Cast: Kartik Tiwari, Nusrat Bharucha
Director: Luv Ranjan
Genre: Romance, Drama
Rating: 2.5/5
Movie Reviewed at: PVR Cinemas, Udaipur

Sigh! Love stories, they always start in a decent fashion; garden-fresh and effervescent. But somehow, most of them end up being lost in a maze with the message becoming convoluted and lost in the layers till the end credits roll down. Same is the case with Luv Ranjan’s second outing as a director, Akaash Vani.

Back in 2011, Luv Ranjan served us a scintillating and offbeat tale on relationships, Pyaar Ka Punchnaama; come 2013, the director is back again, with the rusted formula of love and a bold attempt against the society’s scheme of marriage.  So, does the fairylike charm and idiosyncrasy of the cult hit ‘Pyaar Ka Punchnaama’ is back? Well, sadly, no.

A happy-go-lucky guy, Akaash (Kartik Tiwari) and a doey-eyed college girl, Vani (Nusrat Bharucha) were destined to be lovers.  They hang about in cafeterias, sneak-peak into each other’s eyes during lectures and croon melancholic shayaris for each other. But, as always, fate intervenes and the duo splits after their college is over.  It then takes an overly stretched second hour of the movie to reunite the couple and to break the shackles of society we live in.

Without venturing into the details of the plot details, on the surface, Akaash Vani screams against the influence of the society in the marital decision of their offspring.  The chronicle is kept bright and jovial in the first hour and the heavy medication is kept in store for the second hour of the movie. It is then and there only when the movie stumbles and then completely goes down the hill.

If only the script had been a little concrete rather than being this downtrodden, this would have been a complete crackling affair. I mean, really? A well-educated girl, dwelling in an urban area would steep so low so as to come under the axe of mental torture by her ruthless husband and not even complain? Sounds totally unconvincing!

It is of utmost importance in a romantic flick that the chemistry remains sizzling. Brace yourselves for the dose as the pair was nothing short of perfect. There was no doubt that by the end, if only the sentimentality would have been reduced, this one could have been pulled off entirely by the charm of Kartik Tiwari and Nusrat Bharucha alone.

Akaash Vani is a desi Nicholas Spark’s novel material, which is accentuated by unwanted syrupiness and mushiness.  If you are in love, rest assured, you’ll come out pacified.  If not, well, you can always wait for the DVD release.