A lot has changed in Vikrant Massey’s life between his 2018 web series, Broken…But Beautiful, and the upcoming Aankhon Ki Gustaakhiyan. But one thing has remained unchanged, says Santosh Singh, who helmed both offerings. He points out that after Broken…But Beautiful, the actor hasn’t featured in a tender, aching love story. That was one of the reasons Massey signed Aankhon Ki Gustaakhiyan opposite Shanaya Kapoor.

“Broken… was the first love story we did together, and now we are back with another. Vikrant once told me that most [filmmakers] cast him in hard-hitting movies like 12th Fail [2023] or negative roles like Sector 36 [2024], but only I see him as a romantic hero,” says Singh, who is readying the film for a July 11 release.

Aankhon Ki Gustaakhiyan looks at the love that blossoms between Massey’s musician and Kapoor’s theatre actor. It also marks the latter’s Bollywood debut.

Singh recalls, “The film had its own journey of finding the heroine. We [initially] had Tara Sutaria and Pratibha Ranta for the role, but their dates didn’t work out. We tested Shanaya and she passed with flying colours. We did four months of workshops with her; she also worked with an acting coach. By the time we started shooting, she knew the script by heart.”