Aisha

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.

I thought Aisha was really cute. As an Emma adaptation, I thought it was excellent- they kept all the important elements of the story in, and I saw a few homages to Clueless in there as well. I like that Aisha wasn't 100% likable, as she shouldn't be- she is a girl who's been given everything in life, which doesn't always lend itself to peachy sweetness. Of course she's going to be arrogant! Nobody other than Arjun ever says no to her.

Because this film is about a very wealthy girl and her matchmaking pursuits, which do often come across as very superficial and celebrating monetary pleasures, and the characters are very shallow at times (their problems are hardly anything, compared to the very real struggles other Indians face) I can see how some people might not like it- my dad thought it was absolutely ridiculous (his exact quotes were "I can't believe filmmakers would waste celluloid on this trash").

However, the essence of the film is to show how silly Aisha's attempts are at forcing what cannot be forced, regardless of how much she tries to manipulate the situation or how much money she throws at it. She is portrayed as an arrogant girl, but we are shown that doing so ultimately alienates her friends from her. Do the filmmakers celebrate what could be labeled as "western excess" in the process of telling her story? Sure, but who doesn't like seeing pretty clothes and hairstyles once in a while? Aisha Kapoor is not one of the "mango people"- who would expect her to be?

The music was terrific, and the supporting cast did a wonderful job- especially Amrita Puri, who played the character of Shefali. For those who have seen Clueless, I definitely felt echoes of Brittany Murphy's character Tai through her performance- in a great way. She was really cute! And Ira Dubey played Aisha's sarcastic friend Pinky (Dion in Clueless) to a T, and Abhay Deol and Cyrus Shankar were great as Arjun and Randhir.

I personally highly recommend this film if you're looking for a fun, escapist Jane Austen adaptation with great clothes and danceable music.

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.

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!

Lets be clear that style is more important than substance in this film. Its almost a paid promo for Sonam and the brands she endorses.. L'Oreal / Dior / Elle / Louis Vuitton getting as much footage as some of the characters. What keeps it together are some good punch lines and very good performances from Abhay Deol (who basically carries the film on his shoulders), Ira Dubey (plays her part to perfection) and Amrita Puri (who puts heart into the girl from Bahadurgarh). They manage to hold it reasonably together till the first half but then it starts to fall apart. Key reason is that we never understand why the characters behave the way they do because character development is sacrificed at the altar of fast paced storytelling. And promoting Sonam, making sure she is always the centre of attention. And its all very predictable. For more on this movie & other reviews visit apurvbollywood at blogspot