Deccan Chronicle: 4 stars
Mayank Shekhar, Hindustan Times: 1.5 stars
Aparajita Ghosh, Apun Ka Choice: 2.5 stars
Deepa Garimella, Full Hyderabad: 4 stars
Sanjukta Sharma, Livemint: no star rating provided ("pretty picture, bad film")
Rajeev Masand, CNNibn: 2 stars
Deccan Herald: no star rating provided ("fashionable chick flick")
Subhash K. Jha, Bollywood Hungama: no star rating provided ("engaging and endearing")
Pankaj Sabnani, Glamsham: 2 stars
Komal Nahta, Koimoi: 1.5 stars
Spice Zee: 4 stars
Sukanya Venkatraghavan, Filmfare Magazine: 3 stars
V Love Movies: no star rating provided ("frothy")
K.K. Rai, Stardust Magazine: 3 stars
Shilpa Jamkhandikar, Reuters Blog: no star rating provided ("very pretty, very shallow")
Sukanya Verma, Rediff: 3 stars
Aniruddha Guha, DNA: 2.5 stars
Sonia Chopra, Sify: 3.5 stars
Mihir Fadnavis, India.com: 3 stars
Blessy Chettiar, DNA: 2.5 stars
Nikhat Kazmi, Times of India: 4 stars
Taran Adarsh, Bollywood Hungama: 3.5 stars
Avg: 2.91 stars
(scroll down for full reviews)
I do not trust Taran one bit, so I will take it with a pinch of salt, though i think tht there is enough hype for this movie... and DU is open now, so expect it to be a hit
ReplyDeleteTaran's formal review is out - 3.5 stars to Aisha!
ReplyDeleteTaran Adarsh: 3.5/5
ReplyDeleteRecall the age-old adage: Marriages are made in heaven. Consummated on earth. But haven't we encountered lots of people in real life who try to set things up between friends/acquaintances? In fact, they take upon themselves to make matches and meddle in other people's affairs. That, in a nutshell, is the plotline of AISHA.
The film is supported by a fine [read talented] cast. Also, one of the delights of the film is the cleverly written supporting roles. Ira Dubey is spunky, a damn good actor. Amrita Puri is a revelation, a powerhouse of talent. Cyrus Sahukar is first-rate. Arunoday Singh acts his part well. Lisa Haydon [as Aarti] is underused in a small role. Anuradha Singh is classy. M.K. Raina [Aisha’s father] is efficient. Anand Tiwari [as Saurabh] is competent. Sameer Malhotra and Vidhushi Mehra [Aisha’s brother-in-law and sister, respectively] have nothing substantial to do.
On the whole, AISHA holds appeal for the youth mainly and there’s a strong likelihood that this segment of movie-going audience will fall for its charms. From the business point of view, the makers have recovered a big chunk of their investment from the sale of Satellite Rights and Music Rights and recovering the balance amount from India theatrical, Overseas and Home Video should be a cakewalk.
Source: http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movies/review/14157/index.html
Nikhat Kazmi TOI: 4/5
ReplyDeleteStory: Aisha Kapoor (Sonam Kapoor) is the quintessential uptown girl from super rich South Delhi. She's smart, sassy and intelligent and spends her time with usual cosmo concerns: animal rights, art exhibitions, weekend getaways, polo matches, shopaholic sprees....But more than all this, her pet obsession seems to be matchmaking.
After having found a suitable match for her aunt, she now wants to pair off her newfound friend, downmarket, small town-ish Shefali Tiwari (Amrita Puri), to Randhir Gambhir (Cyrus Sahukar), the man who actually is all eyes for Aisha alone. But before she can do that, she must transform the Haryanvi behenji into an uber chic style diva like herself. Indeed, a difficult project that gets even more tough because childhood buddy, Arjun Burman (Abhay Deol), seems hell-bent on scuttling all her `new projects' and censuring her `social work' as meddlesome mess. Does Arjun's opinion actually matter? Are marriages made in heaven? Can love be stage-managed? Good questions!
