Sightless, yet soulful – Beyond Bollywood

Writer and creator Mansi Bagla’s romantic drama is tender and refreshing, with debutante Shanaya Kapoor showing promise, and Vikrant Massey delivering yet another impressive performance.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️💫 (2.5 / 5)

By Mayur Lookhar

Former real estate professional Mansi Bagla has penned, created, and produced Aankhon Ki Gustaakhiyan (2025), starring Vikrant Massey and debutante Shanaya Kapoor. The title evokes memories of Kumar Sanu’s beautiful song of the same name from Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999). The way Gustaakhiyan is spelled in Bagla’s film perhaps echoes the way Sanu crooned the word. While Bagla’s film may evoke some Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam nostalgia, its world and characters are worlds apart.

Aankhon Ki Gustaakhiyan is inspired by Ruskin Bond’s short story The Eyes Have It, specifically one particular chapter, as noted in the disclaimer. To be fair to Bagla, she has created her own world, making Aankhon Ki Gustaakhiyan a true adaptation in its own right.

Story

As part of her method acting process, Saba Shergill (Kapoor), a Delhi-based theatre artist, decides to wear a blindfold for two weeks. She’s preparing for an upcoming audition for a Bollywood film. During a train journey to Mussoorie, Uttarakhand, she’s shocked to receive a call from her colleague, who suddenly leaves mid-journey due to a personal emergency.

Overhearing the conversation is a witty co-passenger Jahaan (Massey), who jokingly calls her “Gandhari,” after the iconic Mahabharata character. With no one from her troupe around anymore, it would’ve been easy for Saba to take off the blindfold but she’s deeply committed to her craft.

As the ride goes on, Saba and Jahaan strike up a bond. She asks him for help over the next two weeks, and he agrees. By a twist of fate, they end up sharing a room. In the days that follow, their friendship grows, and so do their feelings for each other. All along, Saba has no idea that Jahaan, the singer, writer, and composer is blind.

Screenplay and direction

As with many such stories, there is a separation, followed by a reunion that often involves a love triangle. The rest of the story unfolds predictably. But then again, Ram-Leela is performed across countless regions every year, and we never grow tired of it. What truly matters is how a classic is adapted.

Aankhon Ki Gustaakhiyan may not be a classic love story, but it’s one that celebrates inner beauty over physical appearance. Since time immemorial, attraction has typically begun with sight but here, Bagla’s protagonists fall in love without seeing each other.

What adds further depth is the film’s effort to offer dignity, not sympathy, to the blind. In that sense, Bagla and her director, Santosh Singh, deliver all the right messages through Aankhon Ki Gustaakhiyan.

The film is backed by strong writing, with Bagla supported by director Santosh Singh and Niranjan Iyengar. The quality really shines through in the witty, light-hearted conversations between Jahaan and Saba during the 20 days they spend together. One line that sticks with you is when a petrified Jahaan tells Saba that just because he’s a singer and writer, it doesn’t mean his screams should start with an alaap. Later, in the second half, after Saba learns that Jahaan is blind, they share a few drinks in a (European) city pub, and he casually jokes that blind men can be mischievous and flirtatious too.

The first half feels wonderfully organic, a beautiful joyride where two strangers charm you with their budding chemistry and engaging conversations. After the interval, the story shifts to Europe, possibly Azerbaijan, and that’s where Bagla and Singh seem to lose their grip on a promising plot. While the performances and writing remain largely solid, the second half starts to feel overly staged and lacks the natural flow of the first half. Perhaps the director has to shoulder the blame for that.

Acting

Vikrant Massey has always been a consistently good actor, but it’s taken Bollywood a good 15 years to truly recognize his potential. At 38, he plays his first full-fledged romantic hero, but even here, Massey hasn’t chosen a conventional love story. I last saw him as the diabolical pedophile and child killer in Sector 36 (2024); before that, he gained pan-India recognition with 12^th Fail (2024). Here’s an actor who isn’t afraid to take risks. And he delivers a convincing performance in his maiden blind character avatar. Massey spoke about dignity, and that’s exactly what he brings, not just to this role, but to the blind community at large. Though in one scene, you may wonder how Jahaan is cool with Saba using the word andha (blind), the girl quickly switches to specially abled before the desi Stevie Wonder tells her, “no one calls the poor superficially rich“, so he doesn’t mind the word andha per se. Is Jahaan too glamorous to be blind? Does Massey really look blind? Opinions may vary, but the essence of Bagla’s film lies in the heart, not the eyes.

