Aisha!

"By the way on the way Humko jo mili hai zindagi Gaati hai hasti hai pagli si hai zara

Ruthe bhi maane bhi har lamha nayi Hai zindaggi.. moody hai ziddi hai Kya kare kya pata"

Javed Akhtar, Aisha

It's been about three weeks and I've been addicted to the soundtrack from Aisha! The stills, trailers, posters, sneak-peeks of the movie looked promising with a new story line and a sense of freshness attached to it!

Slightly offtrack =) : The one thing that clearly stood out - other than the oh-so-hot Abhay Deol was this awesome Eye liner from L'Oreal. My roomie and I wanted that eye liner and how!

Anyhow the movie released and we saw status messages, reviews, comments on TV and newspapers. Everyone trashed the movie, absolutely, other than the ladyuwhose review I have followed and trusted ever-since I moved to Delhi : Nikhat Kazmi. She gave it a 4/5, astonishing for a movie that has by far only gathered criticism from all quarters. With all the reviews (professional and unprofessional) Pree and I went and watched the movie! And how! we booked the awesome recliner seats in Inox, Hyderabad and relaxed and sat back and waited with bated breath for the movie to kick off!

And it did! The opening shot of the movie is a breathtaking Volkswagen Beetle swishing past the AIIMS flyover and the Race-course road in Delhi with the peppy "By the way" track in the background. And it comes to a halt in a 5-star luxury hotel and a steward opens the door and there's a beautiful shoe and an even more beautiful lehenga. Then we move to a beautiful purple and white themed wedding in the open lawns of this beautiful venue and the Pasteur asks for the couple to exchange rings and everyone looks at each other. And then comes running on a bed on white petals this beauty wearing a super exclusive lehenga and awesome Kundan jewellary : Aisha!

If you think, this post is going to describe each and every shot of the movie, nah! I can not possibly put down in words all my "gasps" and "wow", and "sheesh dude". This detailed explanation is basically to describe the moment when Pree and I fell in love with the movie.

Aisha beautifully played by Sonam Kapoor, is this stylish, super-rich GK2/New Friends Colony/ Maharani Bagh/ Defence Colony (Def Col) girl. She is a snob to an extent and definitely a spoilt brat. She believes in being happy, shopping, living life, and match-making. Based on a novel by Jane Austen, Emma, Aisha's character is suited to Emma's. Aisha believes herself to be gifted with this art ( call it skill, if you may ) of match-making and playing cupid. After the successful betrothal of her aunt with Col. Singh, she takes on another 'project' so to say of playing cupid between Randhir Gambhir (Cyrus Sahukar) and Shefali (Amrita Puri).

Her character is that of a typical money-ed South Delhi girl who loves to go shopping in the likes of DLF Emporio, loves her labels, takes investing in her wadrobe quite seriously. She looks pretty and her look is usually feminine and girly. You'll find her mostly in pastels and floral prints. Laces, bows and pants are her favorites, and she loves to accessorize. I do not know of anyone who can carry of a tweed mint green Chanel suit dress so elegantly. It's both elegant and classic. I mean the styling is absolutely gorgeous and kudos to the stylist here, Pernia Qureshi.

Enough of the styling (for now). Aisha is also a meddlesome busybody who considers it "social work" to help conjure love between two "unfortunate" in her words "bechare" others. Her other past times include sketching, and of course helping out at the Animal Rights Center.

Oh! How did I forget my hero! Abhay Deol plays this anyone-will-want-to-marry-him guy and manages to re-create Austen's Mr. Knightley into his dimpled version! His character is called Arjun Burman, he is Aisha's, childhood friend, school-buddy, neighbour, and her Sister's huband's brother (yes kudos to all those who rem Hum Aapke Hain Kaun). A Wharton graduate, Arjun is an investment banker, who makes it a point to poke Aisha and in her terms "constantly criticize" her for the nothing-ness with which her life is filled. He believes she could do a lot more with her life than interfering in others lives.

