Aisha Banerjee, thinking outside the Bollywood box

When I had first come across the Bollywood film ‘Wake Up Sid’, I was still in my teens and I enjoyed it for all the fun bits involving Sid, played by Ranbir Kapoor, a carefree and clueless young man finishing his graduation.

However upon watching the film for a second time a few years apart I was completely blown away by the other protagonist of the film Aisha Banerjee, played by Konkona Sen Sharma, the new girl in the city in pursuit of her own identity and independence.

The character of Aisha from this directorial debut of Ayan Mukerji that released back in 2009 is an unconventional heroine in all her glory. She moved from Kolkata to Mumbai all on her own to follow her dream of becoming a writer.

On the very first night of her arrival, she met Sid by coincidence and in him she found her first friend in the new city. The story moves forward as Aisha turns into the biggest catalyst in Sid’s transformation from a confused boy to a determined man.

Now there are a number of aspects that makes Aisha Banerjee an unconventional heroine. For starters, her physical attributes are not at all like the typical Bollywood heroines. While the predisposition of a usual Bollywood heroine is to be fair and tall, Aisha comes in with her dusky skin tone and smaller build. But that does not make her a less confident person -- she’s absolutely comfortable in her skin. And if anything, her look from the film only gives off vibes of simplicity and ease.

Aisha is an introvert, as she chooses to sit in a corner and write her journal at the party she met Sid. Yet she is determined. She goes apartment hunting and chooses a shabby one after making up her mind to turn it into a cozy home for herself. She declines Sid’s proposal to go look at better ones, a rare combination of attributes in a heroine per se. 

Aisha also doesn’t hesitate to let Sid in her apartment when he stormed out of his father’s home after a fight. She sheltered Sid in his rough patch merely out of friendship despite the fact that she’s a single woman living alone. Yet another bold and unconventional move.

But the most unique quality she possesses is her pursuit of independence. When Sid asks her why she moved to Mumbai she tells him about her dream to have her own home, cook her own food, earn her own money, and make a life of her own. In short, she wishes to be independent and have full control of her life.

Aisha is not the typical damsel in distress in the film rather it’s the opposite as she’s the one that comes in to the rescue of Sid and helps him find a new direction and purpose of life. She shelters him, supports him and then guides him towards his passion for photography. She makes a man out of the lost boy that Sid was at first.

On another note, Aisha as opposed to conventional heroines doesn’t shy away from speaking about her sexuality. She straight away clarifies the fact that she has no interest of sleeping with Sid. And, when Sid asks her why they couldn’t be more than just friends, she openly tells him about her preferences in men which were quite the opposite from Sid’s personality.

Meanwhile, despite having an initial crush on her boss, Aisha has the courage to refuse him when he asks her on a date when she realises that she doesn’t enjoy his company as much as she had thought she would. This goes on to show her strong nature, quite uncommon among regular Bollywood heroines. 

In the end, she even owns up to her feelings for Sid though she never imagined falling for him. In doing so she also broke the popular belief of typical heroines that women should never confess their love first. Plus, she’s older than Sid, not a very common practice in Bollywood films when it comes to pairing a couple.

Overall Aisha Banerjee is a Bollywood heroine living ahead of her time. She broke a dozen of conventions from Bollywood to become one of the iconic roles recognised by movie buffs. She is certainly a source of inspiration for women of the same disposition, or who aspire to be so.