Coup de foudre à Bollywood

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

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".

Inspired by Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, this Western-style Bollywood musical can't possibly achieve the heights that a union of the best of East and West movie making and English literature might suggests, but it manages to fulfil a delightful couple of hours of song and dance that Western cinema these days struggles to accomplish.

Like the novel, Bride and Prejudice uses the ideas that that first impressions are often wrong, and that a person can mature if he or she keeps an open mind. The unlikely courtship of Mr Darcy and (in our movie) a beautiful Indian girl starts with mutual contempt, but moves forward as they become wiser and learn that their first instincts, based on pride, prejudice and illusions, were wrong.

The scene moves between Amritsar and Goa to London and Beverley Hills, all in brighter-than-bright super-saturated colour, with an assortment of equally colourful characters, wonderful costumes, lavish dance pieces and heavenly bollywood-style ballads. While almost everything is in English (except for a few subtitled songs), nearly all the characters are top Indian performers.

In the golden age of musicals, stars such as Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire had a whole sub-industry to draw on for good dancers who could also sing and act well, plus the technicians used to producing high-end musicals. As demand waned, so did supply, and the West is now hard pressed to produce song and dance films that don't rely on snappy editing to suggest good dancing from top actors, or heavy coaching to suggest top dancers can act. Bollywood, on the other hand, has no such shortage, and Bride and Prejudice is the sumptuously choreographed musical with Indian dancing that has become nigh impossible with western dancers.

Admittedly it's a bit cheesy at times - but it's self-consciously so, and as endearing as warm, gushy Indian hospitality. The sets and dialogue give authentic, if stereotypical, glimpses of Indian life and values. Like many east-meets-west movies, the stereotypes are a handle to allow easy assimilation of foreign ideas, and the heavy Indian involvement wards off any tendency to patronise (which is one of the themes explored in the film).

This is not high drama or high art, but it's an accomplished romantic comedy / song-and-dance film, and one that warms the heart and makes you want to wave your arms in the air Indian-dance-style for the sheer joy and exuberance of happy endings.

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.

Unless you're just determined not to have a good time, I can't imagine how you could watch "Bride & Prejudice" and not come out of it with a smile on your face. Colorful, splashy, cheesy, and starring a bunch of gorgeous actors, both male and female, it updates Jane Austen's classic tale and tells it in the style of a Bollywood musical.

Like most Bollywood musicals, the music in this is catchy while it's playing, but you won't remember any of it afterwards, since there are no strong discernible melodies. And the dance numbers aren't necessarily dance numbers so much as they are choreographed movement. But everything is sold so energetically that the festive mood is infectious.

Aishwarya Rai just may be the most beautiful woman on the face of the earth, but women viewers will have plenty of eye candy to keep them happy as well. And fans of Marsha Mason will be pleased, as she makes an unexpected cameo late in the film.

A treat.

Grade: A-