The
thing
about
shallow
people
from
the
beau
monde
is
that
they
shouldn't
be
played
shallowly
when
brought
to
the
screen.
Sonam
Kapoor
in
a
'tailor'-
made
role
(where
more
moolah
seems
to
have
been
spent
on
tailoring
her
chic
outfits
than
on
exploring
the
locations,
sound
sights
scents
and,
yes,
sense
of
this
embarrassing
world
of
excessive
self-preening)
gets
the
Jane
Austen
character
right.
Quite
a
leap
for
the
actress.
When
she
had
played
the
confused
lover-girl
in
Saawariya,
Sonam
had
imposed
her
own
natural-born
confusions
on
the
character
rendering
it
shaky
and
disembodied.
In
Aisha,
Sonam
is
far
more
in
control
of
her
character's
misguided
emotional
compulsions.
The
fact
that
the
young
actress
knows
this
label-centric
designer
world
of
chic
shenanigans
so
well
helps
Sonam
master
and
contour
her
character's
art
of
self-deception
in
a
way
the
original
author
of
the
character
would
have
approved.
Sonam's
world
harks
back
to
Jane
Austen's
giddy-headed
British
gentry
class
where
match-making
was
not
idle
chatter.
It
was
religion.
When
placed
in
the
neo-rich
spiced-up
politically-charged
atmosphere
of
Delhi
Jane
Austen's
characters
seem
to
come
alive
in
unexpected
spurts
of
sassy
splendour
and
unbridled
joie
de
vivre.
You
can't
help
laugh
at
these
young
often-aimless
people's
self-importance.
Aisha
is
a
2-hour
celebration
of
pre-nuptial
rituals.
Though
no
one
says
it,
every
girl
in
the
picture
wants
only
one
thing.
And
it
isn't
necessarily
love,
but
somewhere
close.
The
bristle
and
bustle
of
Delhi
come
alive
through
the
slender
intellectual
faculties
of
the
protagonists.
Let's
not
forget
Jane
Austen
had
applied
great
intellectual
strength
to
her
frail
and
shallow
people.
Aisha
converts
Austen's
world
into
a
frail
feisty
frolicsome
fashion
fiesta
shot
with
an
empowering
affection
for
the
natural
light
that
bathes
these
somewhat
affected
people.
The
cinematography
by
Diego
Rodriguez
and
specially
the
songs
and
background
music
by
Amit
Trivedi
create
a
multi-hued
skyline
in
this
saga
of
sophomore
socialites,
their
loves,
lovers
and
love
tattle.
Debutant
director
Rajshree
Ojha
gets
into
this
world
of
titillating
trivia
and
designer
dreams
with
a
wink
and
smile
that
go
a
long
way
in
building
a
showcase
around
these
metropolitan
mannequins
on
a
single
minded
match-making
prowl.
The
casting
is
as
dead-on
as
it
can
get.
While
the
guys
Abhay
Deol,
Cyrus
Sahukar
and
Arunoday
Singh
play
the
Brain,
Nerd
and
Hunk
with
absolute
relish
it's
the
girls
who
keep
you
chuckling
and
tch-tch-ing.
Ira
Dubey
and
debutant
Amrita
Puri
put
in
pitch-perfect
performances
as
sahelis
bullied
into
alliances
that
seem
manipulated
on
earth
rather
than
arranged
in
heaven.
They
have
a
bright
future
ahead,
single
or
not.
But
the
film
belongs
to
Sonam
Kapoor,
make
no
mistake
of
that.
She
makes
the
best
of
a
rather
rare
opportunity
for
an
Indian
leading
lady
to
be
a
part
of
Bollywood
film
that
salutes
Victorian
mores
and
Delhi's
elitist
affectations
in
one
clean
cool
sweep.
Engaging
and
endearing
Aisha
makes
you
wonder
if
there's
anything
more
important
in
the
world
than
finding
the
right
match.
Maybe
finding
the
right
movie
about
finding
the
right
match?
Story first published: Friday, August 6, 2010, 17:19 [IST]