Hank and Asha starts off out of the blue, with Asha, played by the truly beautiful Mahira Kakkar sending Hank a video message after seeing his film at a film festival in Prague. She was impressed by his work and were he at the film festival, she would have invited him out for coffee afterward, but since he was back in NYC, she tracked down his contact information and sent him a video. She swore she wasn't stalking him, that she was a student filmmaker in Prague studying film and was curious about him, and his process. Hank, played charmingly by Andrew Pastides, being the gentleman sent her a video message back and so began their interplay. Asha through multiple videos told Hank all about herself and her love for film, about her imagination, her hopes, and her dreams. She also told him about her culture and what her life may be like in the coming years.
Hank returned the favor, sending Asha videos of him at work, in his super tiny NY apartment, him out on the town in different bars and eateries, he allows Asha into his world. He tells her how he got to where he is, how he ran like hell from the small town where he was from where he was expected to run the family business and how that was the last thing he wanted to do. Eventually the two fall for each other and have the desire to want to meet and they decide on Paris after Asha extols the beauty of Prague but how it still doesn't measure up to Paris. With her being on a seriously strict budget, Hank sends her a plane ticket to Paris to meet him. Sadly that's when the trouble starts. Asha tells Hank something that he pretends doesn't crush him and he continues to act as if everything is fine, that they can meet in Paris as friends, nothing more. But as Hanks videos become more biting and somewhat vitriolic, Asha has a change of heart.
Hank and Aasha was so lovely that I didn't want it to end, and that's a film with just two people in the cast for the most part and not a lick of music. Hank plays Asha a song but that's it. I didn't mind that one bit because the writing was simply superb. Written by James E. Duff and Julia Morrison, the dialogue was fantastic, heartwarming, and inviting. The characters don't just open up to each other but to the viewer as well, and when things go south, you feel their pain. The movie was left open for a follow up and I seriously hope one is coming. I would love to see more, hear more, know more about these characters and if you get the chance to see Hank and Asha, I'm sure you will too. I'll see you at the theater.
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