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OK, if you don't like people breaking into song unexpectedly, don't go see this movie - let me just say that upfront!

I went to see this re-work of my favourite novel and thought it would be atrocious and envisaged walking out of the theatre in disgust in advance. What I got was an explosion of colour and music, Bollywood style, and sure some of the songs were pretty awful, but hey, there were a few terrible numbers in Grease too, and I still love that movie!

The lead players were all virtually unknown to me but they were perfect in their roles. The role of Lalita (the Elizabeth role in the original book) was perfectly cast - she was beautiful and she really held the whole movie together. And Martin Henderson was perfect as the American version of the disdainful Mr Darcy, this time Mr Will Darcy.

Go and see this film if you are open to something new - it really is quite a faithful re-work of the story, and it is very entertaining.

The only people who won't enjoy this are people who hate musicals with a passion, or people who are purists to the original.

If you liked Chicago, then you can definitely enjoy this one too. (That also had some dodgy old songs, but the story carried you past those parts!)

Bring on the Bollywood!

Back in 2000, Aishwarya Rai made a wonderful film ("I Have Found It"). It was an Indian film made in the Tamil region (sometimes called 'Tamilwood' as opposed to 'Bollywood' which are films made in Hindi) and it was an Indian retelling of Jane Austin's "Sense and Sensibility". I thoroughly loved the film and was captivated by Rai's acting and great beauty. So, it certainly wasn't very surprising that I bought a copy not only of this film but "Bride & Prejudice"--as once again, Rai is in an Indian film based on an Austin novel. However, "Bride & Prejudice" isn't exactly a Bollywood film, but is an interesting hybrid. Parts of the film were made in Northern India, as well as the UK and the US. The director, Gurinder Chadha, is of Indian descent but was born in Kenya and raised in the UK, so her making a film that blends cultures (like her other famous film, "Bend It Like Beckham") is a natural.

It's Bollywood roots are apparent in several ways. First, much of the film is made in India and is about Indians. However, in addition, the song and dance numbers that make Bollywood films so unusual and endearing are also present. They don't look and sound 100% authentic, but like the Jane Austin novel, they seem "inspired" by Bollywood.

Interestingly, in this film, the differences between the leading lady and Mr. Darcy are not just social but cultural, as Darcy is an American. BUT, being a true hybrid film, the handsome actor that took on this role Martin Henderson) is actually a Kiwi--a New Zealander who now lives in the US! Some other nods to the West is the brief appearance of Marsha Mason as Darcy's mother as well as a surprise appearance by the pop singer, Ashanti! Wow--now THAT'S an interesting combination! Now for Austin purists, this is a mixed bag. While the essence of the novel is definitely there, many, many story elements from the original story are gone--mostly because you must do this to make a film that is only about two hours long! While I missed a lot of the subplots, I understood why they were excised. If you MUST have the definitive version that is closest to the book, try the Colin Firth version from 1995. Still, if you are like me you'll see and love them both.

Overall, a very interesting take on the original. Excellent acting, a fun and vibrant pace and a story that can't help but bring a tear to your eye (hey, it's Jane Austin!) make this an exceptional film. I just can't see why it's overall score on IMDb is so low.

Also, unless you are a total knucklehead, see "I Have Found It". It actually is a tad better but both are wonderful films.

Finally, if you are interested in films of other female directors of Indian descent, try seeing the films of Deepa Mehta (I love her films). "Hollywood/Bollywood" is the most approachable and fun of her films, but "Fire", "Water" and "Earth" are terrific as well. Also, Mira Nair did the wonderful and touching "Monsoon Wedding".

Well, God help me, I enjoyed it. Director Gurinder Chadha's follow-up to smash hit "Bend it Like Beckham" is enjoyable nonsense, an earnestly acted mess of vibrant Bollywood musical sequences (sometimes set to English-language songs) and romantic pap. It doesn't seem to take itself seriously at all, which instantly puts it ahead of most nonsense. Eh, it's pointless to go on any further. It's rubbish, really, I'm not quite sure why I sat through it but bizarrely it manages to be a lot of fun. Chadha is a solid enough director to keep things more or less interesting, and the musical sequences are pulled off with aplomb. Naveen Andrews is good here as well.

6/10

A fun movie. I watched it twice, once at the theater and once on DVD. The DVD has extended versions of the song and dance sequences which were also great.

What I like about this movie: Well, first of all, the fun factor. The pretty stars, the toe-tapping music, the dance sequences, the scenery of India, England and the US. These things all added up to pretty tasty eye-candy.

I also liked the international flavor and themes of the film. As was pointed out in the DVD commentary, it was a British film with a decidedly non-Eurocentric point of view. It was this while being a populist film at the same time. There are Indian actors from India, as well as British Indians and US Indians. Of course, there are white folk too.

The movie handles conflict between "Western arrogance" and native defensiveness without making one side more righteous than the other. And, of course, in the end, love conquers all. Well, love and wealth conquers all... Which leads me to what I didn't like about the film.

I have to admit, one reason I liked the film was because I loved looking at the beautiful, young actresses. So, maybe it is a tad hypocritical of me that the biggest turn-off was that the main appeal of the male protagonists (to the female characters) was their wealth and power.

Anyway. I thoroughly enjoyed the film and recommend it highly.

Well, it's pretty hard, isn't it, to write a spoiler for a film which is based on such a well-known, well-loved novel! I will show my hand here and say that I am a Janeite. However, I am not a purist and I like many Jane Austen adaptations that many Janeites don't (for example I like 'Mansfield Park'). I enjoyed 'Bride and prejudice' for its colour and fun. The attempt to update 'P&P' to a contemporary Indian setting worked well most of the time, with the translation to India being effective because it is a society where arranged marriages are still an accepted way to go. The script did a pretty good job of capturing the essence of the story whilst playing around with some of the details eg cutting out the fifth daughter whose role in the story is pretty minimal, and making the 'tyrant' in Darcy's life his mother not his aunt (a more realistic situation in its modern setting). I loved the 'no life without a wife' song and dance routine though it reminded me at times of the 'Matchmaker' song in 'Fiddler on the roof'. However, the film suffered a little, for a number of reasons, the main ones being that it left the Bollywood- style when it went to Hollywood (which changed the tone of the film), it didn't really find a good way to make Wickham as wicked as he is in the original, and there did not seem to be the same desperate need to be married as there was for the Bennet sisters in 'P&P'. These modern Indian women had jobs and could, it appeared, be independent without having husbands, removing the urgency that drives its 'P&P' original. Despite this, though, it does manage to incorporate some of the satire against pomposity and the arrogance of the moneyed class that makes 'P&P' more than a simple romance. Overall, then, I found it a fun film and an entertaining take on my favourite novel.