.: StrangeBlog :.

Sir Michael Gambon received a nod during last week’s Primetime Emmy nomination announcements for his portrayal of Mr. Woodhouse in the 2009 BBC adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma.

In other Emma news, a new Jane Austen horror mashup novel hit Kindles last week.  Emma and the Vampires, written by Wayne Josephson, takes another stab at the novel of manners-meets-horror movie literary genre.

• Buy Emma and the Vampires for your Kindle
• Daily Herald:  Vampires continue to show life, even as parodies roll out

Sonam Kapoor as Aisha.

Aisha, starring Sonam Kapoor, opened this past weekend to fairly positive reviews and strong box office receipts.  Opinions on this film adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma ran the gamut from “meh” to glowing.  Have you seen it?  What did you think?  Was it the Clueless rehash some people expected?  Does it matter?

Bits and bobs from around the net relating to Aisha‘s premier:

• Anna’s Review
• Bollywood Ticket:  Skip Aisha
• Aisha…an average movie
• Bollywood Spice Review
• Hindustan Times:  Emma-Spotting in Delhi
• Wall Street Journal Friday Reviews:  Aisha Dazzles Critics
• Bollywood Hungama Review
• Times of India Review
• SiFy Review
• Deccan Herald Aisha Review
• Digital Spy:  Kapoor delighted by Aisha success
• The New Emma:  Clueless in Bollywood (The New Yorker Blogs)
• The Hollywood Reporter:  Q&A with Sonam Kapoor
• Progressive and Fresh: A discussion with Aisha director Rajshree Ojha
• Aisha image collection

During the month of August, Austenprose.com is hosting a tribute to legendary Regency romance novelist Georgette Heyer.  Join Laurel Ann and the gang for thirty-one days of Georgian-by-way-of-the-20th-century fun!

Here’s another interview with Aisha directory Rajshree Ojha, this time presented by Yahoo! India.  In the piece, Ojha addresses the fact that viewers will be consciously comparing the film to previous Emma adaptations…

“I am prepared for all the comparisons that are going to come my way but ‘Aisha’ is very Indian. If you remember Jane Austen said ‘Emma’ is a heroine only she is going to love. As a filmmaker when I read something I imagine it and that inspires me to make a film. A good literature, if you adapt it well makes a very good film,” says Ojha.

And for those interested, here’s the Aisha IMDB entry.

IndianExpress.com recently published an interview with Aisha director Rajshree Ojha, highlighting both the challenges she’s faced as a female director in Bollywood and the striking social parallels within Emma’s and Aisha’s worlds.

Hope everyone’s having a great weekend.  Happy Fourth of July!