Review: 'Aisha' is a light weekend watch

Aisha (U)
Cast: Sonam Kapoor, Abhay Deol, Ira Dubey, Cyrus Sahukar, Lisa Haydon, Amrita Puri, Arunoday Singh, Anand Tiwari
Director: Rajshree Ojha
Rating: **1/2

The colourful and attractive trailers of Aisha are sure to draw you to the cinema hall, out of curiosity if nothing else. Clearly aimed at the upmarket audience, Aisha is a feel-good film for the weekend night-out.

Aisha (Kapoor) is a chic Delhi girl, bubbly and lovable in every way. Aisha and her best friend Pinky (Dubey) dress fantastically and look great in every frame. Always prim, proper and sophisticated, our desi Emma (yes, the film is an adaptation of Jane Austen’s classic Emma) wants her loved ones to find and be happy in love. The only problem is she gets it wrong every time.

Among her many skills, the film focuses on only one, matchmaking. Aisha tries to set small-town girl Shefali (Puri) up with her friend and mithai scion Randhir Gambhir (Sahukar), only to find that Randhir is not interested in Shefali but in her. Aisha then goes on to set Shefali up with Arjun (Deol), Aisha’s childhood buddy and critic. All Arjun has to do, apart from investment banking, give Aisha a reality check on life. Other characters Dhruv (Singh) and Saurabh (Tiwari), have little screen time though they are important to the scheme of things in Aisha’s life.

In the first half, everybody seems to love Aisha the way she is, apart from Arjun. The second half however, sees all and sundry criticising her for her “social service”, which she believes is innocent and thoughtful.

Very rarely are Hindi films woman-oriented and with Aisha, Kapoor gets a chance to do a full movie centred on female protagonist but she succeeds only to an extent. Yes, Aisha is refined, but Kapoor’s acting is rather artificial and her dialogue delivery irritatingly nasal. Deol is superb, as always, but the star of films like Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye and Road, Movie, looks like he does not belong in a chick flick like this one. He is a talent wasted in Aisha. Puri as Shefali is one the best parts of the film, easily and successfully carrying off the role of a small-town belle.

Funnyman Sahukar unintentionally provides the few laughs in the film and looks just as comfortable as we see him on MTV’s Semi Girebaal. Singh as Dhruv reminds you of a stiff Upen Patel (36 China Town) with a beard. Tiwari as Saurabh is endearing in the few scenes he has.

The film dwells on the high life of rich Delhi kids always out to have fun. The portrayal of the lives of Aisha and her friends is certain to make anyone go green with envy and sigh, ‘Waah! Kya life hai!’ Scenes in which Aisha and Arjun fight over little issues are cute. The bonding between friends Aisha and Pinky is cuter. These are parts of the film the aam janta will relate to.

The look and feel of Aisha is positive. It’s an ambitious attempt to make a Hollywood-style chick flick, and it does succeed on that level. Delhi and its people have never looked this good before. Stylists Pernia Qureshi (for women) and Kunal Rawal (for men) have done a great job of making their muses look chic and elegant.

Aisha’s music score is infectious just like Kapoor’s smile and screen persona. You will find yourself humming the title track long after you have left the cinema hall. You may not know any of the lyrics apart from ‘Suno Aisha aha’, but never mind. ‘Gal mithi mithi bol’ has already taken the Mumbai nightlife by storm.

Though the film is an adaptation of Emma, so much emphasis is laid on the look of the characters and the feel of the film that the story takes a beating. It could well have done without some unnecessary scenes. That would have cut short the film's running time and quickened the pace.

A cheerful movie, Aisha leaves you feeling lighter on a weekend. Not a bad idea to watch it once to get a sneak peek into the lives of the rich and the spoilt.