Not to worry—Jane Austen’s not spinning in her grave. If anything, she of all people would be amused. After all, much of her writing revolved around the comedy of manners, and while her style was precise, reserved, and polished, I’m sure her sense of humour would have been be piqued by this imprecise, flamboyant, and diamond-in-the-rough Bollywood treatment of her much-loved Pride and Prejudice.

‘Swapping corsets for saris, and polite pianoforte for the bhangra beat, director Gurinder Chadha reinvigorates Jane Austen's Pride And Prejudice with fun and flamboyance.’

And so she does. Substituting Amritsar (home of the famed Golden Temple revered by the Sikhs) for 19th century England, Chadha places the cast of characters in a 21st century setting where East meets West on a daily basis, where cultures collide, and the stain of colonialism has not quite worn off.

Mrs Bakshi (played with comic aplomb by Nadira Babbar) is Mrs Bennett, intent on marrying off her four daughters (variously beautiful, intelligent, flighty and proper). Smart and headstrong Lalita (played by Miss World, the stunning model/singer/actress Aishwarya Rai) is Elizabeth. She meets wealthy hotel magnate Will Darcy (played by bland and insipid Martin Henderson) at a wedding party.

Darcy’s there because of his friend Bingley who has fallen for Elizabeth/Lalita’s older sister, Jane/Jaya. But Darcy is a proud and supercilious man (not that Henderson even tries to channel these emotions, appearing dumb, stupid and confused at all times—no acting feat, I’m sure) who gets off on the wrong foot with Lalita.

She sees him as an arrogant snob out to make a fortune off delivering a virtual India to tourists who do not want to get their feet dirty and who only want an unreal slice of the Indian mystique. His disdain of their pushy gold-digger of a mother causes him to advise his friend to leave, thereby wrecking Jaya’s prospect of marriage. When Lalita finds out, her indignation knows no bounds.

Darcy redeems himself only when he helps find the missing younger sister Lucky/Lakhi (the hapless Lydia, played by Peeya Rai Chowdhary) who goes AWOL with the dastardly Johnny Wickam (Daniel Gillies in an undemanding role which requires little of him save baring his manly chest and looking suitably sinister). The punch-up in the cinema against the backdrop of the movie screen (where a dastardly scene is playing) is a small gem in this riot of a movie.

‘Bride & Prejudice marries a quintessentially English romance with classic Bollywood bombast - different in style yet both trading in the discord of love across borders.’

For those of you unfamiliar with the Bollywood tradition, perhaps some notes would not go amiss. Here’s a checklist that all Bollywood films must adhere to, else they fail the censors:

§ Spontaneous bursts of song and dance numbers, where the leads are surrounded by complete strangers in the street/market/mansion who join in the dance in complete synchronicity
§ Beach scene where male and female leads frolic platonically in the sand, then embrace (but never kiss) and look jointly into the distance while the sun sets over the horizon
§ Mountain-top scene where male and female leads dance together (female lead changes costumes several times with no explanation or thought for continuity error); male lead spins female lead around so that female lead’s sari scarf floats picturesquely in the wind
§ Fistfight scene where male lead shows what he’s made of/redeems himself
§ Scene of Major Misunderstanding between male and female leads
§ Tearful scene (female lead only) following scene of Major Misunderstanding--must be set to sad song
§ Angst-filled scene (male-lead only) following scene of Major Misunderstanding--involves deadbeat friends, drunkenness and damage to furniture
§ Scene of Reconciliation (cue more music and dancing)
§ Scene of Wedding (elephants optional)

And so, it can be seen that a Bollywood version of any story is more a Bollywood movie than the story itself. But that’s alright, taken in the right spirit. Chadha never said it was an adaptation. She only said it was inspired by the novel, and so it is.

‘What Chadha loses in the sly subtext that made Austen's novel so compelling, she makes up for with wit and mischief.’

Apart from the general good humour of the movie, and the wonderfully-played Mrs Bakshi/Mrs Bennet by Nadira Babbar, the most hilarious parts of the movie are those featuring Nitin Ganatra as Mr Kholi. A Green Card holder who is back in India to shop for a wife (the Indian girls born and bred in America are not simple and traditional enough for him), Mr Kholi is an over-the-top, laugh-out-loud hilarious version of Mr Collins. Played with a braying laugh by Nitin Ganatra, this character is so outrageous and disgusting I screamed with laughter every time he appeared.

What else? Ashanti appears in a cameo musical number. Mr Bakshi/Mr Bennet (played by Anupam Kher) gives a convincing and understated portrayal, perhaps the one most faithful to the novel’s character. TV star Alexis Bledel as Darcy’s little sister looks as out of place as Henderson does as Darcy. Which brings me to the one thing that almost wrecked the movie for me. Henderson is no actor. He’s bland and insipid and simply cannot act to save his life. Whatever cretin cast him as Darcy obviously has not read the novel.

Other than that, Bride and Prejudice is a charming and engaging romp. The musical sets are lavish—this is billed as a musical first and foremost, after all. It’s a musical, comedy and romance, riotously colourful, and with a touch of melodrama that no Bollywood movie can be without.

If you can overlook the travesty of Henderson as Darcy (and that’s asking a lot, I know), you would find Bride and Prejudice a joyous romp and thoroughly entertaining. In fact, I’ll venture so far as to say you’ll find yourself snapping your fingers and tapping your toes to the Bollywood bhangra beat.


N. B.: Quotes in bold are from Stella Papamichael, movie reviewer for Film Reviews, bbc.co.uk.



























Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Better than Watching TV
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children up Ages 8