Aisha Review

Don't get us wrong - Aisha is an enjoyable film in case you're geared up for what it offers. The problem is that a movie that is dressed like a wedding cake that belongs to 18th century England isn't exactly trying to attract a healthy mix of watchers in the first place, and Aisha doesn't expand its target audience even during its run time.

Aisha tries to be a slice-of-life flick, but it is the kind of story with the kind of characters and situations that you'll identify with only if you want to identify with them. Basically, it simply won't draw out the unwilling participant.

It's not totally about its elitist setting - Aisha (Sonam Kapoor) belongs to the swish set, and her "event management" career is eclipsed by her absolutely behenji attempts at matchmaking that she devotes herself to full-time - that doesn't quite gel. It's about the fact that this is a flick about issues. The thing is that general audiences don't want to watch a "issues" on screen unless the film has an exceptionally innovative style of story-telling, or, alternatively, star power.

But then, though Aisha's (the protagonist) shallowness and overall lack of meaningful purpose in life seems to be shoved down our throats, it is really the interplay among the rest of the characters that gives this film its direction.

Aisha's life revolves round imposing her ideas on others, and her latest exploit is her friend Shefali (Amrita Puri), a middle-class girl-next-door. In trying to get her hitched to who she thinks is the perfect man for her, and in trying to "help" her out, she fails to see that she herself is the one who's not all together.

Involved in her restless puppetry are the businessman's son Randhir Gambhir (Cyrus Sahukar), her best friend Pinky (Ira Dubey), and the well-built and unsubtle Dhruv (Arunoday Singh). Aisha has a well-wisher in the form of the successful, sensible Arjun Burman (Abhay Deol), who is amused by her self-centred nature and her childishness, but is protective of her.

The film's pluses consist of its delicious visuals, and its sense of fashion - unabashedly touted as its USP. It would all have run out of soul of not for the music, which is a different story altogether; Amit Trivedi's stunning compositions seem wasted in a production that is clearly doomed to have a short run at the box office.

Sonam Kapoor's Aisha is way too feather-brained and vain; and it's difficult to make out whether it's the character that is so shoddily written or whether it's the actress who is overdoing it. She's gorgeous, however, and probably fits certain nuances of the role better than others of the current crop.

The movie is filled with spontaneous performances, with everyone pitching in to retain the mood of the proceedings, but really, the one character who manages to hold everything in place is the unpretentious Arjun Burman. Again, we don't know if it's the role that is refreshing among a battalion of confused rich brats and easily-influenced 20-somethings, or if it is Deol who is simply brilliant.

Yes, this chick flick is a good-looking film and has its moments, as well as a potential to leave you thinking at the end of it all. Unfortunately, looks aren't everything, and neither is potential.