, despite her reluctance. Ravi is emotionally abusive and expects Vani to cater to his every need, but pretends to be a perfect husband in front of friends and family. He prevents her from going out, working, or furthering her studies and expects her to be a full-time housewife. After an argument, Vani returns home and reveals her unhappiness to her parents. However, they send her back to Ravi after he charms them and ask him to consider starting a family to occupy Vani's time. Time goes by, and Vani slowly begins losing self-confidence and becomes resigned to her fate. One day, Vani's aunt and uncle unexpectedly come to visit her and suggest she go back with them for several days to Delhi to attend her college reunion. Ravi is unhappy but reluctantly agrees since he will also be away on a business trip.

Critical reception

Akaash Vani received overall positive reviews from critics. IANS of NDTV rated the film 4/5, praising the performances of its lead pair. Renuka Vyavahare of The Times of India gave the film three stars, calling it a "strong and moving social drama". Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama gave the film 3.5 stars, and praised the acting and characterisation, adding that "the movie contains just the right blend of sparkle and spice and is definitely worthy of a watch." On the other hand, Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN was more critical of the film, giving it 1.5/5, commenting that the film's script is "inconsistent"

Release

Aakaash Vani DVD was released on 1 March 2013. Aakash Vani's television premiere was on Zee TV.

All of Aakash Vani's rights were sold to Zee Entertainment Enterprises.

Soundtrack

The music of the film is composed by Hitesh Sonik with lyrics penned by Luv Ranjan. Musicperk.com rated the album 7.5 out of 10, saying, "(This is) a decent album and shows that Hitesh is here to stay for a lengthy stint." The item song "Crazy Lover" became a hit when it was released. Vishal Dadlani and Sunidhi Chauhan sang the song

Key details