Review of Bride & Prejudice (2004) by Melissa L — 27 Apr 2017

Bride and Prejudice Film Review.

Bride and Prejudice was a movie that kept me entertained, but if you are watching this movie for the purpose to see a Bollywood film, it's not a great one to start with. The movie was about a family with four girls who are in need of a husband. The mother who is very adamant that her daughters get married and is very anxious that marriage will not happen. Through many ups and downs with many different men, her daughters end up finding the perfect match. I thought the movie was good, but I wouldn't watch it again. I felt it was very expected like many love films I have seen before.

As a person who has not experienced Bollywood films, I felt the movie was majority a Western film with Indian inspiration. For example, I learned that that Bollywood films incorporate the song pieces out of nowhere. Meaning, they don't necessarily make sense with what is going on in the scene at that moment. The majority of the song and dance pieces flowed well into the script like I was watching a musical. At the party scenes the actors would be talking and when they finished their conversation, they went into the traditional indian dances that made sense in the storyline. Just like a musical expect Indian dances. There was another scene where all the sisters were in the bedroom. They started talking, then went into singing and "american" dancing. I reminded me of a scene from Greese. I also learned that Bollywood films usually use "Masala" film making when filming. Meaning, they to combine a mixture of comedy, romance, action, and drama into one film. They do this to appeal to a wide range of ages so the whole family can watch. In Bride and Prejudice the film is mostly a romance production. The movie revolved around four love stories.

In terms of culture aspects I learned many things. Since Bride and Prejudice revolved around "dating" and marriage, I learned many traditional customs of what that process looks like in India. I learned that kissing on the lips is not accepted in dating, nor is it shown in the making of Bollywood films. The director did a great job at depicting this when Lalita and Darcy were dating. Darcy did kiss Lalita on the forehead, but never on the lips I also learned that sex scenes are strictly profound. The only time I felt the true Bollywood feel was when Darcy and Lalita were getting more serious. The director depicted this by the couple traveling to many places right after each other. Culturally, I also learned the importance of women finding the right man. In many scenes, the mother was anxious or worried that her daughters were starting a family. She wanted to be a grandmother, but you could tell that getting married is one of the most important moments in life for these women.