Customer Reviews

Bride and Prejudice

5 star:		(149)
4 star:		(81)
3 star:		(26)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

It appears Gurinder Chadha is going to suffer for a while from the "Bend It" problem: every movie she makes, people are going to tsk-tsk and say "it's not as good as 'Bend It Like Beckham.'" Well, honestly,how are you going to top that? It's too bad that many people aren't going to allow 'Bride and Prejudice' to stand on its own merits. That includes most mainstream reviewers who have generally been lukewarm about it. For many people though, 'Bride' will be an introduction to the Bollywood Musical genre and - for that reason alone - it's a can't miss. Far from being lukewarm, I was in stiches throughout most of the movie.

It's a brilliant set-up by Chadha and husband/writing partner Paul Mayeda Berges, finding and drawing the parallels between Jane Austen's 1813 novel and the small-town India of today. In both cases, a woman is considered meaningless until she marries.

There are brilliant Bollywood productions in blazes of color, most notably "Balle Balle (Punjabi Wedding Song)," which hits you like a thunderstorm within the first 10 minutes of the movie, and the hilarious "No Life Without Wife" (and for those of you who have seen the movie, I did Mr. Kholi's little gesture with my hand when I wrote that).

In 'Bride,' you grasp right away why Aishwarya Rai has transfixed a nation. With wide-set eyes that seem six inches in diameter, you look at the set pieces that have 50 - 100+ on screen at once and immediately spot her as the standout. Even for the uninitiated, it's going to take five seconds or less to pick her out as the star.

I also have to note Nitin Chandra Ganatra as Kholi. This guy is a real comedic talent. Here he portrays the Indian off to America ("A-Merka" as he calls it) and made good. Now, he's back to his home town to claim a bride. This guy not only gets all the great lines, he delivers them *perfectly*. "This is my crib. It's all good" he says, showing guests around his house. Trust me, it's all in the delivery. What I like about the movie is Kholi turns out to be a really good guy. Maybe a bit too rabid in his pursuit, but a wonderful soul at heart.

Fans of 'Bend It' will note that Anupam Kher, as Rai's dad 'Mr. Bakshi,' was Jess' dad 'Mr. Bharma' in 'Beckham.' This is one classy actor and a regal presence on the screen.

When Bollywood meets Hollywood
There’s bound to be some sparks
And for this take on Jane Austen
I give almost full marks

The story line is much the same
Except a little shorter
The noisy Bakshi family
Is short a Bennet daughter

Henderson’s no Colin Firth
He’s just a little bland
They could have found a better bloke
To take Lalita’s hand

The Bingley siblings caught my eye
I’ve seen them both before
He was her Kama Sutra guy
And now he’s “Lost” no more

The ending’s changed up quite a bit
This version’s changed the terms
Singing, dancing, Indian style
And riding pachyderms

A lively, funny musical
Though not for everyone
It’s almost Pride and Prejudice
But a hundred times more fun



Amanda Richards, April 16, 2006

Rented this the other night and was completely blown away. I knew the general idea of the movie-Pride & Prejudice + 21st Century India + Bollywood--but had not seen either any other Bollywood style movie or Gurinder Chadha's big hit, Bend it Like Beckham.

I absolutely loved this movie, nearly everything about it from the music and dancing in the musical numbers (which break out at random intervals) to the acting to the intertwining stories of romance and heartbreak. Standout actors were the incredible Aishwarya Rai (Lalita) and the comic relief of Nitin Ganatra as Mr. Kholi, the gauche returnee from America shopping for a bride.

It was also lovely to see Naveen Andrews outside of "Lost" and just wish there could have been a bit more of him and his storyline with Lalita's sister.

The movie is in English but sometimes when the speech gets rolling quickly, the accents can make a scene a bit hard to follow, but since I want to watch this movie again and again I will get it all eventually. Or you can do what I do sometimes when I have trouble following thick Aussie or British accents on a DVD--turn on the subtitles.

For someone like me unfamiliar with Bollywood and the amazingly beautiful AND talented Aishwarya Rai, this is a great introduction to both, and like me, I'll bet that you will want to see more of both. The exuberant music and dancing are what stayed with me the most from this movie, and I think that queuing up the opening wedding dance scene or the "No Life Without Wife" number will cheer me up on any grumpy day.

This movie is a keeper for me--I'm buying both the DVD and the soundtrack.

What drew me to "Bride and Prejudice", first and foremost, was that this promised to be a modern day, Bollywood version of Jane Austen's beloved novel "Pride and Prejudice." As a fervent Austen fan, I knew I just couldn't pass this movie up. Secondly, it is directed by Gurinder Chadha whose previous film "Bend It Like Beckham" is one of my favorite feel-good movies ever.

