Character Profile: Aisha; Wake Up Sid

I'm one of those people who can become heavily invested in characters (see: Bollywood Characters I'd Marry), and therefore the characters are what will make the film for me. I'd even be willing to put a film's plot on the backseat--not hard, considering too many of our films are basically the same plot rehashed--if I can feel a real connection with the characters. And there really have been some memorable characters that stay with me well past the film's ending credits--therefore, one of the new fixtures on my blog is a profile of some of my favourite Bollywood characters. To kick things off, I'm profiling Aisha, Konkona Sen Sharma's character in Wake Up, Sid.

Aisha is probably not the most typical choice out there, but I absolutely adore her for how understated she is. Oftentimes, a character needs to be over-the-top in order to be memorable, but Aisha's manages to shine through her subtlety, perhaps because she is a realistic and well fleshed-out character--she has her strengths and she has her flaws, and somewhere there is an Aisha hidden in all of us. Aisha is actually the one character who reminds me most of me, and therefore I thought it'd be fitting to start with her.

When we first see Aisha, she is hunched over her journal, possibly recording her thoughts on her first day as an official Bombayite. The journalist in her cannot resist making notes, even if it is at the risk of being anti-social; she very happily ignores the party around her in favor of writing.

However, don't be hasty to judge Aisha as a meek and timid person. She quickly opens up to Sid (played by Ranbir Kapoor) and asks him to show her around Bombay, but immediately specifies what her intentions are (or are not, as the case may be).

From there on, we learn a few facts about Aisha: she lived all her life in Calcutta, she wants to be a writer, and she came to Mumbai simply because she craves independence.

In an industry fraught with "damsel in distress" plotlines, it's refreshing to see a character who is strong, independent, and does not need any form of 'saving'. In fact, she ends up being the one doing the saving--when Sid gets kicked out of his house, it's Aisha he turns to for help, Aisha who takes him in and helps him get his life back on track.

Meanwhile, Aisha's busy getting her own life on track. She has explored Bombay and no longer feels like a stranger in the city...

...she's turning her dump of an apartment into her home...

...and she has interviewed for a job where she meets her, um, rather good-looking boss.

Oops! But who can blame her, really?

How YOU doin'?

The film then continues to explore Aisha and Sid as individual characters and as friends. To say more about the film would be to give plot details away, so I won't. Instead, I'll continue to examine facets of Aisha's personality, through screenshots taken from the film.

Aisha's Style

I love how the costume designers (Manish Malhotra, Priyanjali Lahiri) have managed to give Aisha's character that "modern Indian woman" look--they do not stick her in salwar kurtas, nor do they insist on dressing her solely in skirts or dresses. Instead, Aisha's look blends traditional with modern, and you'll usually find her in a kurta and jeans. It's very typical of what the ordinary Indian woman would wear out and about, thus increasing Aisha's relatability.

I love her payal!

Absolutely adore this camel-print kurta... WANT!

I really like this outfit. It's like an Indianized version of the LBD. Plus, the SHOES!

It's not only Aisha's choice of clothing that reflects her style, but also how she chooses to decorate her apartment. Let me just say that I absolutely love what the set designers have done with her room. It's simple and classy and very reflective of Aisha's character.

Love her use of the bird cut-outs.

Very pretty bird cage to go with the bird cut-outs.

I love hanging up pictures of the people I love too, so I adored this concept!

Aisha's Inspirtation

Again, I love how well-fleshed out her character is. The director does a wonderful job of throwing in little snippets of Aisha's favourite things in the movie. It's done subtly and mostly integrated into song sequences, but it really opens up a window to Aisha's personality.

Books!

Aisha receives a shipment of her things from home.

She collects post cards.

More books!

I love smelling books, so I totally relate to this scene.

Even more books! And you wonder why I love Aisha so much...

I've said it before, but the great thing about Aisha is how easy it is to relate to her. She has her flaws--I wanted to shake her when she kept calling Sid immature; I can't imagine how annoying that must have been, especially after he did a lot of growing up--but she's also extremely endearing and unostentatious.

