My movie's not a chick flick: Ojha (About Aisha)

Aisha director Rajshree Ojha, who's adapted Jane Austen's classic Emma, on her perception of shades of grey in Emma's character, her disagreements with the Kapoor sisters, and much more....

Austen had said of Emma, 'I am going to take a heroine whom no one but myself will much like, because she will be handsome, clever, and rich'. What can we expect from Aisha?
That's my favourite quote from Jane Austen and that is the reason I picked Emma for adaptation. With Emma, you don't know if she's right or wrong. She's a very grey character, and that makes her interesting. As a filmmaker, I dwell on 'the grey' and for me, Emma or Aisha is a woman with shades of grey. You will hate her at one moment, but love her in the next. You can't find out if she's evil, manipulative or a genuine and nice person.

A chick flick as your first mainstream work?
The protagonist is a woman, but I never really made it as a chick flick. The story has a lot of depth and that's what I liked. When I started this project, I knew I was going to make a romantic comedy. I think that a rom-com is watched more by women, so people call it a chick flick, but Aisha is not a chick flick; it is a romantic comedy.

Why Emma, of all Austen novels?
I like taking up stories with a little more meaning; Emma was an interesting concept. I like Mansfield Park too, but I love the grey shades in Emma. She is strong and yet a bit lost, not knowing what she wants from life. Another thing that worked in favour of Emma was the theme of the novel – match-making. It is very prevalent in our society, especially in India; people here are obsessed with marriages. Till a girl gets married, her family, relatives, friends, everyone hounds her. Also, the book has a universal theme as it talks about a woman's craving for love and finding the perfect man.

You are single. Did you too have to go through the 'get married' grind?
Of course I did. I think every girl in the age group of 18-30, if unmarried, has faced or must be facing this situation. I too experienced it and as I am still unmarried, I still have to address those uncomfortable questions once in a while. Even when I was in the US, I would get proposals, and honestly, it was at that time that I really thought that no matter where you live, India, America or 19th century Britain, marriage and matchmaking will dominate the conversation of Indians.

Why Delhi as the setting? What parallels do you draw between 19th century Britain and Delhi?
I was born in Kolkata, then lived in Bengaluru for a while and now I live in Mumbai, but I've always found Delhi to be a mix of all cosmopolitan cities, more like a bridge between the traditional and the modern. In Emma, the setting is vast rich fields, big houses and everything lavish. For me, all that was in Delhi. I needed that 'rich' culture and tradition and big houses with sprawling gardens, which one can find only in Delhi. Also, in Delhi, the class thing is very prevalent, and it is not based on the caste system, it is based more on the monetary position.

Is that why fashion is important for Aisha?
Yes. I had a colour palette in mind, and everything was chosen accordingly. If you see, Delhi's high society is somewhat similar to the British high society of the 19th century. Here, you have upper class or upper middle class ladies with their chiffon sarees and pearl necklaces, flaunting the perfect bag or the perfect shoes. All this is so Delhi.

Why did it take you six years to make Aisha?
I started working on Aisha at the end of 2004. My writer Devika Bhagat and I worked on the story and came up with this fabulous script, but we had to knock on pretty much every door to sell the concept. Most people had this misconception that it's a chick flick and it won't work here. Finally, in 2008, we approached Sonam for the title role and that's when Anil Kapoor Productions stepped in.

There were rumours of a disagreement between you and the Kapoor sisters...
The movie needed someone who had a vision, and when I first went to Sonam, I kind of had someone who was interested. When I narrated the concept to Sonam and Rhea, they were very excited and they understood my vision. Initially yes, there were some issues, as Sonam had read Emma and she had some pre-conceived notions about how to play her character and I had mine. I didn't want her to play her role in a goody-goody way, as I like my characters to have shades. But after some initial hiccups, we had healthy discussions and I am now happy with the end result.

The 1995 movie Clueless, starring Alicia Silverstone, was also a modern day adaptation of Emma. Are you worried about the comparisons?
I don't see many similarities between Clueless and Aisha. Yes, there is a fair bit of fashion in Aisha too, but that is natural, because Emma was rich and spoilt. But this is not based in a high school like Clueless. Also, Aisha is a 24- year-old typical Delhi girl. I don't think there will be any comparisons.