'Aisha' wins hearts
The movie took in Rs260 million worldwide over the weekend
It seems that Sonam Kapoor as the matchmaker in 'Aisha' has managed to impress moviegoers. The romantic comedy has grossed Rs.260 million at the opening weekend worldwide.
Inspired by Jane Austen's novel Emma, the film was released on 475 screens across India and 135 screens overseas on Friday.
"By such overwhelming weekend collections, the film has set a new benchmark for films with female protagonists. The box office collections are very encouraging," Kamal Gianchandani, President, PVR Pictures said.
Produced by debutante Rhea Kapoor, under the banner of her father's Anil Kapoor Films Company, 'Aisha' has been has directed by first timer Rajshree Ojha and distributed by PVR Pictures.
The movie is a modern-day adaptation of Austen's 19th century British novel. It stars Sonam as a Delhi-based free-spirited, stylish and spoilt high society girl, who feels she is naturally gifted in finding love matches. She is supported by actors like Abhay Deol, Arunoday Singh, Cyrus Sahukar, Ira Dubey and debutantes Lisa Haydon and Amrita Puri in the film.
"The film is doing well in the big cities and the business is quite encouraging in smaller cities as well," informed Gianchandani.
"Also as compared to Friday (August 6), Monday (August 9)has only seen a drop of 20 percent, which is quite minimal. Usually a film sees a drop of anywhere more than 40 percent on a Monday," he added.
The sole release, AISHA, opened well at high-end multiplexes of metros, with the opening and noon shows performing to 70% to 80% occupancy. However, the response at some properties [single screens and small centres] was dull, with the opening being in 20% to 25% range. The evening shows at plexes of major centres showed very good occupancy. The film has opened at 550 screens and the plexes are expected to contribute the maximum on Day 1.
Kareena's done it, Vidya's done it, and even Aishwarya's done it. We're talking about kissing on-screen, and it does seem like it's really not such a big deal for B'wood's leading ladies anymore. The latest name in the list is Sonam Kapoor who's shared a hot liplock with Abhay Deol in 'Aisha'.
