Aankhon Ki Gustaakhiyan review: Shanaya Kapoor- Vikrant Massey's blindfolded love story is 'Punishment For Your Eyes..'

On Friday, July 11, two films hit the theatres: Vikrant Massey and Shanaya Kapoor's Aankhon Ki Gustaakhiyan and Rajkummar Rao's Maalik. The former, directed by Santosh Singh and written by Mansi Bagla, is based on Ruskin Bond's short story The Eyes Have It. In the original story, a visually impaired narrator meets a similarly visually impaired young woman on a train, with both trying to hide their condition from each other. However, the film takes a creative turn, and unfortunately, it only goes downhill from there.

In the movie, Jahaan (Vikrant Massey), a visually impaired singer, crosses paths with Saba (Shanaya Kapoor), a struggling theatre actor hoping to break into Bollywood. What's meant to be a romantic meet-cute quickly veers into unsettling territory. In preparation for a role as a visually impaired character, Saba blindfolds herself for four days and calls it "method acting." She begins speaking to Jahaan, a total stranger on a train, accepts drinks from him, follows him to his hotel, and even agrees to share a bed with him, despite knowing virtually nothing about him. Her complete lack of caution feels implausible, especially in a world where women have always had to be vigilant.

Jahaan and Saba spend four days together, gradually falling for each other. He hides the fact that he is visually impaired, while she is quite literally hiding behind a blindfold. Their first kiss occurs when Jahaan accidentally falls on her while she's half-naked, a moment intended to be tender, but it comes off as awkward and, frankly, creepy. This is where the plot truly begins to unravel.

While netizens appreciated Vikrant Massey's performance, Shanaya Kapoor failed to make an impression. Many criticised her for her unnatural accent, and several pointed out that her lip fillers and other cosmetic enhancements. 

Though Shanaya arguably fared better in her debut than Suhana Khan, she still fell short of expectations. In the end, Vikrant Massey remains the film's only saving grace.

However, Vikrant Massey, as Jahaan, throws around lines like "karobaar ke kalaakar," "usne mujhe nazar se nahi nazariye se dekha," (She didn't look at me with her eyes, but with her perspective.) and "dekhne ke liye aankhein nahi lagti.."(A poetic way of saying, you don't need eyes to see."

And in true Bollywood hero style, he decides to walk away from Saba the moment she takes off her blindfold, making yet another life decision for both of them. Many, many scenes in the film will make you cringe harder like never before. 

The title of Vikrant and Shanaya's film Aankhon Ki Gustaakhiyan is borrowed from the iconic song in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. The irony? The film itself is completely tone-deaf in its portrayal of visually impaired people.

The film is written by Niranjan Iyengar and Mansi Bagla. The music has been composed by Vishal Mishra. Aankhon ki Gustaakhiyan" is presented by Zee Studios and Mini Films.