Bride and Prejudice

[razzy]

has anyone seen this? I really liked Bend it Like Beckham and this looks like a fun premise. Plus it might be an easy introduction to Bollywood musicals.

Reviews?

[Deleted]

Yes i saw it...you're right, it would be an easy introduction to Bollywood, and also to Jane Austen (if someone had the impression that JA was too highbrow to enjoy---but she isn't people! She is the writer for the masses!!! Oh, sorry...).

Bride and Prejudice stars Ash Rai, the Most Beautiful Actress Currently On the Planet, but her acting isn't bad at all. The set-up in this version of Pride and Prejudice isn't so much financially/socially mismatched as cross-culturally mismatched. Mr. Darcy here is Western, while the "Lizzie" character is Eastern. The jokes and romantic sparring come mostly from their cultural assumptions.
It isn't as sharply written as it could have been, given that the whole story is there already as JA wrote. The villains are not really all that villainous, the social snubs don't seem very devastating...all in all it is fairly light-hearted and i recommend it to anyone who wants a good escape for a couple of hours into an Austen-themed fantasy.

[valueofaloonie]

I finally saw this last night, and I loved it.

Never having seen a Bollywood movie, I really had no idea what to expect, and was pleasantly surprised. But I suppose, having liked Bend It Like Beckham, I'm a little biased in favour of Gurinder Chadha and her style of directing.

My only quibble would be that I found Martin Henderson (Will Darcy) to be sort of bland and boring. I suspect I can blame Colin Firth and the BBC version for that...

[tamaradixon]

Yes valueofaloonie Martin Henderson was bland and boring. IMO, the worst part of the film.

Now for the rest....LOVED IT!

For some reason, I didn't expect it to be a musical (D'oh!), but the dance numbers were the best part. The sister's crazy ass snake dance had me in stitches. I may actually buy this when it comes out on DVD.

[colette]

I liked the movie a lot, but while I think Ash Rai is beautiful, I don't think she's a very good actress. She had serious bitch face going on throughout the entire movei. I kept waiting for her to hold up her hand and spit out, "Talk to it, baby."

[Deleted]

I was really disappointed in the movie.

Ash isn't a bad actress per say. She's been amazing in Raincoat and Choker Bali, but she was quite unconvincing in BandP. The Elizabeth Bennet or Lalita Bakshi character needs a little bit of sweetness and charm to seem lovable despite the affrontness, and while she captured the snarkiness, she missed the sweetness.

Also, having her read a book to make her seem intellectual? Puhlease.

[topher]

The is my first exposure to a Bollywood type movie. My wife and I really enjoyed it.