'Aashayein' is an honest attempt by the noted filmmaker Nagesh Kukkonoor, which touches the life of a compulsory gambler Rahul (John Abraham) and a chain smoker who is ailing from lung cancer. When Rahul comes to know of his illness, he refuses help from his girlfriend (Sonal Sehgal) and denies any kind of treatment, and shifts to a hospital where people with some kind of ailments live in search to complete his dream of living the life of Indiana Jones. The hospital has a 17-year-old Padma, HIV positive Farida Jalal and Girish Karnad, who has lost his ability to speak. Unlike what Rajesh Khanna did in 'Anand' by spreading cheers in his last moments, Rahul, in this movie realizes to live the life at its fullest, and understands the difference between a dream and the reality.

Nagesh Kukkunoor is considered as one of the pioneer filmmakers in Indian cinema who can dig out the maximum from a story and the characters, but with an ordinary script and unsurprising storyline, he doesn't get too much to explore in this movie.

Unlikely to his appearances and roles in previous movies, John Abraham has given an remarkable performance of a lung-cancer patient. Sonal Sehgal as John's girlfriend has been noteworthy, so do Farida Jalal and Girish Karnad in their parts. Anaitha Nair and Ashwin Chitale are the praiseworthy. Camera work is good, but an expected script causes boredom.

Overall, 'Aashayein' is a light-hearted movie with few good performances and a touching storyline.