Matchmaking gone wrong

Family friend and relative Arjun (Abhay Deol) tries to make her see sense,but lost in her own perfect world,Aisha does not heed his advice. Till she almost loses all her friends and is not grounded enough to know that she has lost her heart. As the bubble bursts,Aisha tries to make amends,understand others and love and also try to get to know a stranger – herself.

Jane Austen’s novels are among the classic delights of English literature and Emma,the novel on which this film is based,is not inferior at all. Trouble is that the scriptwriter and director turn it into a Delhi-based coming-of-age film in the 21st century as well as a romantic comedy.

And when that is done,some key elements are vital – the entertainment quotient and the emotional one. On the first front,Aisha is an acute disappointment. Over-realistically dull and a flat fare,it craves for a punchy script and lines that need to connect with the audience by making them chuckle,guffaw or feel a lump in the throat. The other aspect is the pace – which at best is a crawl. The music is the third sore point – such films need benchmark scores like Dil Chahta Hai,not the vacuous so-called melodies laced with decent (not more) lyrics.

In the emotional department,though Sonam Kapoor tries hard,all the feelings come across as superficial and even plastic,and the uninspired dialogues again do not help. We cannot empathise or even sympathise with Aisha and even with certain other characters who are,so to speak,her “victims”. The coming together of Dhruv (Arunoday Singh) and Aarti (Lisa Haydon) who are not exactly the one-partner variety in a sudden marriage is also unconvincing.

The film gets some visual appeal from the picture-perfect visuals by DOP Diego Rodriguez,the production designer’s work and some,but emphatically not all the dresses. Amit Trivedi’s background score is effective.

From the cast Sonam Kapoor as Aisha impresses – though her performance does not better her work in I Hate Luv Storys,signifying the importance of a good script. So do Amrita Puri as the unpolished Shefali,Cyrus Sahukar as Randhir Gambhir,Lisa Haydon as Aarti and Ira Dubey as Pinky. Abhay Deol,however,does not pack the requisite wallop and could have been much better.

Rating

One star for Sonam Kapoor’s efforts and one for the great look of the film.