Michael Gambon nominated for Emmy; Emma vampire mashup released

Sir Michael Gambon received a nod during last week’s Primetime Emmy nomination announcements for his portrayal of Mr. Woodhouse in the 2009 BBC adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma.

In other Emma news, a new Jane Austen horror mashup novel hit Kindles last week.  Emma and the Vampires, written by Wayne Josephson, takes another stab at the novel of manners-meets-horror movie literary genre.

Aisha opens to generally favorable reviews

Sonam Kapoor as Aisha
Sonam Kapoor as Aisha.

Aisha, starring Sonam Kapoor, opened this past weekend to fairly positive reviews and strong box office receipts.  Opinions on this film adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma ran the gamut from “meh” to glowing.  Have you seen it?  What did you think?  Was it the Clueless rehash some people expected?  Does it matter?

Bits and bobs from around the net relating to Aisha‘s premier:

Interview with Aisha director Rajshree Ojha – again!

Here’s another interview with Aisha directory Rajshree Ojha, this time presented by Yahoo! India.  In the piece, Ojha addresses the fact that viewers will be consciously comparing the film to previous Emma adaptations…

“I am prepared for all the comparisons that are going to come my way but ‘Aisha’ is very Indian. If you remember Jane Austen said ‘Emma’ is a heroine only she is going to love. As a filmmaker when I read something I imagine it and that inspires me to make a film. A good literature, if you adapt it well makes a very good film,” says Ojha.

And for those interested, here’s the Aisha IMDB entry.

Interview with Aisha director Rajshree Ojha

IndianExpress.com recently published an interview with Aisha director Rajshree Ojha, highlighting both the challenges she’s faced as a female director in Bollywood and the striking social parallels within Emma’s and Aisha’s worlds.

Hope everyone’s having a great weekend.  Happy Fourth of July!

Aisha Music Video

It’s been out for a few days, but I thought it was cute enough to post anyway.  😀  Here it is, a tune from the Aisha soundtrack with video clips from the film… “Suno Aisha”…

The film stars Sonam Kapoor as the eponymous main character.  It’s set to release in August.  It’s also shaping up to be a humongous Clueless ripoff, but that’s okay.  😉

Aisha trailer is out!

An Aisha teaser is out!  The film is still set for an August 6 release.

Keep up with the latest Aisha promotional activities at the official site, on Twitter, and on Facebook.  Those who are registered with the official website have been receiving digital postcards introducing the various characters from the film…

Those interested in reading more about the production might enjoy this short Times of India piece featuring young co-producer Rhea Kapoor:

Aisha is a ‘young’ film

“Pride & Prejudice Without Zombies” event begins this Tuesday!

Austenprose.com is sponsoring a zombie-free, non-mashup look at Austen’s Pride & Prejudice.  The festivities begin this Tuesday and continue through mid-July.  Participate in the group read and discuss this perennial favorite with Laurel Ann and other Austen fans!

Ayesha/Aisha website and Facebook page up now!

Producer Rhea Kapoor, sister of star Sonam, announced yesterday that the Aisha official site is live.  There doesn’t appear to be much there at the moment, though you can register for email announcements while you’re there.

Rhea Kapoor is updating the Aisha Facebook page with production stills and other information as it’s available.  On the wall, she recently wrote, “Register with your email address at www.AishaTheFilm.com and something interesting might come your way tonight ;-)”

According to the Facebook, the original August 6 premiere date is still a go.  I haven’t heard whether or not the film sneak-previewed last weekend as initially hoped – my guess is that it wasn’t ready.

Twitter twits can find the official film account at @AishaTheFilm