Zain Durrani, currently basking in the release of "Aankhon Ki Gustaakhiyan," is sharing some fond memories from the film's sets. The movie, which hit theaters on July 11, 2025, stars Vikrant Massey and Shanaya Kapoor, with Durrani playing a significant role in this romantic narrative.
Durrani plays Abhinav, the boyfriend of Saba (Shanaya Kapoor). He hopes this role will allow him to connect with a wider audience. He expressed that "It's a heartfelt story, and I hope it connects".
Zain recalls how he landed the role, "I sent the audition via YouTube and felt something would click when I did the scene. Though I didn't hear back immediately, months later I was in Mumbai and received a call saying the producer wanted to meet". He remembers that he was finalized for the movie "quite literally at the last minute". "5 days before I started filming. But overcoming it wasn't such a big task because somehow I had lived with the character post the audition".
That meeting with producer Mansi Bagla turned out to be significant. “Mansi and I clicked instantly,” he shared. “I was given the script, shared a few inputs, and within a week, I was on set shooting".
"Aankhon Ki Gustaakhiyan" is inspired by Ruskin Bond's short story, "The Eyes Have It". The film is directed by Santosh Singh and written by Mansi Bagla and Niranjan Iyengar. The title itself evokes memories of the song from Sanjay Leela Bhansali's "Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam".
Durrani enjoyed working with Shanaya Kapoor and Vikrant Massey. Describing Massey, Zain said, "One is the experienced actor having worked for several years in the industry and has had an inspiring journey and made his mark, yet is grounded and easy to work with. That is Vikrant". Talking about Shanaya, he added: “And one is the newcomer who the world already knows but that brings a whole lot of pressure on its own. Yet she's grounded and kind as well". Shanaya plays a theatre artist, while Vikrant Massey essays the role of a blind musician.
Zain said that the reason why he said yes to “Aankhon Ki Gustaakhiyan” is because: “I've wanted to do a love story for a while now. I started my career with one and I want to keep coming back to it, because this genre is what made me fall in love with movies. And that's what AKG offers".
