Review of Bride & Prejudice (2004) by Luke M — 01 Apr 2011

Bend It Like Beckham director Gurinder Chadha does a bold, but beguiling Bollywood take on Jane Austen's 1813 classic Pride and Prejudice, and what more, turns it into a musical! Set in Amritsar, India, Mr. Bakshi (Anupam Kher) and his wife (Nadira Babbar) are eager to see their four daughter married and taken care of. The eldest daughter Lalita, played with irresistible charm by former Miss World and Indian superstar Aishwarya Rai, is of course stubborn headed and fiercely independent. She soon crosses paths with Darcy (Martin Henderson), an American in love with Lalita, despite his hotel-magnate mother's prejudice (Marsha Mason). Unfortunately for Rai, Henderson can't quite match up with her, and so she out does him every step of the way.

The script nearly flies off the rails when it goes to London and then Los Angeles, but Chadha keeps things bouncing with vivid colors, music and movements, complemented by the silly songs, particularly 'No Life Without Wife', sung by Lalita and her sisters in mockery of Mr. Kholi (Nitin Ganatra, in a scene-stealing turn) the bachelor who wants to marry Lalita. Bride and Prejudice has enough charm that it should make any Austen purist get up and shake their groove thing.