I had never been exposed to Bollywood filmmaking before this movie. The closest thing I ever got to Indian culture is the food (which I love), Chadha's "Bend It..." film and an earlier viewing of "Monsoon Wedding." I had no idea what to expect. The lively and vibrant songs and dances, beautiful and colorful costumes, memorable and endearing characters, and faithful re-telling of Austen's novel that makes up "Bride and Prejudice" just caught me by surprise.

And what a ride it has been! Gurinder Chadha and Paul Mayeda Berges did an excellent job of following Jane Austen's storyline; that of a middle class family (the Bakshi = Bennets) in a relatively small town (Meryton, England = Amritsar, India) and the mother's struggle to marry off her daughters (the book had 5, the film has 4 as Mary and Kitty's characters are combined into the sitar-playing, cobra-dancing 3rd sister Maya). The film begins as the Bakshi (Bennet) family attends a wedding party and everyone is abuzz when the wealthy barrister Mr. Balraj ("Lost's" Naveen Andrews) shows up with his elegant and fashionable sister Kiran (Indira Varma) and American hotelier/best friend Will Darcy (the gorgeous Martin Henderson). Balraj falls instantly for beautiful eldest sister Jaya (Namrata Shirodkar). Will slights the outspoken and spirited 2nd sister Lalita (Aishwarya Rai) by his careless comments about her hometown ("Hicksville, India"?) and she immediately takes a dislike to his arrogant, close-minded ways. At the beach resort in Goa, Lalita meets the free-spirited Johnny Wickham (Daniel Gillies) and is immediately attracted to him. She slowly learns, however, that Wickham is not what he seems. It also becomes clear that youngest sister Lakhi (Peeya Rai Choudhary) also fancies the charming Wickham. In the meantime, a distant relative, Mr. Kohli (Nitin Ganatra) comes to visit the Bakshi family with the intent of finding a wife. Mrs. Bakshi immediately pairs him up to Lalita, much to her chagrin and displeasure. After all, Lalita means to marry for love and the cocky, goofy and self-absorbed Mr. Kohli (the scene- stealing role) is far from her idea of the 'ideal man'. Events take Lalita and her family to London and then Los Angeles where circumstances throw her and Will Darcy together. In LA, Lalita meets Will's mother, Catherine (Marsha Mason), and younger sister Georgina (Alexis Bledel). Lalita soon realizes that she may have misjudged Will and a romance blossoms between them. However, revelations come into the surface that threaten to tear the Will and Lalita apart. Those familiar with Jane Austen's book will know how it all ends, of course. Those who don't will have to see this film to find out!

After seeing B&P, I have come to develop a deeper interest and appreciation for Indian culture. The fantastic choreography in dance sequences like "Balle Balle" and "Dola Dola" are vibrant and mesmerizing. The costumes are nothing short of dazzling. I don't think I've ever seen as many beautiful women as I have in this film. Aishwarya Rai and Martin Henderson have a chemistry that makes their attraction entirely plausible. They are a pleasure to watch. I came out of the movie theater with a big smile on my face and found myself humming the songs for days. I admit that there are some scenes that border on silly or cheesy but this film never really does take itself seriously. At the end of the day, it is a film that is meant to be fun and entertaining. I have since seen "Bride and Prejudice" 3x and can't wait for the dvd!! "Bride and Prejudice" is a joyful and intoxicating movie experience and, as Mr. Kohli says, "I'd happily get drunk on it!!!!"

I absolutely loved this movie after I saw it. At first I thought I would not because of the music. I really do not like musicals too much, but this movie and its music is great. I love to listen to the songs on this movie. The plot is good also and was pretty close to the general ideas of the Jane Austen novel!

The only thing that disappointed me and that I am still trying to figure out is why there are 2 different versions of the movie. When I rented the movie and saw it the first time, it had all of the song full lenght and it had various extra scenes when they were in Goa, including one where Kiran slights the neighborhood where Jaya's and Lahlita's aunt and uncle live in London. Luckily I taped this version because when I went to buy the movie it turns out that the movie I bought had cut a lot of the songs and cut alot of the Goa scenes including the one I mentioned above. This is unfortunate because the movie that I bought is collecting dust while I keep watching what I call, the full version from what I taped!

