The movie ‘Aisha’, the adaptation of Jane Austen’s ‘Emma’, shows how contemporary Indian society is deeply entrenched with Victorian-era values of class, marriage and gender.
Aisha, directed by Rajshree Ojha is an adaptation of Jane Austen’s novel, Emma, set in the year 1815 in England centres on Emma Woodhouse, a young woman whose attempt at matchmaking turns the lives of people around her into a disaster. Aisha, a film on the same storyline, changes the novel's setting in terms of time and place. Unlike Emma, which is set in the rural countryside location, Aisha set in New Delhi is very urban with the plot set in some of the city’s posh areas. Emma and Aisha are spoilt troubled rich protagonists who act as matchmakers which lands them in a difficult situation. Both stories take us through the courtship and marriage of three couples. The differences arise in terms of the time period and the society that the two stories are part of. It is interesting to see that Emma and Aisha highlight ‘marriage’ as a means by which women ‘settle down’ in their lives, despite the time and cultural differences in the two stories. The two stories also emphasise the class and status level of individuals in society. Emma and Aisha are seen preoccupied with good looks and elegance and possess a deep class snobbery and misguided sense of superiority. Aisha is seen addressing a man as ‘so middle class’ and mocking another one for running a sweet shop business, categorizing people based on class and roles that they play in society. This sense of superiority due to high class and status is manifested in Aisha making us believe that we haven’t come that far from the Austen era. Emma portrays Hghburg society and its absurdness towards an obsession with rank, gossip, appearances, role and wealth. Aisha depicts a similar Delhi high-class society which is equally preposterous.
Shefali (the Harriet Smith character for Emma), Aisha’s friend is bought to Delhi by her aunt to get married off. Shefali is shown to be of the same caste from a legitimate family, unlike Harriet (from Emma) who was an illegitimate child. The plot has been twisted here as the traditional Indian society is not acceptive of intimacy before marriage.
Male characters in Aisha are seen to be paranoid about the safety of their women. In a particular scene, Arjun (Mr Knightley from Emma) insists on dropping Aisha home rather than her travelling alone, as he considers Delhi unsafe. The men also object to women asking for directions from strangers. This captures the sense of pride Indian men feel by protecting and controlling their women. The same has been captured in the Austen world where men are considered to be the provider and protectors of women. Delhi being called ‘unsafe’ also captures the sense of resent and a degree of despise that the upper-class have for the lower and middle-class of the society.
Aisha is just a more fashionable and richer version of Emma with access to clubs, polo matches, camping trips, malls and credit cards. The two shallow characters try to depict the shallow world that we have been a part of. Aisha follows the theme of class consciousness, wealth and power which has been carried on since the Austen era and is still prevalent in our society.
