Aasman Se Aage

{{Infobox television | show_name = Aasman Se Aage | image = [[File:This_is_the_photo_of_Aasman_Se_Aage,_a_reality_show_which_airs_on_LifeOk.jpg|thumb|right| | caption = The Reality behind Reality Shows. | format = Indian soap opera and Drama | runtime = Approx. 24 minutes | picture_format = 1080i (HDTV) | production house = Sagar Arts & 72 Degree Northe | starring = See Below | country = India | language = Hindi | network = Life Ok | first_aired = April 23, 2012 | last_aired = Present | num_episodes = 17 (till 15th May 2012) | website = http://www.startv.in/shows.asp?channel_id=17&serialid=401 }}

'Aasman Se Aage' is an Indian Hindi language television drama that airs on Life OK. It premiered on 23 April 2012 and is telecast from Monday to Friday at 10:30pm IST.

Each episode is 24 Minutes in Durations. In April 2012 the first Maha Episode of ASA was aired which was 46 minutes. Another Maha Episode is reportedly planned for the month of May 2012.

The show tells the story of Meenakshi, a talented but poor slum girl who gets the opportunity of a lifetime to be on a Dance Reality Show on TV called Aasman Se Aage (Beyond The Skies).

ASA is both a drama about dancing as well as a critical examination of reality shows, laying bare behind-the-scene exploitation & manipulations of the medium. It was promoted with the tagline 'the reality behind reality shows'.

Story

The story follows a very talented dancer Meenakshi who hails from a poor slum in Mumbai. Meenakshi gets the chance to take part in a TV Dance Reality Show 'Aasman Se Aage' when the charismatic & unscrupulous producer of the show, DC - sees in her an opportunity get higher TRPs (TV Ratings) by exploiting her poverty.

Initially her mother Malti is opposed to the idea of her daughter going on the show because she is afraid for her daughter. Eventually Malti allows her to go forth and try to win the show after she sees how much it means to Meenakshi. From here the show starts following the journey of Meenakshi and some other participants - Karishma (a sexy, cut-throat competitor who is ready to do anything to win), the brothers Angad (who is good-natured & extremely supportive of his brother) & Akshat (who always needs to win at any cost, but suffers terrible performance anxiety), Sameer (a young desperate school kid whose parents want him to become a doctor rather than a dancer).

Meenakshi gets through the auditions and is invited to live in the ASA Academy with all the other participants which is run like the Big Brother house by DC - it is wired with cameras throughout. As soon as Meenakshi enters the academy, DC cleverly leaks a video between him & her which suggests that he has a sexual relationship with her. This makes all the other participants angry and anti-Meenakhsi even as DC continues to remain a mentor & angelic figure for the naive Meenakshi. Karishma leads a hazing campaign against Meenakhsi where she is mercilessly taunted for being a naukrani (maid's) daughter. DC knows that to get ratings he needs to get Meenakshi to cry - and sure enough all the taunting ensures that she is constantly breaking down, much to DC's glee.

Meenakhsi's one beacon of hope at the academy is Alan her choreographer who always inspires her to give her best and dance for the sake of expressing herself & not for the contest. However, even Alan can't help her when Karishma connives with Akshat to steal a song on which Meenakshi is supposed to perform. Consequently, Meenakshi's performance is ruined & ends up being a complete disaster. Once again she is taunted by everyone in the academy. Meenakshi, unable to take it anymore, breaks down and runs back home.

DC while happy with all the drama he is getting which will make his show a hit - wants Meenakshi back at the academy. He shrewdly plays Alan, making him believe Meenakhsi likes him romantically - and sends him to convince her to come back. Partly because of Alan's inspiring words and also because she witnesses her own sister Poonam going down the wrong moral path because of poverty - Meenakshi comes back to the ASA Academy with renewed strength.

Soon after, DC announces the final shortlist of 12 candidates who are to go to the next round. Sameer, Meenakshi's closest confidante is thrown out of the show. Sameer had nervously flubbed his performance with Akshat because of his bullying - DC tells Sameer that he is still too raw for the show.

DC now wants a love story on ASA - and pairs the constantly fighting duo of Akshat & Meenakshi together. Sameer is turned away form his house by his father and feels completely lost & dejected... he takes the shocking decision to end his own life.

Cast

Cast	Role	Description
Ojaswi Oberoi	Meenakshi Kumar	Central Character
Apurva Agnihotri	DC (Dev Chopra)	Producer, Director & Judge of Aasman Se Aage TV Show
Siddhant Karnick	Akshat	Main male Dancer
Monica Khanna	Karishma	Meenakshi's hater, enemy and competitor
Kushal Punjabi	Alan	Meenakshi's Choreographer
Mauli Ganguly	Roshni	Anchor of Aasman Se Aage
Rajesh Khera	Sanam	Cross-Dressing Judge
Manini De	Mahua	Sexy Item-Girl Judge
Malini Sengupta	Malti	Meenakshi's Mother
Pooja Singh	Poonam	Meenakshi's Sister
Aham Sharma	Angad	Participant, Akshat's brother
Sheela Sharma	Vinita	Karishma's Mother
Mansi Sharma	Sandhya	DC's Assistant
Pulkit Sandhu	Bobby	DC's Assistant

Crew

Name	Role
Story & Screenplay	Sumit Roy
Dialogues	Preeti Mamgain, Vikas Chandra
Choreography	Vitthal Patil
Music	Nakkash-Sargam
Cinematography	Deepak & Sanjay Malwankar
Direction	Glen & Ankush
Producers	Jyoti Sagar & Nilanjana Purkayasstha

Reception

The show was met with generally favorable reviews across the board. Critics took special note of Apurva Agnihotri's riveting performance as the iconic & chameleon-like producer-director DC, a role some have hailed as the 'best of his career'.

The show was also praised for daring to experiment with a bold new approach to storytelling which marked a departure from the kind of domestic soaps popular on prime time Indian TV.

References

India Forums Discussion Board [1]

Indian Express Review [2]

Telly Tadka Review [3]