New stars on the block

The makers of Akashvani talk about New stars on the block and their lead pair, Kartik Tiwari and Nushrat Bharucha.

While a number of star kids may be making their way to Bollywood, lesser-known faces are making their mark, too. Like the lead pair of director Luv Ranjan’s Akashvani — Kartik Tiwari and Nushrat Bharucha — who have already come in people’s eyes.

The director finds it amusing when people ask him about casting new actors and asks, “Why such questions, Is it not enough that they are good actors?” He adds he could have signed established stars after his first film — Pyar Ka Punchnama — became a hit. “But Kartik and Nushrat, who acted in PKP too were just right. We want the film to be successful on its merit rather than for having big names.”

Abhishek Pathak, who is co-producing the film, points out that the biggest superstars of Bollywood are not from film families. “Like Rajesh Khanna, Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan, to name some. Yet, eyebrows go vertical when we cast outsiders in lead roles in a mainstream film. Everyone knows there’s so much talent in the country, and when you explore it, they ask why,” he says.

AkashVani releases on January 25