Gurinder Chadha produces a fantastic film with a new twist to the classical conundrum: how does an independent minded female connect with the opposite sex? Jane Austen could never in her wildest dreams imagine the outstanding Bollywood like dance and music numbers which make this film such a delightful viewing experience. Ashanti does a magical song and dance called "Take Me to Love." The Bakshi sisters sing and express appropriate sentiment in "No Life without Wife" which is a delightful song mocking the awkward attempts by Mr. Kholi, an accountant of Indian background who lives near Hollywood, who returned to Amritsar, India to find himself a wife. Despite his obvious material successes in the USA, which he keeps pointing out to the Bakshi family, he can not connect socially with the right kind of female who appreciates his hard work and who possesses the cultural traits which he is seeking in a wife ... Mrs Bakshi is over-joyed to present and introduce her daughters to him. She wishes to marry her daughters off, one after the other to socially prominent, wealthy successful men, with the goal of climbing to a higher social class. The humorous lyrics of the song and amusing delivery by the Bakshi sisters captures the mood and feeling of the film.

Nor could Jane Austen envision the beautiful Lalita played by one of India's most gorgeous and popular actresses, Aishwarya Rai. Mrs Bakshi plays a well meaning but scheming mother whose main concern is marrying off each of her four daughters to wealthy but worthy gentlemen of suitable families. Mr. Bakshi is a devoted and doting father who worked hard to build his business into a success. It provides his family a comfortable middle class lifestyle, nonetheless it still leaves his wife trying to improve upon the social status of her daughters through suitable marriage matches ... Lalita is the most beautiful and outspoken of the four girls in the Bakshi family. She is pleased her older sister Jaya met a barrister from London, who is of Indian background, whose busy lifestyle prevented him from meeting eligible female companions. He obviously fell head over heels in love with the lovely and quiet Jaya, after returning to Amritsar for exactly the purpose of finding a wife. His sister came along on the trip as did a wealthy American friend whose family is in the hotel business. The American friend, Will Darcy is captivated by the beauty, quick mind and outspoken nature of Lalita. She assertively voices her opinions which is not a trait held in high esteem by most eligible handsome wealthy bachelors. Will discovers Lalita is intriguing and attractive yet is put off by her outspokenness. He occassionally finds himself on the defensive when conversing with her but in the end her ideas cause him to ponder and question his personal values ... and also the ethical motives behind business deals.

Lalita also discovers to her chagrin she is attracted to Will who is a handsome, worthy and intelligent opponent ... At social gatherings they manage to magnetize and repel each other with their heated debates about social and cultural values and differences. To Lalita's surprise, one of her best friends agrees to an arranged marriage to Mr. Kholi ... The Bakshi family is sent an invitaton to the wedding along with economy class airline tickets to attend the ceremony in America. The wedding takes place on the grounds of the magnificent hotel owned by Will Darcy's family. Will takes Lalita on a whirlwind tour of California and the Southwest. She sees a different side to Will Darcy, one she never knew existed. She falls in love with him but then overhears someone whisper how something Will had said to his Indian barrister friend caused the break up of his romance with her sister Jaya ... Lalita is broken hearted and devasted. She confronts Will. He admits the break-up was his fault. The reader must view the film to discover how these two people of such vastly different backgrounds make peace and rekindle their romance and love. In the end it burns brighter than ever. The film is filled with passion, energy, romance, class differences, cultural clashes and to the viewer's immense satisfaciton, a happy ending. It is a colorful pageantry of the sights, sounds, and music of India in the best Bollywood tradition. A most hightly recommended film. Erika Borsos [pepper flower]

I loved this! To me it is like Emma and Clueless were to LA - this is Pride and Prejudice to India. the essence of Austen taken on by a different culture. It is immensely colourful and rather than stick completely to the plot has allowed the vibrant colour and issues of a modern day india translate their own issues within the framework of Austen.

It is enormously good natured and richly colourful. This is not just the characters but also the costumes - and whoever did the cinematography WOW!

Lalita, the second daughter of the Bakshirs takes on the role of 'Elizabeth' in the traditional Pride and Prejudice. She meets William Darcy who has come with his friend Bill (Mr Bingley) to an Indian Wedding. There are four sisters in Lalita's family - which is enough - the "Jane" for Bingley to fall for, the 'Mary" to humiliate the family in this case with a very strange cobra dance - and a 'Kitty' to run away with Wickham.

the main plot devices are there - Mr Kohli (Mr Collins) comes back from LA to make a match with one of the Bakshir daughters - and he is every bit the part! The conflict of Mr Darcy with the bumbling stupidity of Mr Kohli and the duplicitous unctiousness of Mr Wickham are there.

Some have minor changes, "lady Catherine" is now Catherine, Darcy's mother. Catherine brings Darcy's girlfriend 'Anne' along to the Indian Wedding in the garden in LA mucking up the budding romance between Lalita and Darcy - which is a nice nod to the 'pretty kind of a wilderness' used in the original Pride and Prejudice.

