Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwo ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super- ...

Bhushan Kumar Bhushan Kumar Dua (born 27 November 1977) is an Indian film producer and music producer. He is the chairman and managing director of Super Cassettes Industries Limited, also known as T-Series. He is known for his work in Bollywood. Career K ...

Shraddha Kapoor Shraddha Kapoor (born 3 March 1987 or 1989Shaad Randhawa and Mahesh Thakur in supporting roles, as well as Salil Acharya in a cameo appearance. Set in the early 2010s, the film centers on a turbulent romantic relationship between a failing singer, Rahul Jaykar, and his protege, aspiring singer Aarohi Keshav Shirke, which is affected by Rahul's issues with alcohol abuse and temperament. There were initially several concerns in the Indian media that it could not live up to the high standards and success of the original. Production of the film began in 2011, with the

principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as ...

taking place in

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

, Goa and

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the secon ...

on a budget of . ''Aashiqui 2'' was released on 26 April 2013, The film became a commercial success at the box-office despite featuring newcomers, and was one of the highest-grossing Hindi films of 2013, earning over and within the first four weeks, ending both Kapur's and Kapoor's early years of struggle for recognition. Eventually, it became the highest grossing production for the Bhatt brothers and the Vishesh Films banner. The soundtrack to the film became very popular after its release; the songs " Tum Hi Ho" and " Sunn Raha Hai" topped the charts across various platforms in India, as did the songs " Chahun Main Ya Naa" and "Milne Hai Mujhse Aayi". Later on, it was remade in

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode ...

as '' Nee Jathaga Nenundali''.

Plot

The film opens by showing a large crowd waiting for Rahul Jaykar, a successful singer and musician whose career is waning because of his alcohol addictionto perform at a stage show in Goa. After nearly completing a song, he is unexpectedly interrupted by an artist, Aryan, who was losing his career due to Rahul's, during his performance. Rahul fights him, stops his performance, and drives to a local bar. He meets Aarohi Keshav Shirke, a bar singer who idolises Rahul. After noticing Aarohi looking at a photograph of

Lata Mangeshkar Lata Mangeshkar () (born as Hema Mangeshkar; 28 September 1929 – 06 February 2022) was an Indian playback singer and occasional music composer. She is widely considered to have been the greatest and most influential singers in India. Her con ...

in the bar, he assumes that she wants to become a singer. Impressed by her simplicity and voice, Rahul promises to transform her into a singing sensation and asks her to never perform again in bars. Due to his assurance, Aarohi leaves her job and returns to

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the secon ...

with Rahul, who convinces record producer Saigal to meet her. When Aarohi calls Rahul, he is attacked and injured by some thugs, and is unable to receive her call. His friend and manager Vivek decides that news of the assault on Rahul should not be leaked to the media, and instead publicises a false story that Rahul has left the country to participate in stage shows. When Aarohi attempts to contact Rahul again, Vivek ignores the calls. After two months of futilely attempting to contact Rahul, a broken Aarohi is forced to sing in bars again because of her family problems. Meanwhile, Rahul recovers from his injuries and again starts the search for Aarohi. He learns that Aarohi is working in a bar again and that Vivek had ignored her calls without informing him. Rahul apologizes to Aarohi and fires Vivek, and they meet with Saigal for the recording agreement. Rahul begins to train Aarohi, who signs a music contract to sing in films and becomes a successful

playback singer A playback singer, also known as a ghost singer, is a singer whose singing is pre-recorded for use in films. Playback singers record songs for soundtracks, and actors or actresses lip-sync the songs for cameras; the actual singer does not ap ...

. Her family and Rahul are happy, but when people begin to gossip that Rahul is using her as a servant, he relapses into alcohol addiction. Aarohi, who loves Rahul more than her career, comforts him and they end up making love. Despite Aarohi's mother Subhadra's disapproval, Aarohi moves in with Rahul and things go well until Rahul's addiction worsens, causing him to become aggressive and violent. Aarohi attempts to rehabilitate Rahul, sacrificing her singing career in doing so. After Saigal reminds them about their dream of Aarohi becoming a successful singer, Rahul orders her to focus on her work. During Aarohi's stage show, Rahul meets Kunal Basu, a journalist, backstage, where Kunal accuses him of using Aarohi for pleasure and money. Furious, Rahul beats up Kunal and starts drinking. He ends up in jail, and Aarohi comes to bail him out. Rahul overhears Aarohi telling Saigal that she is going to leave her career for him and is ready to give up her celebrity status because Rahul is more important to her. Rahul understands that he has become a burden in her life, and that leaving her is his only option to save her. The next day, he bids her farewell by assuring her that he will change his lifestyle, but little is she aware that he actually intends to commit suicide, which he does by jumping off a bridge. His death pains a number of people, including Saigal, who was otherwise insistent, just like Rahul, on Aarohi moving ahead in her career. Distraught by Rahul's death, Aarohi decides to leave her career but Vivek persuades her to stay. He reminds her that Rahul wanted her to become a successful singer and killed himself as he did not want to be a burden on her and remain an obstacle in the path of her success. Aarohi agrees, and returns to singing. Later, she signs her name as "Aarohi Rahul Jaykar" in a fan's handbook as a tribute to Rahul and her unsung desire to marry him. As it starts raining, she watches the couple who took her autograph sharing a romantic moment under a jacket as she and Rahul had once done.

