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After a nation-wide talent hunt for new faces in Aashqui 2 -- the sequel to the blockbuster 1990 musical Aashiqui, which made Rahul Roy [ Images ] and Anu Aggarwal overnight stars and established Nadeem-Shravan among the most successful music composer duos of all time -- the cast has been selected.
The two heroes in the love triangle will be played by Shaad Randhawa and Aditya Roy Kapoor, and the girl will be played by Shraddha Kapoor.
The pretty daughter of veteran actor Shakti Kapoor [ Images ], Shraddha's career has suffered a string of false starts. After an inglorious launch in the Amitabh Bachchan [ Images ] starrer-Teen Patti, Shradha was supposed to play the lead opoosite Prateik in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's [ Images ] production of My Friend Pinto. The role passed on to Kalki Koechlin [ Images ] and Shraddha ended up doing the Yash Raj film Luv Ka The End, which did nothing for her career.
Now, the Bhatts have taken charge of Shraddha's career.
"We found Shraddha very talented," Mukesh Bhatt says. "All three actors have extremely challenging dramatic roles. It's not a film about only looking good, singing and dancing. These are performance-oriented parts, and we're convinced that Aashiqui 2 would do for Shraddha, Aditya and Shaad what the first Aashiqui did for Rahul, Anu and Deepak Taijori."
Three months and a 'star hunt' later, the makers of "Aashiqui 2" recently announced the cast of the film. Much to the dismay of all the aspiring actors and actresses who uploaded their videos online as part of this star hunt, the lead roles have been bagged by Shakti Kapoor's daughter, Shradha, Aditya Roy Kapoor who had appeared in "Action Replayy" and Shaad Randhawa – neither of whom had participated in the contest online.
THE RESULTS ARE A DAMPENER: PARTICIPANT
When the Bhatts announced that the cast of the film would be decided through an online video auditioning of sorts, it seemed like a once in a lifetime opportunity for youngsters looking for a launch in Bollywood. But the participants are now crying foul, alleging that the entire star hunt was just a sham.
Mohit Sinha, who played a young journalist in Milan Lutharia's "The Dirty Picture", had also uploaded his video to compete for the lead role in the film. "But the results are a dampener. The actors who have been finalised are either star kids or have already been part of Bollywood projects. How is it possible that they couldn't get a single face from those thousands of videos uploaded online? Something is really fishy," he says.
The popular sentiment is that the star hunt was just a gimmick, and a needless one if the filmmakers had to take people from Bollywood as their stars. Rajeev Sharma, a 23-year-old from Delhi, who also auditioned for the same, is disappointed with the results. "How is it possible that not even one among the thousands of online applicants made it? Isn't it sort of impossible?" he asks.
DIDN'T FIND THE TALENT WE WERE LOOKING FOR: MOHIT SURI
If Mohit Suri, the director of "Aashiqui 2" is to be believed, the star hunt didn't bring forth any outstanding talent. And the faces hoping to make it to the big screen could only get as far as the computer screen. "Frankly, we couldn't get the talent which we were actually looking for. Of all those who participated in the online auditions, none could match the standards we wanted. As a result, we had to finally approach a few independent casting directors to give us some more faces who could be considered for these roles. The three actors we've chosen are all newcomers, so there isn't much difference between that star hunt and this," he says.
Reacting to these reports and the angst of the contestants taking part in the hunt, which even includes hate mails on the You Tube page of "Aashiqui 2", Mahesh Bhatt, producer of the movie, says, "The fact is that it is tough to deal with rejection. Not one person who auditioned on YouTube came anywhere close to our expectations. It is a fact that contestants are claiming that it was all rigged and pre-planned. We have the glorious record of casting a number of young talents in our movies. But this time we were disappointed. As far as casting these three faces is concerned, I would like to get this straight that no 'unknown' actor is ever cast without an audition."
The two heroes in the love triangle will be played by Shaad Randhawa and Aditya Roy Kapoor, and the girl will be played by Shraddha Kapoor.
The pretty daughter of veteran actor Shakti Kapoor [ Images ], Shraddha's career has suffered a string of false starts. After an inglorious launch in the Amitabh Bachchan [ Images ] starrer-Teen Patti, Shradha was supposed to play the lead opoosite Prateik in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's [ Images ] production of My Friend Pinto. The role passed on to Kalki Koechlin [ Images ] and Shraddha ended up doing the Yash Raj film Luv Ka The End, which did nothing for her career.
