35 Years of Aashiqui: Anu Aggarwal Recalls ‘Crazy’ Fandom After Film’s Success

Entertainment News: It has been 35 years since the release of Hindi cinema's cult classic Aashiqui (1990), which pushed lead actors Anu Aggarwal and Rahul Roy to stardom. As the film approaches its milestone anniversary, Anu recalls the tremendous fandom she encountered. It has been 35 years since the release of Hindi cinema's cult classic Aashiqui (1990), which pushed lead actors Anu Aggarwal and Rahul Roy to stardom. As the film approaches its milestone anniversary, Anu recalls the tremendous fandom she encountered.

"It was crazy," says Anu

“I still remember the call when Mahesh Bhatt told me, ‘Aashiqui is a hit!’ . It felt like a 1000-watt lightning had struck me. There were hundreds of fans outside my house; guys were writing ‘I love you, Anu’ on the walls! ’. It was crazy,” shares the actor. The actor also recalls how a group of Bengaluru schoolgirls "screamed and ran" towards her at the Mumbai airport, indicating how big the film had become.

The movie also had remakes

Following the enormous success of the film, directed by Mahesh Bhatt, a remake was made in 2013 featuring Aditya Roy Kapur and Shraddha Kapoor in the lead and directed by Mohit Suri, which was also well appreciated by the audience. Aashiqui 3 was also in production with Kartik Aaryan, but the project was dropped due to legal concerns.

Anus's thoughts on the younger generation taking the baton

“The thing is, as far as my Aashiqui goes, our tagline was “love makes life live” which is weirdly the reality. Romance and love, throughout the ages, have been, especially for Hindi movies, a pushing factor. You have to understand that each generation has its own way of expressing that love. Therefore, an Aashiqui that was made 35 years ago would be different that was made 10 years ago, and the idea of love is also changing and evolving. So the way you show and make a movie will be different," said the actress.

Did the remake do justice to the original film?

Anu says, Let’s be honest. A lot of remakes try to be like the original... There will be some changes, but on the other hand, the remakes always cannot be the real thing and will always be different. To say whether they have done justice or not – I do not judge. Each person is trying to express in the best way to express art. I think it’s unfair to judge.”