For
all
its
preoccupation
with
blindness,
the
only
people
Aankhon
Ki
Gustaakhiyan
deems
blind
is
the
audience
to
think
they
cannot
see
what
poppycock
unfolds,
sighs
Sukanya
Verma.
Strangers
meeting
on
a
train
and
falling
in
love
has
led
to
epic
romances
from
Pakeezah
to
Dilwale
Dulhania
Le
Jayenge.
Never
though
the
experience
has
felt
as
bogus
and
bizarre
as
Saba
and
Jahaan’s
blind
encounter
in
Aankhon
Ki
Gustaakhiyan.
Directed
by
Santosh
Singh
for
a
script
‘created’
by
Mansi
Bagla,
the
farfetched
premise
inspired
by
Ruskin
Bond’s
short
story
The
Eyes
Have
It,
revolves
around
Saba
(Shanaya
Kapoor),
a
blindfolded
theatre
actress
eyeing
Bollywood
stardom
and
Jahaan
(Vikrant
Massey),
a
sightless
songwriter
traveling
from
Delhi
to
Dehradun
on
a
train
with
a
VFX
view.
Whatever
poetic
allusions
the
makers
want
to
build
on
what
it
means
to
see
or
feel
through
the
eyes
of
one’s
soul
are
lost
in
the
sheer
senselessness
of
the
plot.
The
extraordinary
absence
of
distrust
and
personal
safety
is
mind
boggling
as
instant
overfamiliarity
makes
way
for
giddy
love
between
two
people
who’ve
just
met
and
know
nothing
about
each
other.
Solo
traveling
for
young
women
in
India
is
tough
as
it
is,
let
alone
with
a
strap
tied
around
the
eyes
for
the
sake
of
a
blind
girl’s
role
while
cozying
up
to
a
smooth-talking
stranger.
Even
Jahaan
cannot
help
asking,
‘Andhe
ladke
chichore
nahi
ho
sakte?‘
The
duo
grow
creepily
close
when
Jahaan
offers
to
give
her
a
crash
course
in
blindness.
Vishal
Mishra’s
lilting
love
ballads
accompanying
their
coming
together
is
the
only
bright
spot.
Honestly
though,
this
is
just
too
much
convoluted
attraction
to
take
in
unless
it’s
a
kinky
sort
of
movie,
which
Aankhon
Ki
Gustaakhiyan
is
certainly
not.
The
let’s-just-get-it-done-and-over-with
screaming
in
every
single
lip
lock
the
leads
share
says
volumes
about
their
chemistry.
Sporting
a
haggard
and
scruffy
look,
Vikrant
Massey’s
flair
for
sounding
sardonic
sees
Jahaan’s
sincerity
for
the
joke
it
is.
Newcomer
Shanaya
Kapoor
looks
chic
and
speaks
well
but
is
far
too
vanilla
to
pull
off
the
cinnamon
flavours
of
a
logic-defying
love
fool.
Post-interval,
its
pile
of
contrivances
shifts
from
Indian
hill
stations
to
European
winter
as
identities
are
changed
and
romantic
interests
are
renewed
for
the
sake
of
prolonged
nonsense,
which
includes
a
wannabe
experimental,
loony
heart-to-heart
between
a
stoned
couple.
What
can
I
say?
Just
turn
a
blind
eye
to
it?
For
all
its
preoccupation
with
blindness,
the
only
people
Aankhon
Ki
Gustaakhiyan
deems
blind
is
the
audience
to
think
they
cannot
see
what
poppycock
unfolds.
Aankhon
Ki
Gustaakhiyan
Review
Rediff
Rating:
