Was Aashiqui 2 star hunt jst a gimmick?

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."