Emma going Bollywood?
October 8, 2008
Alert Janeite Cinthia sent us a link that says a Bollywood adaptation of Emma is being planned.
In an effort to launch his daughter Sonam into the Bollywood ‘Big League’, Anil Kapoor has announced that he will be producing a version of Jane Austen’s ‘Emma’ for her to star in. The question is, who will be Mr. Knightly? This will in fact be the second Bollywood musical of a Jane Austen novel, following the international success of Bride and Prejudice, which starred Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.
It will be the second musical and third Bollywood film, including Kandukondain Kandukondain. Cinthia also sent us the IMDB links for Anil Kapoor, his daughter Sonam, and a Sonam Kapoor fansite with lots of photos.
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Hmm, as both a Bollywood and an Austen fan, I’m not sure how I feel about this. Anil Kapoor, while not one of my favorites, was a decent actor back in the day. I haven’t seen either of Sonam Kapoor’s movies yet so I cannot judge her acting ability. I’m curious to see who they pick as Mr. Knightley. That will tell a lot about both her chances of making it into the big leagues and the quality of the adaptation. If it’s a smaller-time actor, or someone not that well known, I think there’s potential for it to be a halfway decent adaptation. If it’s someone super famous, however, I think they’ll deviate more from the storyline and what we love about Austen’s original work, but Sonam will have a better chance of making it big.
And for the record, I thought Bride & Prejudice was absolutely awful as an adaptation. Haven’t seen Kandukondain Kandukondain yet, but that wasn’t a mainstream release so it’s not as famous.
Wow. I’m having a sick day today and watched Bride & Prejudice this morning. I think it does a great job of following the original storyline in a creative way. I love Kandukondain Kandukondain as well. The Colonel Brandon/Marianne storyline in that one reminds me a lot of Ruth and Boaz (from the Bible), especially toward the end. I was just thinking that I hope they do another Indian adaptation, maybe Emma. Hooray. I hardly ever get my wishes granted this quickly.
I like B&P, too. And I find it a pretty good adaptation. For instance, Darcy is perfect with his prejudice against the local Indians, just like Darcy in the book is prejudiced against the country folks in Meryton. And both are equal asses in their reactions. Aishwarya Rai was, perhaps, a little bit too Angry!Lizzy, though.
At the AGM, there was a channel on the hotel television system running Austen-related things all weekend, and when we got in from the ball they were playing B&P. I danced around the room in my pajamas to “No Life Without Wife.” What fun!
I like Kandukondain Kandukondain, too. It’s a bit melodramatic but has great soul.
I really liked Kandukondain Kandukondain and thought B&P was okay (not a fan of Rory Gilmore’s Georgiana). I thought that Sonam Kapoor did an alright job in Saawariya, but she certainly wasn’t the best fit for that role. It will be interesting to see how she does as Emma, should this actually come to fruition.
Not to hijack this thread, but I wonder what DVD version of Kandukondain Kandukondain everyone has watched. The subtitles of the copy I own (with the silver cover) get delayed about 5 seconds starting about halfway through the movie. Does anyone have the new one you can get from Amazon with the english title I Have Found It.
I think that’s the version I saw, Ben–I got it from Netflix, though. With the green cover. I don’t remember any problems with the subtitles.
I will add as to B&P, that I don’t think it’s a “real” Bollywood movie as this new Emma adaptation seems it will be. It was made for more Westernized tastes, which is why I think a lot of Bollywood fans don’t like it as much. M and Ben, I appreciate your perspectives as you seem more knowledgeable about Bollywood films than I am!
I too enjoyed B & P very much. The story line from P&P seemed easily “translated” into the Indian culture (or any culture that has marked divisions between the classes).
Is Kandukondain Kandukondain also considered Bollywood? It was in Tamil rather than Hindi or English.
Looking forward to the Emma adaptation!
Here is another link:
http://www.apunkachoice.com/scoop/bollywood/20081007-2.html
Which gives us the tibid that they are working in the script, so we can say it is in pre-production.
I do love both B&P and Kandulondain Kandukodain and I think both are very good renditions of the novels (in fact B&P is my second best P&P adaptation), so I am excited with this news, something that cannot be said about the Emma hip-hop version.
Kandukondain is not properly Bollywood as as you mention is a Tamil production, not a Mumbay (formerly Bombay) production, but as to that, neither B&P is precisely Bollywood, it is only an attempt Bollywood style.
I really enjoyed KK. It seemed to really honor some of the conflicts within Austen’s novel. It was strange – on Netflix it said it was loosely based on Sense & Sensibility, but I really thought it was true to the novel in many ways. More so than some other JA adaptations. Thanks to Ben M for mentioning its availability at Amazon.com under a different title because I’d wanted to add it to my collection!
How can anyone NOT like Bride and prejudice? Even the music like no life without wife……Cannot wait to see this but why have they taken so long to do more of J.A’s books to bollywood?
james
I loved B&P and KK, and I love the idea of more Bollywood adaptations of Austen’s works. Don’t know how I feel about Sonam as Emma. I saw her in Saawariya, but I am not convinced she has the acting chops to pull off Emma. I could see Kajol doing a great job, but she isn’t the right age for that part (although its not like Aishwarya Rai was the same age Elizabeth, or Tabu was the same age as Elinor). I am really curious to see who will be Knightly. I could see Aamir Khan doing a good job in the role, or Saif Ali Khan.
By the way, for the Janeites who liked BP and KK and want to explore a bit more Bollywood, there is a fantastic movie that just came out in DVD not too long ago. Its called Jodhaa Akbar and it’s a historical film about the marriage of alliance between a Muslim Mughal Emperor and a Hindu princess in the 1500s. A bit pre-Austen but its a great fun.
Ahem, a great FILM that is (though its great fun too)
I loved B&P and no, I am not a Bollywood “proficient.” B&P is pure, escapist fun and I have watched it several times on DVD after having seen it in the theater twice.
I also really liked KK. I don’t have the subtitle problem that Ben does, but I do confess to not liking the voice they use to dub over Aish. I know she speaks Tamil, so why don’t they let her speak her own lines?
As for Anil Kapoor, I own a DVD of one of his films (Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai) but have not yet watched it. The story does look interesting though.