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
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:
- Anna’s Review
- Bollywood Ticket: Skip Aisha
- Aisha…an average movie
- Bollywood Spice Review
- Hindustan Times: Emma-Spotting in Delhi
- Wall Street Journal Friday Reviews: Aisha Dazzles Critics
- Bollywood Hungama Review
- Times of India Review
- SiFy Review
- Deccan Herald Aisha Review
- Digital Spy: Kapoor delighted by Aisha success
- The New Emma: Clueless in Bollywood (The New Yorker Blogs)
- The Hollywood Reporter: Q&A with Sonam Kapoor
- Progressive and Fresh: A discussion with Aisha director Rajshree Ojha
- Aisha image collection
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:
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 …
Ayesha may debut at film fest in early June…
BollySpice.com reports that Ayesha may be ready in time to premier at the International Indian Film Awards in Sri Lanka during the first weekend in June.
“I am trying my best to complete the film,” says Ayesha producer Anil Kapoor, father of star Sonam. “We are running against time. If we are done with it we might screen it at this year’s International Indian Film Awards.”
The piece continues with quotations from director Rajshree Ohja, who has said, “Emma, like Shakespeare’s works, is a human story. As for the satire on society, I’ve touched upon that. That’s the reason I based the story in Delhi, where the caste divide has given way to class divide. In Delhi you can find a young girl dressed in a Calvin Klein or Versace who discusses matchmaking with her neighbour. Like in Emma, marriage is about elevating your social status. I’ve hinted on these things but remember, it’s a commercial rom-com.”