The magical touches of director Indra Kumar that were seen in Dil, Beta, Raja and Ishq are in evidence in Shweta Art International’s Aashiq, but only in flashes. The film moves on a one twin story track, dealing as it does with one subject in the first half and a very different one in the second, with hardly any connection between them. The end result is that the story becomes very unconvincing and predictable.The director shows touches of a "masala" entertainer in the first half with some very interesting romantic interludes and situational comedies. But even these are few and far between. The film however sails through despite these lacunae purely on the strength of some inspirational performances from Bobby Deol and Karisma Kapoor and not to forget, some witty dialogue by Anwar Khan, that will go down well with the front benchers. Chander (Bobby Deol) is the problem solver for his pals. In the midst of one such mission, he becomes an enemy of Inspector Mathur (Mukesh Rishi). The inspector’s younger sister is kidnapped by Chander’s gang before being married to one of his friends. Pooja (Karisma Kapoor) impressed by the act falls in love with Chander. She sends him blank calls, prompting him to trace her. Finally, the truth is revealed and the duo, predictably decide to get married, with the blessings of Chander’s lawyer father. But Pooja’s rich parents are against the alliance. Here, Chander’s close buddy hatches a plot. Jay (Nasir Khan) who’s nosedeep in debt, takes Pooja to a secluded spot on the pretext that Chander is waiting for her. She is sold to flesh trader Baburao (Rahul Dev) for a few thousands. Inspector Mathur, in an effort to settle an old score, tries to put Chander behind the bars for the crime he has not committed. He runs away from the police station after bashing up Mathur and a few cops. The search continues with no results. In the meantime, Pooja is traded for Rs 50 lakh with an Arab. Alas, the daughter of the rich industrialist can not strike a deal with her captors. In the end, the whole plan is unearthed by Chander and Pooja is freed from the clutches of Baburao and the Arab after a bloody duel. Bobby Deol finally has a good enough role to showcase his talent. His performance in the first half is brilliant and can be rated as his best to date. There is ample scope for emotions, comedy and even action. But in the latter half, he is made to do what he does in every other film with little attention being paid to his character. Karisma Kapoor excels once again in a glamourous role, and scores above everyone else in emotions and glamour. She once again proves she can rise above the script even if the story doesn’t give her much scope. Vrijesh Hirjee leaves a mark in the comical scenes as he has been appropriately used despite having Johnny Lever in the film. Rahul Dev once again impresses in a brief negative role. Nasir Khan is passable. Director Indra Kumar has chosen a weak storyline which doesn’t help him much. The director is firmly in control in the first half, but seems to have let the confused storyline get the better of him in the second. He has tried to add the usual successful doses of situational comedies and emotions but they don’t help him much in the end. But full marks to him for managing to extract good performances from the lead artistes. Music by Sanjeev- Darshan is melodious, though not chartbuster material. They are mere fillers in the film and certain songs even pop up with no proper situation to back them. Harmeet Singh’s camerawork needs special mention as the overseas outdoor location adds lustre to the songs. Anwar Khan’s dialogue is quite effective. l