I loved the mixture of Bollywood and its musicals with Austen humour and style - I just about wet my pants in the first few minutes when a hugely noisy singing dancing scene turned up. All the elegance of the nineteenth century is lost in a see of enthusiastic waving, singing and dancing, and it is all done (i am sure with self-deprecating humour! It is not just for those in the know - this is very much laughing at the whole essence of Austen and her interpretations, you can't think of anything more removed from a drawning room of elegant aristocracy than maybe an Indian Wedding.

But there is also other knowing laughs - I really enjoyed the segue to an American Gospel choir on the beach at LA, accompanied by a couple of dancing Baywatchers and a group of surfies complete with boards.

I felt the actors were very well suited to their parts - Lalita is definitely an intelligent and feisty interpretation of Elizabeth - my only minor problem with her is she is altogether too luminously beautiful that she completely outshines the 'Jane' character. Jane is supposed to be the beauty of the family and it is patently not true here. "Jane" is certainly beautiful too, and she brings out the sweetness and gentleness of character necessary in the part. I loved Martin Henderson as Darcy, his reserve slowly fading as he gets to know the family better. He is nice looking although I had trouble believing him as a millionaire hotellier - it wasn't out of the realms of possibility.

This is an enormously colourful and good natured interpretation - I loved it!

I thought overall this film was brillant. I went to see it with a friend the first day it came out as i am a big fan of Pride and Prejudice. when the film first started i wasn't sure about it as it was going into song every few minutes. but then it got better and better as it went on. there were some points where i was giggling so much that people in front of me were turning around to look at me. not only was it funny but a touching and well written script. the acters and dances were brillant. i think this film is fantastic and would be really good for sleepoers GET IT NOW!!!

I did not want to watch this movie. Pride and Prejudice (by Jane Austen) is one of my favorite novels, and I did not want that book to be marred by a stupid comedy. My brother, who has never read Pride and Prejudice, made me watch it (I had fully intended to sneak out of the room once he got into the film). I definitely didn't expect to love this movie; but I do. It was wonderful! This was one of the few GOOD romantic comedies (and it followed the book pretty well).

I'm not going to go into plot much because if you didn't know the plot of Pride and Prejudice before reading this ; I'm sure you picked it up by now from reading other reviews. So, why did I like this movie?

The scripting is wonderful, and even though some characters/situations are changed (not to mention the whole modern setting thing) it keeps the integrity of Pride and Prejudice intact. This is a Bollywood film; and as such the music and dance (a LOT of music and dance)is very different than what I, as an American, am used to. However, it was fun. The tunes were catchy, and most importantly the movie was funny and you ended up caring about the character (though Jane Austen deserves most of the credit for that; the actors did a good job too).

The scenes are all colorful and the setting is just enjoyable to watch. There really isn't much dull time, either. I remarked to my brother that this was like Pride and Prejudice for people with ADHD. Quick moving (the movie is only 112 minutes) and easy to watch.

If you, like me, were reluctant to watch this movie; I ask you to put your prejudice aside and just try it. If you don't get into it I'll be surprised. I watched this movie with family and everyone ended up liking it.

Me, don't like romantic comedies much: LOVED IT
My brother (hasn't read book, 24, not much for musicals)and my
sister-in-law (Chinese, not used to American/English culture, knew very little about the book) both really, really liked it.

We have a bunch of "straight" Western musicals and "straight" Austen P&P retellings and "straight" bollywood musicals-why not mix it up a little bit and have some fun with the different genres, folks? How boring to insist on doing things the same all the time! Chadha tries to breathe new life into this tale, as well as the Western and Bollywood musical genre, and I think she succeeds in a very light hearted, contagiously joyful way.

It reminds me of old style musicals where love is celebrated shamelessly, cynicism is checked at the door, and people are so full of emotion, they sometimes have to break out in song to properly communicate their feelings. What's wrong with that?

Musicals are suppossed to present life in rose technicolored glasses. Chadha delivers this without any apologies or self consciousness. Yes, there are bollywood influences, but this is NOT a straight bollywood musical. Yes, this story plays very closely to Austen's story, but it's NOT a straight retelling of the beloved work. And yes, the director is winking at us the whole time, knowing how our jaded American/Western minds work-just when she almost crosses the line with gushiness and cheesiness(well, cheesiness from our Western perspective) in terms of emotion and drama, she includes some comic relief to let us know she's in on the fun.

So, just enjoy the ride, take in all the colors and music and dance without suspicion, and appreciate the fact that a sweet and romantic love story can be told in this day and age with as much vigor and celebration as this one. Lalita and Will are fine and unique additions to the P&P hall of fame.