I also forgot to mention, her best friend. I mean a girl has to have a best friend right?!, and a girl like Aisha definitely needs to have one! Pinky Bose, again awesomely played by Ira Dubey , excels in her role as an accomplice in Aisha's shopping extravaganzas and brings to life into the typical bitches. They've been together since nursery and that camaraderie is seen in the movie. I remembered my BFF :)

So Aisha takes it on herself to groom Shefali and make sure that she and Randhir get married. She plots and she plans and fails, because she doesn't notice one tiny fact : Randhir is actually in love with her! so while she has managed to groom Shefali into almost-another-south-delhi-babe, she has now lost and Aisha doesnt like losing!

In the meantime, we have Abhay spending time with Aarti (Lisa Hayden), a New York banker herself and Aisha with Dhruv (Arunoday Singh). Little do they both realise that they are actually in love with each other. Each one gets awesomely jealous when he/she sees the other with their supposed boyfriend/girlfriend.

The Rishikesh River Rafting trip is an awesome shot. And even more so is the song "Sham", which suits the mood perfectly, Aisha looks angelic, and the prettiest scene of that shot is when Arjun covers an Aisha sleeping under the stars. it's just beautiful beyond words, at least for the romantic in me.

The movie shows the jealousy and love brilliantly in the song "Behke Behke". Aisha is wearing Red and her eyes are done up with a smoky look and her hair is all frizzy and wild. The background is Salsa, Arjun dances with Aarti and Aisha with Dhruv, but they switch partners later. Their jealousy is evident when they see the other dancing. And so is their love when they dance with each other.

Arjun keeps reminding her to stop with her meddling and they end up having a fight over leaving Shefali alone. Shefali in the meantime falls for Arjun and tells Aisha to buzz off, and claims that Arjun also loves her. Aisha doesn't know the truth and believes what she heard. She goes through a period of heartbreak, which brings us the song "Lehrein" .

During all this, we have two couples : Pinky and Randhir & Dhruv and Aarti.

Aisha one night, sneaks up on her father having Gajar Ka Halwa and they sit and have a heart to heart,which is simply too cute! She tells him "Daddy, i really really don't know, but I think I am in love" and Daddy, played to the T by M.K Raina, tells her to go tell Arjun!

She runs to the function he is in and goes on stage to proclaim her love, only to realise later that she was in the wrong hall. She sobs her embarrassment and sense of loss. And that night Arjun comes to her window, and tells her that it was always she he loved, from tiny fights to spending time with her, to when she got jealous, to when he screamed to her, to when they danced the night away, it has always been and will always be her. In true, Romeo & Juliet and Jane Austen style, he climbs the ladder to kiss his lady, and says: We fight so that we can later make up.

The movie ends with all the couples dancing to Gal mitti mitti in Dhruv and Aarti's wedding, it leaves you with you doing the balle balle and general sense of happiness and luxury, fun and drama.

For me it was a winner, because right from a hi-class good looking Masi (aunt) to a group of friends who've studied in the same school and grown up in the same neighbourhood to the Polo match to the art exhibitions to the wedding-type Diwali party to the Dior dresses to the Chanel bags to the Apron-wearing, cake baking and gardening pants and travel boxes, Aisha was all about the up market Delhi culture. Sonam looks cute and carries off the role perfectly, which comes as no surprise because her sense of styling in real life is as perfect as it was in reel life. The casting was amazing, I can not think of any better people to play the characters! Abhay Deol was just too good and everything a girl can ever ever want (so so so Jane Austen-ish). A lot of people i know have called the film nothing but show and pretty dresses and pretty places, but you have to know the South Delhi culture to grasp what the movie is selling to you. Its' everything about that culture, and not a bit of it is fake or shallow, because if thats the way you are brought up and that's the only way of life you know, then it's just who you are.

Producer Rhea Kapoor and director Rajshree Ojha's Aisha have charmed us for sure. For the delhi-ite in me I give Aisha definitely a 4/5. Both Pree and i came out feeling all couture-ish and have decided to dress ourselves nicely to work tomorrow and will definitely sing the songs for another week to come. Kudos here to Javed Akhtar and Amit Trivedi.

Oh yea, we'll also buy the powder-brush Eye-liner, the heavy duty L'Oreal branding did the trick after all (*sigh*)!

"Rukhte hain kahaan hum rok isse Chalte hain hawa ke jhoke se apni to Aisi hai zindagi yahi apni ada hai Kya karein koi bura jo mane kya karein Humse to hain khafa ab sabhi Jaane do chodo bhi"