Ye Khula Aasman

wogma rating: Add to that never-watched 'To Watch' list ^(?)

quick review:

Yeh Khula Aasmaan is a partial success at an attempt to show how children succumb and lose their confidence to pressure from parents. Soon enough though, it contradicts itself and becomes a predictable story.

Director: Gitanjali Sinha

Cast: Raghuvir Yadav, Raj Tondon

Running time: 95 minutes

Genres: Family, Relationships, Social

More Movie Info

The only novelty in Yeh Khula Aasmaan is the grandfather-grandson relationship. The rest is a mix of inspiring 'quotable quotes' that are worth what they are worth and the typical underdog sports story. Behind all the emphasis on not pressurizing a child to score academically is a thick layer of pressure to succeed in whatever it is chosen for him. And that didn't at all work for me. However, if there is one take away from Yeh Khula Aasman it is the brilliant performance of Raghuvir Yadav.

Whether or not I agree with what Raghuvir Yadav's character had to do, his performance is warm and endearing. So is debutant Raj Tondon's performance - he comes across as the perfect representative of the confused, diffident, complex age called adolescence. The rest of the cast is actually functional and thus caricaturish. Only these two seem to have real emotions.

In that sense then, real emotion is what the relationship is about. That I found it far from ideal is a different matter. While Ye Khula Aasmaan looks down upon parents tendency to put their children down as a way to bring a sense of responsibility, it adds the burden of bearing a grandparent's aspirations. This then boils down to a child having to live up to someone or the others' expectations. What good will that do?

So, what if a simple medium of a kite-fight is used signify this larger thing called life. The metaphor is used beautifully in one song, but beyond that it becomes a bit much and all I could see was the need for Avinash (Raj Tondon) to succeed.

This brings me to the question, what happens to people who don't succeed? There are people who haven't ever succeeded in anything they did. What happens to them? Or it just might be that there is no story worth making a film out of in there. There are indeed very few 'loser' protagonists who have succeeded as a story in a film.

I won't say which route Yeh Khula Aasmaan takes, that one you'll figure out as the movie progresses. But, what I can tell you is that Yeh Khula Aasmaan is not a complete loss because of Raghuvir Yadav, Raj Tondon and the chemistry they create. The preachy dialogue worked just a bit because it was within a relationship between a grandfather and his grandson. You could see it fall apart as soon as Avinash's friends began saying lines meant to inspire.

Yeh Khula Aasman has some lovely, warm, genuine moments of camaraderie between grandparent and grandchild both because of hard work at writing and an heartfelt performances by the protagonists. Unfortunately, it beats its purpose by doing exactly what it pointed a figure at to start with.

- meeta, a part of the audience

18 reviewers^(?) - 3 yays 2 so-so 13 nays

Warning: clicking on "full review" will take you to an external website that could contain spoilers.

Thumbs up, Daily Bhaskar : ...The high voltage drama with bit of romance induced in a teenager’s life is impressive. ... full review

Thumbs up, by Martin D'Souza, Glamsham.com : ...YEH KHULA AASMAN is a wonderful product of a sensitive story, simple direction and melodious music which forms an intrinsic part of the narrative.... full review

Thumbs up, by IANS, IBN Live : ...reasonably admirable feat in this simple staright-from-the-heart film... full review

So-So, by Taran Adarsh, Bollywood Hungama : ...On the whole, YEH KHULA AASMAAN isn't perfect, but likeable nonetheless. A simple story that strikes a chord! ... full review

So-So, by Rony Dcosta, Desi Martini : ...The film is well intended and deals with not only students struggling with academic pressure but also about children leaving their old parents and settling abroad in search of the elusive green bucks. Sadly the weak execution makes sure that the film leaves us with no emotional impact.... full review

Thumbs down, by Bobby Sing, Bobby Talks Cinema.com : ...No doubt, simplicity has its own beauty....but YEH KHULA AASMAAN remains too simple to be applauded from start to finish (lacking the beauty part) ... full review

Thumbs down, by Shakti Salgaokar, DNA : ...The execution is amateurish and shoddy. The plot takes the entire first-half to establish itself and the film completely drags on through the second half.... full review

Thumbs down, by Nupur Barua, fullhyd.com : ...What could have been a touching and sensitive story falls flat on its face due to bad scripting, dreadful dialogues and poor acting.... full review