Cast

Shraddha Kapoor at Live concert of Aashiqui 2 (7)

* Aditya Roy Kapur as Rahul Jaykar *

Shraddha Kapoor Shraddha Kapoor (born 3 March 1987 or 1989Mona Ghosh Shetty) * Shaad Randhawa as Vivek - Rahul's friend * Mahesh Thakur as Saigal * Shubhangi Latkar as Subhadra Shirke, Aarohi's mother * Milind Phatak as Keshav Shirke, Aarohi's father * Chitrak Bandhopadyay as Salim Bhai * Mahesh Bhatt as Vikram Jaykar, Rahul's father * Bugs Bhargava as a man drinking in Bar * Salil Acharya as Aryan * Soumyajit Majumdar as Kunal Basu * Partha Akerkar as Shankar * Aashna Gaikwad as a lyricist * Ankit Tiwari as a music director

Production

Development

In September 2011, the Indian media reported that Mahesh Bhatt and

Bhushan Kumar Bhushan Kumar Dua (born 27 November 1977) is an Indian film producer and music producer. He is the chairman and managing director of Super Cassettes Industries Limited, also known as T-Series. He is known for his work in Bollywood. Career K ...

were keen to remake the 1990 musical blockbuster '' Aashiqui''. Kumar approached Bhatt for a possible sequel, although it was

Shagufta Rafique Shagufta Rafique is an Indian film screen-writer and film director. Biography Shagufta was an adopted child. Her parents are unknown. Her foster mother was in a relationship with a Kolkata based businessman, who left his second family uns ...

's melodramatic romantic script which persuaded him that the film had potential as a sequel and decided to proceed with the project. Given ''Aashiqui''s status in Hindi cinematic history as one of the finest Indian musicals of all time, many expressed concerns towards the decision to remake the film, dubious that the producers could come up with a soundtrack on par with the quality of the 1990 film. Bhatt stated that they completely resisted the temptation to use the soundtrack of the earlier film, and promised that ''Aashiqui 2'' would revive the era of melodious film music, as ''Aashiqui'' had done 22 years ago. It was reported that Madhur Bhandarkar had been approached to direct the film, but later turned down the offer because of other working commitments. It was confirmed in November 2011 that Vishal Mahadkar, director of ''

Blood Money Blood money may refer to: * Blood money (restitution), money paid to the family of a murder victim Films * Blood Money (1917 film), ''Blood Money'' (1917 film), a film starring Harry Carey * Blood Money (1921 film), ''Blood Money'' (1921 film ...

'', was to direct the picture, but the following month it was announced that Mohit Suri had replaced Mahadkar as director at the last minute. Bhatt confirmed the development, saying "Earlier we had finalised Vishal for the project. But now we have scrapped that idea and found a fresh one. We got Mohit to direct the film". Several media outlets falsely reported that the film was a remake of the Vishesh films 1990 love triangle '' Awaargi''. However, Mahesh Bhatt denied the rumours and said "''Aashiqui 2'' is not a remake of any of our films. It's an original script. A very contemporary love story dealing with mature emotions."

Casting

The film's producers launched a nationwide talent hunt to discover new faces for the film, initially refusing to employ established actors. However, the actors who came to audition were not promising enough for the roles, and the idea was scrapped. Mahesh Bhatt said, "It was a disastrous talent hunt. We discovered that people lacked the courage to audition. Those who are amateurs went for audition ...and people with certain talent were like why should we risk public rejection." When Suri saw some pictures of Aditya Roy Kapur and met him, he found Kapur perfect for the role and cast him to play the male lead. In June 2012, Shraddha Kapoor was signed to play the female lead. Bhatt said, "Yes, Shraddha Kapoor is playing the lead with the two boys Aditya Roy Kapur and Shaad Randhawa. We found her to be very talented. All three actors have extremely challenging dramatic roles." When asked about replacing new actors with known ones, Suri said "People said I couldn't make a film with new actors and expect an audience to come in. But I was pretty sure I wanted Aditya and Shraddha to play my protagonists. My writer Shagufta Rafique and I saw them as the protagonists. See, Aditya and Shraddha may have had unsuccessful films before. But that never took away from their talent."

