Aisha

It's a known fact that Devika Bhagat's screenplay is an adaptation of Jane Austen's 'Emma'. The trailers gave the impression of another silly Yashraj movie but seeing the cast and the fact that it was based on a Jane Austen novel, I wanted to give it a shot. Phew, it's definitely not as bad as the Yashraj fairy tale garbage. However, even though I enjoyed 'Aisha' it could have easily been better.

With the exception of the wedding and engagement sequences, most of the time 'Aisha' felt too western. They could have Indianized it a bit more. I'm not saying to completely traditionalize it as it's important to show Aisha as an arrogant spoiled brat who loves modern fashion but there's no need to make the film look like a fashion show of western outfits. Also, the commercialization of brands was sometimes too in-your-face. In addition, a few sequences have been lifted off Amy Heckerling's 'Clueless', especially the scenes with Shefali. Moreover I felt that the ending was rushed. I would have liked to see more development of Aisha, Shefali and Pinky post the 'breakup'.

Among the good points is that 'Aisha is fun to watch. The music is superb. The comedy works very well. There's hardly a dull moment. The chemistry between most actors is just right. Beautiful looking Sonam Kapoor shows tremendous improvement as an actress since her awkward debut in 'Saawariya'. The performance may not be stupendous but she's competent and proves to be a much better actress than most of her contemporaries. Abhay Deol doesn't have a large role but he lights the screen with a natural performance when he appears in a scene. Ira Dubey, Cyrus Sahukar and Amrita Puri are brilliant. Lisa Haydon doesn't overdo her sexbomb colleague character. A stunning Anuradha Patel is a treat to watch. Anand Tiwari is wasted.

'Aisha' is a decently made film. I found the settings quite confusing and inconsistent. Some scenes were filmed in India and others abroad while there was no mention of such. The cinematography is average and the editing at times felt patchy but not to the extent that it ruins the entire movie. 'Aisha' is no classic but it's entertaining.

There is a scene in the movie where Abhay Deol looks at Sonam and accuses her of being shallow. He may have been talking to the director of the movie. I don't know how many times poor Jane Austen may be rolling in her grave. Forget about adapting from the book (which is a true masterpiece ); it wasn't even able to copy from another classic of its kind.

The story does not progress with any logic – scenes seem to have been cut and pasted to fill in the gap. The character Emma is supposed to be a complex one – she is vain, narcissistic and controlling yet has charm and an attractive appeal about her. You love to hate her. Aisha, on the other hand , seemed plain dumb. Fighting with her childhood friend and acting like a bitchy teenager when another hot girl comes into the picture (a totally irrelevant addition) is really not a show of character. The love-hate equation with Abhay Deol should have been crackling but they keep arguing unnecessarily throughout the movie. Sonam doesn't look very convincing in her I-know-what's-best attitude.

As for the characters - Sonam has potential but is slowly becoming a bimbo expert. However she usually looks pretty in her movies and has a good sense of style so her styling in the movie seemed way off. The outfits were meant to emulate the Manhattan street style but looked odd and out of place. Abhay is his smart Alec self but looks so disgusted with his co star, you wonder how he fell in love with her. The supporting characters actually add flavor to the movie. Amrita Puri is fabulous, with good roles and opportunity she can make it big. Cyrus looks very genuine and appears to be a typical Delhi boy. Ira Dubey goes from headstrong and blasé to gentle and soft in 2 consecutive frame which confuses everyone.

The only scoring point was the movie's music which is very apt , youthful and a true delight..wish the movie was the same..!

AISHA – CATCH IT ( B- ) Aisha is inspired by international Best seller Emma and the scenes of the movie are ditto copy of Alicia Silverstone's Clueless. The whole movie is like you have seen that hundred times before. The movie is really stylized and Sonam Kapoor looks really Hip. She acted really well and looked like an elite gal. Amrita Puri and Ira Dubey were amazing; they were funny and acted really well. Abhay Deol is like a dead fish, I don't know why people cast him, I found him incredibly boring. Lisa Hayden, Cyrus Shahukar and Arunoday Singh were perfect. Overall it's a complete chic flick, which we have seen hundred times, so watch it if you want to see a Hindi version other wise leave it. Watch Clueless again even after Two Decades its much much better.

Aisha is about this super rich good-hearted luxury-snob who sees nothing beyond anything high class, and she can very well afford to. Sonam Kapoor plays Aisha, who is some sort of a cross between Sex and The City's Carrie (in her quintessential fashion sense) and Cher from Clueless (in her adorable snobbishness). She's into social services such as protecting animal rights, appreciating and creating arts, and not to forget her newly found talent, match making.

Teamed with her best friend Pinky, Aisha tries to match make a plain-Haryana-Jane (named Shefali) with her friend Randhir, whom she thinks is perfect for Shefali, but Randhir in fact is in love with Aisha herself. Her only obstacle is Arjun (Abhay Deol), or so she thinks.

In a nut shell, Aisha is a feel good movie, with cute and lovely characters, who each leave their mark with their roles and acting, although I felt Abhay Deol was shortchanged for the amount of potential he has. Amrita Puri (Shefali) in my opinion is the best one to watch out for. Sonam is also very lovable in the snobbish role of a high society snob whom we'd love to hate.

One downside of the movie is that I felt the movie was really pretentious with the amount of super high flying luxurious life shown, especially with the polo match and unreal river rafting getaway in a well-equipped camp house for the vain people. On a positive note, the movie was some very light hearted moments, even makes a what seems serious love declaration at the wedding function into a light comedy moment. You can't help loving Aisha!

i watched the flick today and i din' find it convincing...i was expecting a bit more from it..it did not even had the level of entertainment value one would expect watching the trailers of this movie..i went to watch the movie to enjoy to the fullest...thinking of it as one of the urban comedies that would make me laugh..and get involved with the movie...and i came back from the cinema hall reluctantly..

Talking about performances..well they were just average...Abhay Deol's expressions were nice...but he was not able to carry himself with the story and the plot of the movie..Sonam was as disgusting as ever when it comes to act...though she looked cute in it..Ira Dubey was much better on CHICKS ON FLICKS rather than wasting her time here and even smooching Cyrus Sahukar...m.k. Raina was just jumping along with the lead actors trying hard as if he is turned 25 again...Cyrus Sahukar was as he is..and others also gave just average performances...yupp..the only girl i can praise is Amrita Puri...being her debut movie...she did a great job..acted better than Sonam Kapoor and many other experienced actors...she was really convincing..

the music was very cool..specially the song "GAL MITTHI MITTHI BOL" is already my one of the favorite of recent times..and the title track "AISHA" is also nice...the direction was somehow fresh..but was again just an average direction..cinematography was good...screenplay was okish except in few scenes when it became ultra-slow..

all in all...the movie was just average..with a below average story and content..

i would rate it 4 / 10 this week...go for DESPICABLE ME..instead of AISHA..at least you would enjoy much more than watching AISHA..!!