Monday, September 1, 2008
Cast: John Abraham, Sonal Sehgal, Girish Karnad, Farida Jalal
Directed by: Nagesh Kukunoor
Aashayein is the story of an angry, confused, compulsive gambler who discovers new meanings of fortune and life through a dramatic turn of events.
At a party celebrating his big gambling win, Rahul proposes to his girlfriend Nafisa. But within minutes of announcing his engagement to her, Rahul collapses on the floor. Aashayein
After a medical diagnosis, Rahul discovers that he has only a few months left to live. The movie is a moving tale of Rahul's journey from darkness to light. It is a journey about love, hate, life, death and hope.
Sonal Sehgal plays Nafisa, a doting and loving girlfriend who wishes and hopes that love will conquer all her troubles. Other characters touching Rahul's life include Sister Grace (Prateeksha Lonkar), who dedicates her life to the happiness of her patients in the hospice.
There is also Parthasarthy (Girish Karnad), a fun-loving but stubborn character wishing to be reunited with his family, while the intelligent, virtuous and loving Madhu (Farida Jalal) wants to lead a normal life and not be ostracised while in the hospice.
Also present is 10-year-old comic book lover Govinda (Ashwin Chitale), who dreams of everyone's life being just like a comic book.
How Rahul gets influenced by these characters in the hospice and how he makes the most of his limited time is what Aashayein is about. This moving saga is directed by Nagesh Kukunoor of Iqbal (2005) and Bombay to Bangkok (2008) fame.