Filming

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as ...

for the film began in late 2012 with film's lead cast. The film was shot in Goa, Mumbai and

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

. During the filming in South Africa, Shraddha Kapoor needed medical attention after kneeling on broken glass fragments during the scene in which she had to kneel on the floor and talk to her co-star Aditya Roy Kapoor. Aditya Roy Kapur also received burns to his hand during the filming of the scene in which they light some Chinese lanterns in Cape Town.

Music

Marketing

The first look was released on 22 March 2013, and was well received by critics and audiences. Unlike other films whose theatrical trailers are released first, the makers of the film chose to release the songs before the trailer. The first song, "Tum Hi Ho", was released on 16 March 2013 to unanimous critical reception from critics and became very popular among the audiences. The song became an instant hit with approximately 2 million views on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

within 10 days of release, which helped in the marketing of the film. It has been trending on Twitter and YouTube since its launch. The film's preview poster showing Aditya and Shraddha under a jacket in a rain-drenched street with the streetlight casting a glow was released along with music on 3 April 2013. At the music release event, Aditya and Shraddha recreated the scene from ''Aashiqui'' from under a jacket (much like the poster) on the stage. The theatrical trailer was released in mid-April 2013, two weeks before the film's release, and was well received by critics and audiences. Unlike most Bollywood films which indulge in months of promotion before the release, ''Aashiqui 2'' had less than three weeks for promotion before its release. A music concert where singers (who sang songs in the soundtrack album) performed to their respective songs was organised to promote the film. The makers of the film launched the ''Aashiqui 2'' jackets, as seen in the film's poster. Statues resembling the signature image of the couple hiding under the jacket were placed inside various theatres.

Release

Due to the romantic theme of the film, it was originally planned for a

Valentine's day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring one or two early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine and, thr ...

release on 14 February 2013, but this was postponed because of production delays. The film was released on 26 April 2013 in over 1100 screens across India. The film was not released in key markets such as UK, US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Sequel

A sequel to the film Aashiqui 3 has been announced by Mukesh Bhatt &

Bhushan Kumar Bhushan Kumar Dua (born 27 November 1977) is an Indian film producer and music producer. He is the chairman and managing director of Super Cassettes Industries Limited, also known as T-Series. He is known for his work in Bollywood. Career K ...

. The music for the sequel will be composed by Pritam and will star Kartik Aaryan. The female lead is yet to be announced.

Reception

Box office

On its opening day, ''Aashiqui 2'' collected about and collected during its first weekend. The film collected in its first week. In the second week, despite new releases, it collected , which took its two-week box-office collections to . It remained steady on weekdays and collected in its third week and total collections rose to . The film had the highest third week collections of 2013 to that date. The film's revenues remained consistent in its fourth weekend and took its total to .

Box Office India Box Office India is an Indian film website. Its traffic ranking in India is 83,665 . A new Box Office India website went live on 20 January 2014. About Box Office India was launched on 10 June 2003. Its uses Whois privacy to anonymize its ow ...

called the film a success after its three-week box office run. As of 20 May, it was the second-highest grossing Hindi film of 2013 and the highest-grossing film produced by Vishesh Films. According to Box Office India, ''Aashiqui 2'' is the best trending film at the box office since '' 3 Idiots'' as the fourth week's collections were nearly nett, which was more than every film released in the last ten years apart from ''3 Idiots''. The fourth week collections were the third highest of all time. The film collected nett approx in its fifth week. The film went on to gross approximately in its sixth week at the domestic box-office. Internationally, ''Aashiqui 2'' collected around 150,000 over the first weekend because its limited release meant it was only released in UAE and Pakistan. The film collected worldwide in its fourth week. During its entire theatrical run, the film earned .

Critical response

Critics praised the performances, chemistry between the lead pair, and the music.

