The makers of AkaashVani talk about lead pair, Kartik Tiwari and Nushrat Bharucha. While a number of star kids may be making their way to Bollywood, lesser-known faces are making their mark, too. Like the lead pair of director Luv Ranjan's AkaashVani — Kartik Tiwari and Nushrat Bharucha — who are already grabbing eyeballs.

The director says he finds it amusing when people ask him about casting new actors. "Just because we've cast newcomers, it doesn't mean there is a reason behind it. Is it not enough that they are good actors?" he says. Luv says he had the option of signing established stars after his first film — Pyaar Ka Punchnama (PKP) — became a hit. "But Kartik and Nushrat, who also acted in PKP, are perfect. They are stars for me. We want our film to be successful on its own merit rather than for having big names."

Abhishek Pathak, who is co-producing the film with Kumar Mangat, points out that the biggest superstars of Bollywood are not from film families. "Like Rajesh Khanna, Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan, to name some. Yet, eyebrows are raised when we cast the so-called outsiders in lead roles in a mainstream film. Everyone talks about how there's so much talent in the country, and when you explore it, they ask why," he says. AkaashVani, produced by Wide Frame Pictures, releases January 25