An Indian student in Prague and an lonely New York filmmaker correspond online through video letters and an unlikely virtual romance ensues in the warm and tender, romantic comedy, Hank and Asha.
Audio Review
An independent filmmaker, Hank (Andrew Pastides) begins corresponding with a fan of his work. What starts off as a professional relationship, soon blossoms into much, much more. Graduate student, Asha (Mahira Kakkar) reaches out to Hank after his film played at a festival in Prague. Moved by his story, the burgeoning film student finds a kindred spirit on the other side of the world in Hank, who is initially flattered by her interest but is soon won over with her beautiful winning smile, free-spirited personality and their ability to share their interest, whether geographically to romantically.
Co-written and directed by James Duff, this is not the first film to delve into online relationships but clearly it is a film of it’s time. Beautifully conceived and cleverly executed by both actors, the story is a series of back-and-forth video messages over an undetermined period of time that displays the developing of their connection through their shared experiences whether it’s food, beer, their hobbies and ultimately their feelings toward each other.
Everything about the film feels experimental whether it’s each in their locations for a limited amount of time to the technology each uses to communicate with each other. Giving himself a year to prove himself as a filmmaker before going back to take over the family business, Hank is desperate to succeed, even working as a driver for a reality show waiting on his big break.
Meanwhile, Asha has dreams of being a filmmaker but her family is pushing her to an arranged marriage. In exchange for following her families’ wishes, her father agrees to bankroll her graduate film degree. As the two grow closer, even arranging a rendezvous in Paris, the reality of each of their situations begins to take a toll on the happy-go-lucky-virtual friends as the clocks ticks down to the next stage of their lives.
This low-budget film with high-minded ideas recreates modern romance and shows the tenderness, fun and urgency of any relationship that only works because of the tremendous work of both Kakkar and Pastides. Radiating so much natural beauty and expression, Kakkar absolutely radiates every time she is onscreen and it only adds to the fact that you feel her pain like a punch in the gut when beautiful spirit succumbs to the pressure of her situation.
One of the pleasant surprises of the festival, Hank and Asha is the When Harry Met Sally of the early 21st Century, a film that re-imagines the possibility of love in the new millennium.
Grade: B-