Now, the Bhatts have taken charge of Shraddha's career.
"We found Shraddha very talented," Mukesh Bhatt says. "All three actors have extremely challenging dramatic roles. It's not a film about only looking good, singing and dancing. These are performance-oriented parts, and we're convinced that Aashiqui 2 would do for Shraddha, Aditya and Shaad what the first Aashiqui did for Rahul, Anu and Deepak Taijori."
The buzz is that Aashiqui 2 is a remake of the Bhatts' 1990 Anil Kapoor-Meenakshi Sheshadri-Govinda love triangle Awaargi.
But Mukesh Bhatt denies this. "Aashiqui 2 is not a remake of any of our films," he says. "It's an original script .It's a contemporary love story dealing with mature emotions."
Significantly, the pathbreaking music score from the 1990 musical blockbuster Aashiqui will not be repeated in the sequel.
Promises Mukesh Bhatt: "We are resisting the temptation of carrying over Nadeem-Shravan's chartbusters from Aashiqui into Aashiqui 2. Jeet Ganguly will make original songs in Aashiqui 2. While Aashiqui had 11 songs, Aashiqui 2 will have only seven."
Interestingly, after the nation-wide hunt for Aashiqui 2, the main roles have gone to star kids. While Shraddha Kapoor is Shakti Kapoor's daughter, Shaad Randhawa -- who was launched by the Bhatts as a villain in Woh Lamhe [ Images ] -- is yesteryear actress Mumtaz's nephew. Aditya Roy Kapoor, who starred in Action Replayy and Guzaarish, is not a star kid, but is UTV CEO Siddharth Roy Kapoor's kid brother.
https://www.rediff.com/movies/report/meet-the-cast-of-aashiqui-two/20120606.htmAashiqui 2 star hunt a gimmick?
Participants in the online star hunt for 'Aashiqui 2' cry foul as filmmakers choose industry insiders; they say no applicant fit the bill to be cast
Mohd Salman Khan
Three months and a 'star hunt' later, the makers of "Aashiqui 2" recently announced the cast of the film. Much to the dismay of all the aspiring actors and actresses who uploaded their videos online as part of this star hunt, the lead roles have been bagged by Shakti Kapoor's daughter, Shradha, Aditya Roy Kapoor who had appeared in "Action Replayy" and Shaad Randhawa – neither of whom had participated in the contest online.
THE RESULTS ARE A DAMPENER: PARTICIPANT
When the Bhatts announced that the cast of the film would be decided through an online video auditioning of sorts, it seemed like a once in a lifetime opportunity for youngsters looking for a launch in Bollywood. But the participants are now crying foul, alleging that the entire star hunt was just a sham.
Mohit Sinha, who played a young journalist in Milan Lutharia's "The Dirty Picture", had also uploaded his video to compete for the lead role in the film. "But the results are a dampener. The actors who have been finalised are either star kids or have already been part of Bollywood projects. How is it possible that they couldn't get a single face from those thousands of videos uploaded online? Something is really fishy," he says.
The popular sentiment is that the star hunt was just a gimmick, and a needless one if the filmmakers had to take people from Bollywood as their stars. Rajeev Sharma, a 23-year-old from Delhi, who also auditioned for the same, is disappointed with the results. "How is it possible that not even one among the thousands of online applicants made it? Isn't it sort of impossible?" he asks.
DIDN'T FIND THE TALENT WE WERE LOOKING FOR: MOHIT SURI
If Mohit Suri, the director of "Aashiqui 2" is to be believed, the star hunt didn't bring forth any outstanding talent. And the faces hoping to make it to the big screen could only get as far as the computer screen. "Frankly, we couldn't get the talent which we were actually looking for. Of all those who participated in the online auditions, none could match the standards we wanted. As a result, we had to finally approach a few independent casting directors to give us some more faces who could be considered for these roles. The three actors we've chosen are all newcomers, so there isn't much difference between that star hunt and this," he says.
Reacting to these reports and the angst of the contestants taking part in the hunt, which even includes hate mails on the You Tube page of "Aashiqui 2", Mahesh Bhatt, producer of the movie, says, "The fact is that it is tough to deal with rejection. Not one person who auditioned on YouTube came anywhere close to our expectations. It is a fact that contestants are claiming that it was all rigged and pre-planned. We have the glorious record of casting a number of young talents in our movies. But this time we were disappointed. As far as casting these three faces is concerned, I would like to get this straight that no 'unknown' actor is ever cast without an audition."
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