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NAGESH CAN HOPE, TOO

By K N Gupta

Eye TV India Bureau

Cast: John Abraham, Sonal Sehgal, Anaitha Nair, Girish Karnad, Prateeksha Lonkar, Farida Jalal

Director: Nagesh Kukunoor

Critic's I-view

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Wonder it's Aashayein or Nirashayein? Director Nagesh Kukunoor isn't new in the industry. He has made thought-provoking movies likes of 'Hyderabad Blues', Dor' and lastly 'Iqbal'. So, the audience has a lot of expectations (aashayein) from him. However, he has belied the audience's hopes at the altar of his hero John Abraham, who hopes even though he is a victim of a deadly disease of cancer.

In 'Aashayein' John Abraham plays the character of Rahul Singh, a compulsive gambler, who wins a whooping Rs 20 million from a bet and decides to celebrates it. On this happy occasion he proposes his love interest Nafisa played by Sonal Sehgal when he collapsed and admitted to hospital. Since he finds himself suffering from the deadly cancer he hides himself from all friends and Nafisa, and moves to a sanatorium. Luckily, he discovers new hope (aashayein) to live life however short Besides, he gets a chance to live out his favorite fantasy of playing Indiana Jones in a veritable temple of doom, complete with hat and whip! Here, Rahul meets Padma, 17, played by Anaitha Nair. Both gel well because of fine chemistry. They learn to live together sharing each other's pain and try to ignite the same spirit of hope amongst the inmates.

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Well, the movie isn't too bad if not very good. It aims at creating a hope for those who are terminally ill and are waiting to die. Director succeeds in sending a message of hope for all and sundry, especially those close to death. The story writing fails the director. Acting-wise, John Abraham has performed his role too well; he shed weight to play this different character as desired by director Naagesh.

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Anaitha Nair of 'Chak De India' and 'Well Done Abba' plays brilliant despite being relatively new in the industry, by her warm relationship with John. Similarly, John and Farida Jalal show a good chemistry between them. Farida operates from a five star hotel, and doesn't mind calling herself a vaishya (pros). Sonal Sehgal, Girish Karnad, and Prateeksha Lonkar's performances are noteworthy.

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Another added feature is Salim-Sulaiman's music, and in particular the song picturized on Shreyas Talpade who graced the movie with his special appearance. Sudeep Chatterjee's cinematography isn't far behind; he captures outside shooting very well. Overall, Nagesh succeeds despite a weak story presumably because of his good selection of cast and his guidance. Since the movie hasn't cost a fortune, it may not fare badly commercially.

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