That's that for my first character profile! I'll be back soon with another. In the meantime, do let me know who your favourite characters are, and whether you feel the same way about Aisha as I do!

By the way, as a side-note: If you're a LiveJournal user, you can follow my posts on your LJ Friends Page by adding this feed. :)

Bollywood Characters I'd Marry - Part One

Here's a bit of an embarrassing fact: I'm a big sap at heart and I completely eat up the idea of a Bollywood romance; you're very likely to find me staring googly-eyed at those Bollywood scenes that others may call cliché and cringe at. For this reason, I've always maintained that Bollywood has ruined my chances of finding the 'perfect' guy, simply because it has raised the standards so high that I can't ever imagine someone meeting them (waiting to be proven wrong, btw). I know we all have our fictional crushes--mine can perhaps be contained in a book the size of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix--so I'm doing it Bollywood-style on this blog and telling you about the characters I'd marry in a heartbeat (in no particular order). I'm splitting this up in two posts, because apparently I can get really ramble-y when talking about the characters I love. ;)

The All-Out Good Guy
These are the complete good guys. Sincere, lovable, and always doing the right thing.

Aditya Kashyap (Shahid Kapoor; Jab We Met)

There's something undeniably appealing about a quiet, brooding guy who seems to have the weight of the world on his shoulders--you inexplicably want to fix things for him. But then there's something more appealing about the guy when he snaps out of it and you discover that beneath all the sulking, there's a guy who is fun, loves to sing, and is genuinely good. And good he is--which other kind of guy would travel across India to accompany a girl home just because it is apparently his fault that she missed her train? And which guy would help the girl (whom he has fallen in love with) run away from her home and into the arms of another man? Which guy would then track down the girl after finding out that all's not well with her, bring joy back into her life, reunite her with her family, and then still try to patch things up between her and her estranged lover? Only an all-out good guy, that's for sure. As Geet rightly says in the movie: "Tumhare upar koi bhi ladki flat ho sakti hai." ("Any girl would fall for you.") 


Prem (Shahid Kapoor; Vivah)

This character is almost single-handedly responsible for me falling in love with Shahid Kapoor. There's nothing to not like about this guy: he's got that endearing innocence, he's charmingly awkward, he tries to accept Poonam's completely traditional ways even if he doesn't understand it all the time, he studied Literature (*swoon*), aaand he doesn't turn his back on her even when tragedy strikes. Perfection.

The Urbane Gentleman

The smooth, sophisticated, smart guys.

Kabir (Rahul Khanna; Wake Up Sid)

I see a lot of myself in Aisha (Konkona Sen Sharma's character in Wake Up Sid), but the one thing I would have done differently is pick Kabir over Sid. He's suave, smart, an editor (brb, dyinggg), and incredibly good-looking. Sorry, Sid, as much as I love you, your immature self doesn't hold a candle to the amazingness that is Kabir. Of course, what adds to my adoration of this character is that Kabir seems very similar to what Rahul Khanna is actually like, so my affection for Rahul Khanna transcends into this character. But either way, Kabir managed to win my heart--and I'd even be willing to tolerate all that jazz, just for him! :D

Arjun Burman (Abhay Deol; Aisha)

People the world over are in love with Mr Knightly--how could I possibly resist a Bollywood-ized version of this well-loved character? Arjun is the perfect mix of snide and kind, the guy who tells it as it is--and has the ability to bring larger-than-life Aisha down a peg or two--but is still undeniably gentle in doing so. Add to that his confidence, sophistication, and dimples, and you've got me swooning. To top it all off, he confesses his love for Aisha in true Bollywood fashion: by climbing up a ladder to her window! And you expected me to resist this guy? Pffft, as if. 

Okay, that's enough of the guys for now. Part two is coming soon and features four more of the Bollywood characters I'd love to marry. Till then, share your list with me! ;)