Adaptations seem to be the flavour of the season. Anil Kapoor is now adapting Jane Austen’s 1815 novel Emma, for his next production.

And who better to play the spirited and busybody matchmaking heroine than his daughter Sonam Kapoor? In earlier versions of the novel, celebrated actresses like Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Beckinsale and Alicia Silverstone have played Emma, whom Austen describes as “a heroine whom no one but myself will much like.”

Emma is one of Sonam’s favorite novels and it is on her urging that papa Anil decided to finally produce a film for his daughter. Says a source, “Sonam can be the perfect Emma. The film will beautifully capture the sensuous and obstinate side to Sonam’s personality."

Sonam Kapoor and Abhay Deol

Revealing more details of Emma, the source adds, “While one of the two heroines is the master of unconventional cinema Abhay Deol, currently being feted for his terrific performance in Dev.D, Sonam’s second hero is newcomer Arunoday Singh. Rajshri Ojha will direct the film.”

Whether Anil’s interpretation of Emma manages to match up to Jane Austen’s novel, and its several celebrated screen adaptations, remains to be seen.

About Emma

Emma is an 1815 novel by Jane Austen. It is the story of the perils of misconstrued romance. The author uses two themes, namely: the concerns and difficulties of women’s lives in Georgian-Regency England; and, a ‘comedy of manners’ among her characters, each of whom would justify him/herself as behaving according to the highest standards of polite manners. Emma, the heroine manages to bungle all affairs, including her own, by her intrusive enthusiasm and constant matchmaking.