Massey doesn’t let the average second half weigh him down one bit, continuing to charm us with Jahaan’s humour, struggles, and inner demons.  It’s a measured, heartfelt performance that adds yet another strong role to Massey’s evolving filmography.

Well, what about debutante Shanaya Kapoor? Massey almost came across as the film’s in-house PR while praising his young co-actor during promotions. Kapoor’s clichéd media interviews, especially her excessive praise for the Kapoor family, her journey didn’t sit well with the general public. To be fair to her, though, clichéd responses often stem from clichéd questions, or from unimaginative PRs who fail to guide their talent effectively.

Saba, though, is an interesting character. She comes from a privileged family in Delhi. She has her theatre, but dreams of making it in Bollywood. Now, having an insider like Shanaya play Saba – a character who highlights how difficult it is to get a break in the film industry—feels a bit ironic. Yet, there’s genuine frustration in Shanaya’s eyes in those scenes. Let’s not forget, Kapoor was reportedly dejected after her debut film was shelved. At the time, there was speculation that perhaps producer Karan Johar wasn’t confident about the project or maybe even about Shanaya herself. So yes, she may be an insider, but Shanaya can still relate to Saba’s struggle, especially as we later learn that Saba failed her big Bollywood audition.

As they often say, God has a plan for everyone and young Kapoor shows adequate promise in her debut film. For an insider, playing a blindfolded character in her very first outing is a risk, especially since Shanaya is known for her striking eyes. The blindfold does come off in the second half, giving viewers a chance to fully appreciate her screen presence. She is impressive in the first half, though there’s a slight dip in intensity later on. Kapoor seems a bit overwhelmed by emotions in the pre-climax and climax sequences. That said, she has screen presence, a pleasant tone, and most importantly talent. In fact, she appears more promising than her father, Sanjay Kapoor, did in his debut film Prem (1995). To be fair, Kapoor Sr. has found his groove in the second innings of his career. Comparisons may be unfair, but Shanaya already seems more assured than some of the star kids who’ve debuted in recent years.

For a film that champions “no logic in magic, Mansi Bagla takes care to explain a few details that observant viewers might question before offering justification. However, she loses sight of clarity in a crucial scene where Saba reunites with Jahaan and sees him for the first time. She’s livid at the man who left her in the lurch three years ago, but surely there should have been an even stronger shock especially upon realising Jahaan is blind. That emotional reaction is noticeably absent.

We’re introduced to Zain Khan Durrani as Abhinav, Saba’s current boyfriend. Durrani has a strong screen presence, a gifted baritone, and backs it up with the required intensity. At one point, you sense that Abhinav, driven by insecurity, might create a rift, but predictably, he chooses the mature path in the end. Much like Shanaya, he too lets his guard down slightly in his final scene.

Music / Technical Aspects

With Vishal Mishra at the helm, the music leans heavily into Western influences, and the track Nazara is already a chartbuster. What makes it even more special is that, within the film’s story, the song, with all its beautiful lyrics and chivalrous tone, is written by a blind lyricist and singer-composer. Mishra brings his signature crooning style, laced with raw, choked emotion that resonates with his audience. While Nazara deserves a review of its own, the other tracks carry a noticeable ’90s pop-rock hangover – think Bryan Adams. The film also briefly touches upon the frustration of musicians and singers with exploitative music labels.

Uttarakhand and the exotic locales of Azerbaijan offer natural visual appeal, all beautifully captured by cinematographer Tanveer Mir. One particularly striking shot features Saba traveling with Abhinav in a luxury SUV. As the vehicle moves forward, the camera also captures reflections from the side, suggesting that Mir and his team were filming from a moving setup as well. The conversation flows seamlessly, a testament to Mir’s craft and visual sensibility.

Bagla, Santosh Singh, and editor Unnikrishnan P.P. also deserve credit for the creative storytelling in the scenes where Jahaan and Saba, after having their drinks spiked, are shown in an inebriated state. The subsequent conversations are presented through imaginative visuals most notably, a shot where the duo are perched on a carousel.

Final Word

Having previously helmed the crime thriller Forensic, Mansi Bagla delivers a refreshing romantic saga with Aankhon Ki Gustaakhiyan. This reviewer was puzzled by the makers’ hesitancy in organizing a last-minute press screening at least, that was our experience. Due to a network issue, we never received the invite and ended up watching the first day, first show. With a strong story, solid writing, and a capable cast, Aankhon Ki Gustaakhiyan had the potential to be a modern classic, but its average second-half screenplay holds it back. Eyesight or no eyesight, this is still a love story that strikes a chord in your heart, especially if you’re a romantic.

Watch the video review below.