Taran Adarsh Taran Adarsh (born 13 June 1965) is an Indian film critic and trade analyst. He is best known for giving trade figures and box office updates on social media. Career Taran Adarsh started his journalism career at the age of 15 with ''Trade Gui ...

of '' Bollywood Hungama'' rated the film 4 out of 5 stars, stating that it "brings romance back on the Hindi screenintense, pure, selfless and heart wrenching. A stirring account with brilliant moments, bravura performances, strong emotional quotient and addictive music, this one's an absolute must watch for the romantics." He praised the lead cast's performances, writing that " ...Aditya Roy Kapur's depiction of the intense character is outstanding... hichclearly demonstrates his potency as an artist of caliber and competence. Shraddha also gets to sink her challenging character and the attractive youngster is simply amazing, more so towards the demanding moments in the second hour. Furthermore, the chemistry between Aditya and Shraddha is incredible." ''

Indiatimes Times Internet is an Indian internet technology company, based in Gurgaon, which owns, operates and invests in various internet-led products, services and technology. It is the digital arm of the Times Group, the largest media conglomerate in I ...

'' gave the film a rating of 3.5 out of 5 and said, "Suri pitches the story with old-world romance, high-drama and well-crafted heart-breaking moments."

Indo-Asian News Service Indo-Asian News Service or IANS is a private Indian news agency. It was founded in 1986 by Indian American publisher Gopal Raju as the "India Abroad News Service" and later renamed. Their main offices are located in Noida, Uttar Pradesh. The s ...

rated the film 3.5 out of 5 and wrote, "Director Mohit Suri traverses the angst-soaked territory with a sincere and deep understanding of the dynamics that destroy love and trust between couples in the glamorous and competitive profession", and that, "''Aashiqui 2'' makes us grateful for the movement of the love story away from the standard Romeo & Juliet format into the dark destructive domain of ''A Star Is Born''." The film also received some mixed reactions from critics. Writing for ''

Hindustan Times ''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media, an entity controlled by the KK Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia. It was founded by Sunder Singh Ly ...

'', Anupama Chopra rated the film 2.5 out of 5 and believed that the film didn't fulfill its potential, but said, "It's an interesting scenario and Suri and his actors set it up well. Aditya gives Rahul's angst a certain charm. He is earnest and broken. And the real triumph here is Shraddha, whose porcelain face has a haunting vulnerability. She's very good as the woman in the throes of a grand passion who believes that love will show the way." Published Palestinian Bollywood writer, Ahmad Rashad Arafa, calls ''Aashiqui 2'' "an infinitely better film than Lady GaGa and Bradley Cooper's ''A Star Is Born''" saying that "while Cooper and GaGa’s retelling is atonal and jarring, ''Aashiqui 2'', the Bollywood remake of ''A Star Is Born'', is firmly cohesive in its tone, pacing and general mise-en-scène."

Accolades

Filmfare Awards The Filmfare Awards are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Hindi-language film industry of India.Al The Filmfare ceremony is one of the most famous film events in India. The awards were first introduced by th ...

* Best Music Director : Ankit Tiwari,

Mithoon Mithun Sharma (born 11 January 1985), also known as Mithoon, is an Indian Hindi film music director, lyricist-composer and singer. Mithoon composed the Hindi song "Tum Hi Ho" from the 2013 Bollywood romantic film ''Aashiqui 2''. Mithoon recei ...

and Jeet Ganguly * Best Playback Singer (Male) :

Arijit Singh Arijit Singh (born 25 April 1987) is an Indian singer and music composer. He sings predominantly in Bengali and Hindi, but has also performed in various other Indian languages. He is the recipient of a National Award and six Filmfare Award ...

(" Tum Hi Ho") * Nominated, Best Actress :

Shraddha Kapoor Shraddha Kapoor (born 3 March 1987 or 1989Best Playback Singer (Female) : Shreya Ghoshal (" Sunn Raha Hai")

IIFA Awards The International Indian Film Academy Awards, popularly known as IIFA, is an annual awards ceremony for Bollywood. Produced by Wizcraft International Entertainment Pvt. Ltd, the winners of the awards are decided by fans, who vote online for th ...

* Best Music Director :

Mithoon Mithun Sharma (born 11 January 1985), also known as Mithoon, is an Indian Hindi film music director, lyricist-composer and singer. Mithoon composed the Hindi song "Tum Hi Ho" from the 2013 Bollywood romantic film ''Aashiqui 2''. Mithoon recei ...

, Ankit Tiwari, Jeet Ganguly * Best Lyricist :

Mithoon Mithun Sharma (born 11 January 1985), also known as Mithoon, is an Indian Hindi film music director, lyricist-composer and singer. Mithoon composed the Hindi song "Tum Hi Ho" from the 2013 Bollywood romantic film ''Aashiqui 2''. Mithoon recei ...

("Tum Hi Ho") * Best Male Playback :

Arijit Singh Arijit Singh (born 25 April 1987) is an Indian singer and music composer. He sings predominantly in Bengali and Hindi, but has also performed in various other Indian languages. He is the recipient of a National Award and six Filmfare Award ...

