Aashiqui

Plot

Rahul (Rahul Roy) is angry with his dad for marrying a second wife, while his mother is still alive; in rage and in fury he pays an uninvited visit to the wedding where he throws his mother's (mangalsutra) and all the other household items she preserved. He breaks the glass of the wedding car and is hence arrested. Meanwhile Anu (Anu Aggarwal) runs away from an oppressive girls' hostel run by Arnie Campbell (Tom Alter) and reports to the police station that she is missing. While waiting for Arnie , Rahul offers her his jacket which she accepts. Arnie then takes her back to the hostel promising the inspector this would never happen again. The inspector offers some advice to Rahul and lets him go back home. The very next day Rahul spots his jacket hanging and wishes to meet Anu. Since she lives in a girl's hostel there is no way he can enter. Hence he plays cricket with his friend and deliberately aims the ball into the compound. The security lets him inside to retrieve the ball. Rahul goes inside and sees Anu climbing a ladder. She is taken aback by his presence and falls off the ladder. Rahul was unable to express his feelings for her and writes a note on the electricity bill his mother told him to pay that very day. Anu takes the note and leaves. His mother then is upset that Rahul did not pay the bill and asks his Master ( Tailor) to help get the bill back. The tailor helps Rahul get the bill along with a note where Anu requests him to meet her at the Library that Saturday. He arrives on time where Anu tells him she has nothing to offer him , but Rahul says nobody can stop him from loving her , not even herself. Soon after he leaves , Arnie catches her and takes her along to Ooty to be admitted in another hostel. Master Tailor learns about this and informs Rahul who goes along with his friend to search for Anu and finds the place they are staying in. Arnie actually intended to get Anu married and lied to her about admitting her to a new hostel because she would not have come along. Rahul was eavesdrooping on their conversation and promises to attend the party. He runs away with Anu but is caught by the local police. Arnie then finds out that Anu has a distant relative of hers named Uncle Peter who is an alcoholic. Once Peter signed the documents he had full custody over her. Rahul asks Arnie about her whereabouts and he reveals everything. They find Anu and bribe the uncle for a sum of 15,000 rupees on the condition that he signs the documents and is no longer Anu's legal guardian. After Anu is finally free she wishes to become self reliant and seeks admission in a typing institute. One fine day a group of men search for a model to run for Jean Cardin brand of clothes in Mumbai and request Anu to audition. Anu agrees and wins a sum of 10,000 rupees along with a free tour to Paris and a secured residence. She thanks Rahul for his help. Rahul makes a hasty decision to get married to which Anu agrees. Rahul's mother on hearing of this pays a personal visit to Anu and offers some advice. The very next day Rahul comes to the place where Anu is going through a photo shoot session. He hears the man in charge telling her to change into a swimming costume to which Rahul disagrees. He tells them that they were planning to get married soon but is shocked when he learns that Anu signed a contract promising she would not get married within a span of two years. Rahul is heartbroken by this decision and pens her a letter written with his blood. Rahul then establishes himself as a singer. Anu decides to further her career when the director Padamsee (Homi Wadia) persuades her to accompany him to Paris. When Rahul comes to stop her from boarding the flight, Anu stays behind to renew their relationship.

Cast

Credits

Produced by Super Cassettes Industries Limited & Vishesh Films.

Reception

Aashiqui was an all-time blockbuster at the box office in 1990 mainly due to its music, low budget and high grossing collection with the showings running to full houses.

Soundtrack

The music for Aashiqui was composed by the duo Nadeem-Shravan and lyrics were written by Sameer, Rani Mallik and Madan Pal.

The songs in Aashiqui were recorded to make an album in 1989, but when Mahesh Bhatt heard them, he decided to make a film and he asked Gulshan Kumar for the same.

Reception

Rakesh Bandhu of Planet Bollywood gave the album 9 stars saying, "Aashiqui was a success in its own right. It is truly a beautiful collection of compositions by the Nadeem-Shravan." The soundtrack became very popular upon release, becoming the best selling Bollywood soundtrack of the year by a wide margin.

With 1.50 crore (15 million) copies sold, it is the best selling soundtrack album in India of all time, as well as one of the best selling albums of all time in any genre in India.