'Aashiqui 2' not inspired by 'Abhimaan': Mahesh Bhatt

"Aashiqui 2" has neither been inspired nor does it much resemble "Abhimaan", the 1973 classic starring Amitabh Bachchan, says the film's producer Mahesh Bhatt.

"What was unique about 'Abhimaan' was a talented successful male artist discovering a simple but talented village girl and then falling in love with her, the resemblance to 'Aashiqui 2' ends there," Bhatt said at the media meet of "Aashiqui 2". He was accompanied by the lead pair Aditya Roy Kapoor and Shraddha Kapoor.

"Aashiqui 2" being a love story of the 21st century deals with pain and loneliness as well as other issues that audiences in the 1990s or before wouldn't have connected with, he said.

"When societies evolve, stories evolve, characters evolve. India is now drastically different from the time 'Abhimaan' was made. Apart from the earlier similarity I have mentioned, there is no similarity between the two movies," he added.

"The film has a lot of heart. It has a world view that the new age audiences would connect to," said the 64-year-old.