("Tum Hi Ho") * Best Female Playback : Shreya Ghoshal ("Sunn Raha Hai") * Nominated, Best Actress :

Shraddha Kapoor Shraddha Kapoor (born 3 March 1987 or 1989Sandeep Nath Sandeep Nath is Singer, Lyricist, Composer, Screenwriter, Director and Producer in Bollywood.His Sufi songs "Rangrez", "Ishq Niralaaa" are full of philosophy, spirituality, pure love and positivity. He started his literary career as a poet and s ...

("Sunn Raha Hai") * Nominated, Best Male Playback : Ankit Tiwari ("Sunn Raha Hai") Screen Awards * Best Playback Singer (Male) :

Arijit Singh Arijit Singh (born 25 April 1987) is an Indian singer and music composer. He sings predominantly in Bengali and Hindi, but has also performed in various other Indian languages. He is the recipient of a National Award and six Filmfare Award ...

("Tum Hi Ho") * Best Playback Singer (Female) : Shreya Ghoshal ("Sunn Raha Hai") * Screen Award for Jodi No. 1 : Aditya Roy Kapur & Shraddha Kapoor * Nominated, Best Music Director : Ankit Tiwari,

Mithoon Mithun Sharma (born 11 January 1985), also known as Mithoon, is an Indian Hindi film music director, lyricist-composer and singer. Mithoon composed the Hindi song "Tum Hi Ho" from the 2013 Bollywood romantic film ''Aashiqui 2''. Mithoon recei ...

and Jeet Ganguly * Nominated, Best Actress Female :

Shraddha Kapoor Shraddha Kapoor (born 3 March 1987 or 1989Aditya Roy Kapur * Nominated, Most Popular Actress Female :

Shraddha Kapoor Shraddha Kapoor (born 3 March 1987 or 1989Mirchi Music Awards * Song of The Year : " Tum Hi Ho" *

Album of The Year Album of the Year, often abbreviated to AOTY, may refer to: Awards * ARIA Award for Album of the Year, Australia * Brit Award for British Album of the Year, UK * Grammy Award for Album of the Year, US * Juno Award for Album of the Year, CA * Lati ...

:

Mithoon Mithun Sharma (born 11 January 1985), also known as Mithoon, is an Indian Hindi film music director, lyricist-composer and singer. Mithoon composed the Hindi song "Tum Hi Ho" from the 2013 Bollywood romantic film ''Aashiqui 2''. Mithoon recei ...

, Jeet Gannguli, Ankit Tiwari,

Sandeep Nath Sandeep Nath is Singer, Lyricist, Composer, Screenwriter, Director and Producer in Bollywood.His Sufi songs "Rangrez", "Ishq Niralaaa" are full of philosophy, spirituality, pure love and positivity. He started his literary career as a poet and s ...

,

Irshad Kamil Irshad Kamil (born 5 September 1971) is an Indian poet and lyricist. His songs appear in Bollywood films including ''Jab We Met'', '' Chameli'', ''Love Aaj Kal'', ''Rockstar'', ''Aashiqui 2, Raanjhanaa, Highway, Tamasha,'' and ''Jab Harry Met ...

, Sanjay Masoomm * Male Vocalist of The Year :

Arijit Singh Arijit Singh (born 25 April 1987) is an Indian singer and music composer. He sings predominantly in Bengali and Hindi, but has also performed in various other Indian languages. He is the recipient of a National Award and six Filmfare Award ...

("Tum Hi Ho") * Music Composer of The Year : Mithoon ("Tum Hi Ho") * Upcoming Male Vocalist of The Year : Ankit Tiwari ("Sunn Raha Hai") * Upcoming Music Composer of The Year : Ankit Tiwari ("Sunn Raha Hai") * Listeners' Choice Song of the Year : "Sunn Raha Hai" * Listeners' Choice Album of the Year : Mithoon, Jeet Gannguli, Ankit Tiwari, Sandeep Nath, Irshad Kamil, Sanjay Masoomm

References

External links

* * * {{Authority control 2010s Hindi-language films 2013 romantic drama films 2010s romantic musical films 2013 films Films scored by Mithoon Films about alcoholism Films about music and musicians Films scored by Jeet Ganguly Films scored by Ankit Tiwari Films shot in the Western Cape Hindi films remade in other languages Indian musical drama films Indian remakes of American films Indian romantic drama films Indian romantic musical films T-Series (company) films Films directed by Mohit Suri Hindi-language romance films