Source: http://reviews.moviehattan.com/2010/08/aisha-movie-review-by-nikhat-kazmi.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
Aisha
ReplyDeleteBlessy Chettiar, DNA
Rating: **1/2
Why you should watch Aisha
Aisha: Yes, our upmarket Delhi Emma is bubbly, lovable and looks great in every frame. Always prim, proper, and sophisticated, Aisha wants all her loved ones to find and be happy in love. The only problem is she gets it wrong every time.
Clothes/styling: Stylists Pernia Qureshi (for women) and Kunal Rawal (for men) have done a great job of making their muses look chic and elegant. Aisha’s sense of dressing will make any style-conscious lass go green with envy.
Treatment: The look and feel of Aisha is positive. It’s an ambitious attempt to make it look like a Hollywood chick flick. And Delhi and its people have never looked this good before.
Music: Aisha’s music score is infectious. You will find yourself humming the title track long after you have left the cinema hall. You may not know any of the words apart from ‘Suno Aisha aha’, but never mind. ‘Gal mithi mithi bol’ has already taken the Mumbai nightlife by storm.
Why you should not watch Aisha
Aisha: Yes, desi Aisha is refined but Sonam Kapoor’s acting is artificial and dialogue delivery irritatingly nasal.
Story: There is none. The film is apparently an adaptation of the Jane Austen classic Emma, but so much emphasis is given to the look of the characters and the feel of the film that the story takes a beating. The film could do without some unnecessary scenes. That could cut short the film's running time and quicken the pace.
DNA Review
Raja Sen surprises
ReplyDeleteRajaSen Watched Aisha. Producer @RheaKapoor should be super proud of her 1st film. Fab lookin chick-flick that gets its basics very right. Go girls!
Aisha
ReplyDeleteMihir Fadnavis, India.com
3 stars
My reaction to 'Aisha' was no different from my reaction to other chick flicks. It's cute enough, the atmosphere is sufficiently romantic comedy-like, but somehow, for some reason, I just don't bond with it. 'Aisha' is a glossy piece of amorous cinema, with a generosity of spirit so all-encompassing that it's easy to forgive its occasional excesses. It is one of those annoying, by the numbers, sickly sweet kind of films that will give you sugar shock by the end. In this case that's not a bad thing.
That said, this fluff machine is on overdrive - Devika Bhagat's dialogue hits the floor like frozen eggnog in director Rajshree Ojha's protracted exercise in cliché-mining. At times Aisha's parade of conflicts feels so forced that you just wish all of these women would just seek some serious mental help. No amount of ironic gift wrapping can conceal the triteness within, in this thinly-plotted festive chick flick that is a tad too long, and too cloyingly odorous to be healthy. Because everyone in the film is rich and in love, you can see the happy ending coming a mile away; of course with a film like this, it's the journey that's important and not the destination. With an assist from the DVD of 'Clueless', and judicious borrowing from a famous Jane Austen novel, Ms. Bhagat has tamed a simple narrative without sacrificing its emotional riches. As a writer, Bhagat knows how to craft believably contentious women and fire off witty one-liners. She's far less handy at translating the characters and dialogue to the screen.
So here we have three women - the wealthy and quirky Delhite Aisha (Sonam), her soul sisters Pinky (Ira Dubey) and Shefali (Amrita Puri) caught in a web of love with three men - Aisha's charming childhood pal Arjun (Abhay Deol), the asinine Randhir (Cyrus) and the slippery Dhruv (Arunoday Singh); self-proclaimed matchmaker Aisha is on a mission to hook Shefali up with Randhir, while Arjun is determined to thwart the operation. The lazy plot soaks itself with a swirling array of bright lights, snazzy costumes and Amit Trivedi's infectious music leading to a mind numbing climax straight out of a Danielle Steel potboiler. The result is glossy entertainment value, though a long way from art. Sonam Kapoor is a Punjabi pop-feminist on a mission. She makes Aisha such an engaging, effervescent personality you can't take your eyes off of her. With a performance as sharp as her chin, Sonam bats down nearly all objections one could raise to this colourful cotton candy. Abhay, though he veers towards Zach Efron territory is suitably restrained. Ira, Cyrus, Amrita are quite likable while Lisa Haydon is wasted in a minuscule role. Arunoday Singh is passable.