Thumbs down, by Vinayak Chakravorty, india today : ...Raj Tandon makes a fine debut, and Raghuveer Yadav's Dadu is credibly essayed. The actors, though, can't save the tedious show.... full review

Thumbs down, by Priyanka Ketkar, koimoi : ...Gitanjali Sinha’s script deals with the pressures faced by today’s students but despite the seriousness of the topic, it hasn’t been given a proper treatment. The script also lacks any good dialogues. They are cheesy, silly and sound very archaic. The film has a very repetitive, clichéd feel to it.... full review

Thumbs down, by Janhavi Samant, MiD DAY : ...High on idealism but really low on skill... full review

Thumbs down, Movie Talkies : ...As far as the story is concerned, though it is pleasant enough, there is nothing to hold the viewer's attention or interest and teamed up with a predictable end, slow pace and stereotypical characters and preachy messages... full review

Thumbs down, by Mansha Rastogi, Now Running.com : ...Yeh Khula Aasmaan is a film stuck in limbo. Far too hackneyed and boring to make for an engaging watch... full review

Thumbs down, by Preeti Arora, Rediff : ...The most appropriate description which comes to mind is contrived melodrama that has random plot points strung together... full review

Thumbs down, by Sonia Chopra, Sify Movies : ...But despite the film's core intentions, one cannot recommend this twisted moral-science of a lesson. The message is timely and important, but the film doesn't effectively communicate it.... full review

Thumbs down, by Swati Rohatgi, STARDUST : ...Yeh Khula Aasmaan too predictable and boring.... full review

Thumbs down, by Sudhish Kamath, The Hindu : ...The film unwinds at a lazy, sluggish pace which in itself wouldn't have been such a bad thing if it did create genuinely heart-warming moments without relying on melodrama or a sentimental overdose.... full review

Thumbs down, by Madhureeta Mukherjee, Times of India : ...For a movie that's supposed to be inspirational, director (Gitanjali Sinha) gives us blah lines, lackluster story-telling - which is emotional at times, with an exhaustingly slow pace - weakening the script further.... full review

15 tweeters^(?) - 10 yays 1 so-so 4 nays

vishaldude789: Watchd #yeh khula aasmaan. Inspiring film. To not give up on things before trying! Touching film with heart! Go watch it!

vikramgupta70: Watched Yeh Khula Aasmaan. Raghubir Yadav has done an exceptional job.

vanishree7625: Wish there were more meaningful films like #Yeh Khula Aasmaan!

Reliance_media: Review: 'Yeh Khula Aasmaan' is heartwarming http://dlvr.it/1clnmR

palrao2110: Watched Yeh Khula Aasmaan yesterday with the whole family, we all enjoyed it. Sweet film, lot of heart and soul, nice music. Do watch!

odisha360: Raghuvir Shines in Heart-warming Tale http://www.odisha360.com/2012/05/25/raghuvir-shines-in-heart-warming-tale-yeh-khula-aasmaan/

KamathGurudutt: Yeh Khula Aasmaan is an interesting maiden film explaining life through a kite flying competition. Won several awards. Worth a watch.

ichaitany: YEH KHULA AASMAN is a wonderful product of a sensitive story, simple direction and melodious music which forms an i... #Bollywood #News

FilmiJi: Yeh Khula Aasmaan: With the surfacing of quality logical cinema, the film industry is no longer about mainstream.

FABULOUSLYFLORA: strongly recommend a film called "yeh khula aasman" do watch guys i cried thru it it won lots of awards

VIVECKVASWANI: gitanjali sinha ne ye khula aasman mein ki soch ke bhed ki kahani ko sadagi se pesh kiya hai.2.5 stars. Ajay bramhatmaj. Dainik jagran

sp4zee: YEH KHULA AASMAAN movie review: A boring lecture! http://bit.ly/Kj2h1a #sp4zee

r1kartik: Gitanjali Sinha thot working with heart was enuf 2 make good movie. she could not have bn more wrong YEH KHULA AASMAN http://kartikr.blogspot.com/2012/05/yeh-khula-aasman.html

movieopinions: Yeh Khula Aasmaan: Movie Review: Rating: 1.5 out of 5 stars Director: Gitanjali Sinha Genre: Drama... http://bit.ly/LzehfR @movietickets

MinorityReview: Yeh Khula Aasmaan was a terrible, badly acted, dated and irritating film. Review here http://www.minority-review.com/yeh-khula-aasman-made-me-want-to-bang-my-head-against-a-wall

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