Aisha

I have been super excited about the movie "Aisha" ever since I got to know that it is to be an adaptation of Aunt Jane's Emma, and that none other than the charismatic and the very very sexy Abhay Deol was to play Mr Knightley. And, contrary to most reviews and opinions, I wasn't disappointed. When I go for a movie, I am not looking for anything but entertainment. Weather that be from serious questioning cinema, a mindless comedy, chick flick, a rom-com, I have no qualms. Though I do love the classic Bollywood formula of singing and dancing with a heavy dose of melodrama the most, I am happy to take whatever I get as long as I get thoroughly entertained!

Aisha, was in and out a chick flick, but unlike most movies of this genre, this one did not sideline the men (read : ample Deol footing, so happiness) However, they could not do this, seeing as it was after all about match making or shall I say mismatching. Sonam Kapoor, is Aisha, who does not believe in not meddling. Living in elite South Delhi, is the much loved daughter of a widowed father, and the woman of the house as her elder sister is married off. She believes that she has a penchant for matchmaking, as one effort resulted in wedding bells. She also believes , with good intent, that everybody's business is her business. Arjun (Deol) begs to differ. He is brother-in-law to Aisha's sister, as well as being a favourite with her father. A suave, designer dressing, New York return investment banker. He see's Aisha as someone with a lot of potential who wastes it on her meddlesome quests. He never fails to point this out and reprimand her whenever needed and often when not needed. And then there is the gang (for a lack of a better word). Her quirky, sarcastic, very hot best friend Pinky Bose (Ira Dubey) She lives to throw caution at the winds, and insults at people's face. Never bitten, Never shy. She knows what she is and most importantly what she's not. And loyal to the core. The Harriett here is Shefali Thakkur (Amrita Puri) who comes from the back and beyond and begins to idolise Aisha. She is Aisha's project of the month, and Aisha's word is law for her. Then there are some other men who prance around , moving the plot but not this blog post. Matters not, because there is not much originality in the script, save for Ira Dubey who I did not find in the book. So obviously, a good original script is not what stuck with me, and neither is the movie a good adaptation, a good movie but not a good adaptation. It's almost a scene to scene copy, so anyone who has read the book or seen Clueless will know without a doubt what is to come.

But Aisha scores in almost every other dimension. The OST is a hit, though the choreography is a miss. I dare you to survive, gal mithi mithi bol, without bursting into peals of hysterical laughter. Good, fun song though. The dialogues are very much in line with the whole chick flick, uber elite Delhi, witty, sarcastic, humorous theme.

The character sketches, the director draws are definitely a big strength for the movie! Aisha, as in Emma, is a constant surprise. You love her, dislike her, admire her, and wish to reprimand her. But she does not leave you feeling sour, Cause she's what we all are. Human and very real. But one question, you cannot help asking is that, wy isn't se interested in boys herself? The sketching of all the characters, has been done brilliantly down to the last minute detail. You feel like, you know them. You can relate with them, you want to chill with them! Arjun, like his inspiration, Mr Knightley is a very sorted, very fearless person, but I found this inspiration of Knightley to be more realistic. You can see his reasons for criticizing Aisha, He is hard on her, but but it upsets him that both of them are upset with each other. But in the book, sometimes I found Mr Knightley doing exactly with Emma, what she did with Harriett. Just the style was different.

The clothes and accessories, oh please don't get me started!! Love, love, love. Maybe lust too.

What with my new love for all things yellow (excluding nail paint, that will never happen) I adored the strapless dress. And it did wonders for Sonam. She is anyway a very classy, stylish person to begin with, so she had just the right attitude and panache needed. Also loved the white and red hearts dress, with the heart shaped cut at the back! Moschino, I would think. The makeup, not on the face, actual tangible bottles, looked delicious. I need to devour L'Oreal soon.

A word for Ira Dubey, though I am not fond of such over the top dressing usually, she did wonders for the pieces! I absolutely loved her!

And now for the cast, Sonam for once satisfied me! She did a good job, we always knew she looked good, now we know that she can act! Abhay Deol, needless to say was fabulous. I cannot imagine another Arjun, but then I am a devoted fan. Oh, you can tell?Also, the chemistry between Abhay and Sonam was amazing! Being the eternal ( you might prefer the word hopeless) romantic that I am, I hope these too get together in real life!

But Amrita Puri, was the one who exceeded all expectations and stole the show! She was fabulous, very natural effortless acting. Very graceful. And I found her to be quite pretty too!

So all in all, I came out satisfied wanting too see more of the debutant director, Rajshree Ojha's work. Good times, so, good movie.

Oh, and I loved the last scene!