Tag Archives: Aashayein

Streaming Video News: September 25, 2020

I updated my list of Bollywood movies on Netflix with the recent addition of the Hindi films Dolly Kitty Aur Woh Chamakte Sitare, Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster Returns, and Santa Banta Pvt Ltd. Netflix just dropped the trailer for the romcom Ginny Weds Sunny, which debuts on October 9:

Here are all the Indian titles set to expire from Netflix on October 1:

I also updated my list of Bollywood movies on Amazon Prime with dozens of Indian titles added in the last week. Critic Josh Hurtado is especially excited about the addition of a subtitled version of the “BANANAS” Telugu spy thriller Rudranetra.

[Disclaimer: all of my Amazon links include an affiliate tag, and I may earn a commission on purchases made via those links. Thanks for helping to support this website!]

Streaming Video News: October 22, 2017

I updated my list of Bollywood movies on Netflix with five new additions to the catalog. The Hindi films Aashayein, Humko Deewana Kar Gaye, Kajraare, Karzzzz, and Patiala House are all available for streaming. I liked Patiala House, thought Aashayein was decent, and did not care for Karzzzzzzzzz. For everything else new on Netflix — Bollywood or not — check Instant Watcher.

I should also point out a few exciting non-Hindi films recently added to Heera. Barely two months after their theatrical releases, the Bengali movie Dhananjoy and the Telugu films Arjun Reddy and Nene Raju Nene Mantri are all available for streaming on Heera. You can find my list of the hundreds of Hindi movies on Heera here.

Movie Review: Aashayein (2010)

2.5 Stars (out of 4)

Buy the DVD at Amazon
Buy the soundtrack at Amazon

Aashayein (“Hopes”) is the story of Rahul (John Abraham), an affable guy in his mid-thirties whose ship has finally come in. He wins big gambling on a cricket match, giving him the financial freedom to finally marry his girlfriend Nafisa (Sonal Sehgal) and buy a share in a luxury resort at the foot of the Himalayas. But when he collapses at a celebratory party, he learns that he may not have the time to realize his dreams.

Rahul is diagnosed with incurable lung cancer so advanced that he has only a matter of months to live. Nafisa wants to get married as planned, but Rahul doesn’t want to leave her a widow. He runs away to a hospice to spend his final days.

The hospice looks nothing like one imagines a real hospice. Instead of a clinic, Aashayein‘s hospice is a beach resort where meals are made to order. That the hospice purports to run entirely on donations strains credulity, but it gives Rahul an excuse to buy a room at the facility (sorry, poor people who were on the waiting list ahead of him).

There he meets a group of other terminally ill people: a businessman estranged from his family, a former prostitute, a sick boy with supposedly divine powers. It’s never stated definitively whether the boy, Govinda (Ashwin Chitale) is really magical (he says he just makes up stories, and they make people happy), or if the dreams he inspires in Rahul are merely manifestations of the dementia symptomatic of Rahul’s advancing illness.

The most compelling resident is the crass 17-year-old girl, Padma (Anaitha Nair). She’s rude and has a dark sense of humor, but she’s immediately smitten with Rahul.

Padma’s anti-social behavior stems from the fact that she’s acutely aware of all that she won’t experience in life. Unlike Rahul, she doesn’t have a supportive family or friends. It has the unfortunate effect of making Rahul seem like more of a jerk than the girl with the gallows sense of humor.

I think that writer-director Nagesh Kukunoor intended to portray Rahul as a screw-up who redeems himself. At the beginning, he’s seen smoking, drinking and gambling. But Rahul is a nice guy, at least at first: a good friend and a devoted boyfriend. Kukunoor seems to be saying that self-destructive vices outweigh human decency when it comes to judging character. I wasn’t convinced.

Rahul’s eventual decision to run away seems uncharacteristically mean. It would be one thing if he did it for his own sake, but he thinks he’s doing Nafisa a favor. She explains that Rahul only has to suffer for a few months, while she and his friends will suffer for the rest of their lives without him.

That said, Rahul’s running away is presented as one of the various ways people deal with devastating news: the businessman’s estrangement, Padma’s biting wit, the prostitute’s calm acceptance.

Rahul uses his money to enrich the lives of his fellow patients, both as a way of atoning for his past and as a way to feel like he matters. Whether or not he atones for hurting Nafisa, I’m not sure. As in real life, Rahul just doesn’t have enough time.

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Opening August 27: Aashayein and Soch Lo

Two new Hindi movies are set to open in the Chicago area this weekend, albeit in very limited release. John Abraham plays a compulsive gambler who turns his life around in Aashayein, which opens on Friday, August 27, 2010 at the Big Cinemas Golf Glen 5 in Niles.

The other Hindi movie making its international debut on Friday is Soch Lo. The drama about a man who wakes up in the desert near death and with no memory will play at Sathyam Cinemas in Downers Grove.

Lafangey Parindey sticks around for a second week at the Golf Glen 5, while Peepli Live gets a third week at the Golf Glen 5, AMC Loews Pipers Alley 4 in Chicago, AMC South Barrington 30 in South Barrington and Regal Cantera Stadium 30 in Warrenville.

Other Indian movies showing around Chicago this weekend include Don Seenu (Telugu), Happy Happyga (Telugu) and Sakudumbam Shyamala (Malayalam). Sathyam Cinemas is also carrying Don Seenu, as well as Thillalangadi (Tamil).