'Aisha' is fast food merchandising of the heart. There is so much to not like about this film, yet this humorous rom-com is really, really easy to enjoy. It isn't a great movie, but it should appeal to those who like their films comfortably upholstered and primed to tug at the heart strings.
India.com review
Aisha
ReplyDeleteSonia Chopra, Sify
3.5 stars
Sonia Chopra
Not so serious as to bog you down, not so frivolous as to be dismissed, Aisha is just right. A rom-com, it traces the life of central protagonist Aisha (Sonam Kapoor), an upscale Delhi girl whose life revolves around shopping for brands and matchmaking.
She calls the latter “social service” in all seriousness, even as friends Pinky and Arjun keep telling her to quit meddling in people’s lives.
Pinky (Ira Dubey) has been her best friend since they were little; Arjun (Abhay Deol) is the one who’s severely critical of her and at times even patronizing.
Check out the Aisha special
Aisha meets small-town girl Shefali (Amrita Puri) who is in Delhi to get hitched. Aisha adopts Shefali as her latest project and gives her a makeover, inevitably manufacturing a clone of herself. She tries fixing up Shefali with various suitors, manipulating situations and forcing romance.
Then on it’s a yo-yo ride between love, infatuation, friendship and so on. It’s an entertaining journey, as the characterisation is delightful and you form a connection with each of the film’s players. The additional characters, for example, include a mithai-king’s son - rich, but a little clumsy, and vulnerable to jokes and Arjun’s girlfriend who gives rise to a serious case of “bitchititis”.
The dialogue is real, hugely entertaining, and promptly makes its point. The writing (Devika Bhagat) is fabulous, folding in drama with humour expertly.
There are lots of scenes that’ll remain with you like the one where the group goes for an overnight camp and snuggle together as someone strums a guitar: a breeding ground for hearts fluttering, and some breaking.
Preview: Aisha | Meet Amrita Puri - the behenji from Aisha
Director Rajshree Ojha’s (Chaurahen-Crossroads) storytelling is full of style that also reflects in the songs, the editing pattern, the shot-taking, and art direction. Clothes styling by Pernia Qureshi and Kunal Rawal is a treat.
Of course, the consumption and glorification of brands by the female character reminds one of the Sex and the City series. Music (Amit Trivedi; lyrics by Javed Akhtar) is just lovely.
Sonam Kapoor gives an ace performance as the somewhat nasty-sometimes angelic Aisha. With this role rendered so perfectly, Sonam has proven herself to be an actor to watch out for, capable of belting out an entire range of emotions.
Abhay Deol is wonderful as the “corporate slave” who’s pining away for one person, but is involved with another. As Aisha’s best buddy, Ira Dubey is superb, bringing in nuance and individuality to the character.
Amrita Puri as Shefali is immensely likeable and has some of the best lines. Cyrus Shaukhar as Randhir - the over-privileged nice guy, but a joke among his friends is impressive.
Then there are the little cameos that make the film special: M K Raina as Aisha’s father, Arunoday Singh as the love interest, Anand Tiwari as the “middle-class boy” constantly dissed by Aisha, and Vidhushi Mehra playing Aisha’s sister.
The fun in Jane Austen’s Emma and its subsequent adaptations has been the relationship dynamics between its characters. Two of the unlikeliest people fall in love; confused folks mistake infatuation for love; friendship remains a vague term.
Even if you have seen the Hollywood adaptation Clueless, you’ll still enjoy Aisha for its expert desi spin on the story. It’s a world where the travelling-to-Mumbai gang may shop on the street but will lunch at The Taj and dine at Tetsuma.
It’s so rare for a film to get it all together: from the story, to the performances, to the atmospherics, to the music and more. This one goes perfectly with the popcorn; don’t miss it.
Sify.com review
Though reviews have been pretty good, I think WOM is not that good of Aisha, it raked in 2-3 crs on day one, good enough for a chick flick, but honestly after such rating and hype, kinda below par.....
ReplyDeleteYes Aisha will do recovery or little more but not what was being projected earlier after favorable hype and reviews etc.
ReplyDeleteAnd Abhay Deol wil continue on a run of recovery films, doing the same kinds of roles in each one.
ReplyDelete