Product Details

• Released on: 2005-07-05
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: NTSC, Import
• Original language: English, Portuguese
• Subtitled in: Spanish
• Running time: 107 minutes

Review
Although it made less than a fifth as much at the U.S. box office, Gurinder Chadha's follow-up to Bend It Like Beckham is a lot truer to the joyous Bollywood traditions that lurk in the background of her international soccer hit. Bride and Prejudice, Chadha's Indian take on the Jane Austen novel, also benefits from what should have been a crossover breakthrough for Aishwarya Rai -- voted the world's most beautiful woman by a consensus of 2005 Internet polls -- but didn't turn out to be the same career-making boost that Keira Knightley got from Beckham. Bride is quite literally light on its feet, as it serves up numerous breathtaking Indian song-and-dance numbers, deliriously choreographed in a rainbow of colors. The weaker Broadway-influenced numbers are more abrupt, but they still contribute to Chadha's commendable balance between intimate character development and large-scale production design. Chadha also tones down the "talkative ethnic mother humor" that undermined Beckham, lending a greater respect and believability to the Bakshi family, whose elders are torn between landing rich husbands for their daughters (the mother) and letting them follow their bliss (the father). Rai does an excellent job fashioning a modern feminist role model who refuses to play her ascribed cultural role, yet still shows exceptional fondness for her roots. Opposite her as Darcy, Martin Henderson deserves kudos for the soft-spoken dignity that gradually redeems his initial tactlessness. Chadha's chaste approach to the material -- the characters never even kiss -- prevents certain scenes from reaching full catharsis. And a fistfight that takes place in a movie theater, echoing the fisticuffs taking place onscreen, is pretty clich�d. But these are minor grievances in an otherwise unqualified success. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide

On the DVD
ccDeleted scenes
Extended songs
Ashanti's song
The making of Bride & Prejudice
A conversation with Aishwarya Rai
A conversation with Martin Henderson
Feature commentary by director and co-writer Gurinder Chadha and co-writer Paul Mayeda Berges

Synopsis
The very British sensibilities of Jane Austen are introduced to the exotic flavors of the Bollywood musical in this romantic comedy with songs from the director of Bend It Like Beckham, Gurinder Chadha. Lalita Bakshi (Aishwarya Rai) is the lovely and eligible daughter of her socially ambitious mother and father (Nadira Babbar and Anupam Kher). Mother and father want to be sure that Lalita, the most beautiful of their four daughters, settles down with a man worthy of her, but she has proven resistant to matchmaking, announcing that she will choose her own husband, and will choose him for love. While mother is keen on the profoundly annoying Kholi (Nitin Chandra Ganatra), Lalita has had her head turned by a handsome vagabond from England, Johnny Wickham (Daniel Gilles). But while attending the wedding of a friend, Lalita meets Will Darcy (Martin Henderson), a college buddy of family friend Raj (Naveen Andrews) who is the son of a wealthy hotel magnate. Lalita finds that Will makes a strong impression on her -- she can't stand him, but she also can't get him out of her mind. Will feels the same way about her, and as they inadvertently chase one another over three continents, will morbid fascination grow into true love? Bride and Prejudice marked the first English-speaking role for Aishwarya Rai, who had firmly established herself as India's leading female star when this film was made. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Customer Reviews

Bride and Prejudice
A great Bollywood spoof on the old standard "Pride & Prejudice"
Wonderful, colourful romp making this a must see movie.
Very entertaining for the whole family.

Bollywood Lite
If you are looking to get a feel for what a Bollywood movie might be like, this will give you a taste, while still being grounded in the more familiar English and American styles. Filmed mostly in England, there were exterior scenes filmed in India and the United States as well. "Bride & Prejudice" was first released in the United Arab Emirates on October 6th of 2004, which was shortly followed by its release in India, the United Kingdom and France on October 8th. One interesting fact mentioned in the commentary, is that it was the number one film in both India and the United Kingdom when it opened, which no other film has ever done. The film was not released in the United States until February 11th of 2005.

As one might easily guess, this is an adaptation of Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice", adding in the Bollywood musical numbers, and updating the story to be about a wealthy American, William Darcy (Martin Henderson), and a poor Indian woman, Lalita Bakshi (Aishwarya Rai), who is one of four daughters that her mother is trying to marry off. This movie is at times hilariously funny, and at other times cheesily romantic. The movie was directed by Gurinder Chadha, who also directed "Bend It like Beckham" (2002).

The best moments of the movie for me were the songs "Marriage Song", and "No Life without Wife", and the hilarious snake dance scene. The weaknesses were in some of the acting, in particular for the role of William Darcy. I am not very familiar with Martin Henderson, so I am not sure if the problem was acting or direction, but I thought the performance was very wooden overall. I think the movie also suffered from being based on a fairly long book, so they had to cut it down a lot, especially to fit in the long elaborate musical numbers.

The DVD has a nice set of features, including deleted scenes, extended versions of the songs, Ashanti's song, a featurette on the making of "Bride & Prejudice", interviews with Aishwarya Rai and Martin Henderson, and a feature length commentary by Gurinder Chadha and Paul Mayeda Berges. I would not call this a great movie, but I certainly was entertained by it. Overall, I would like to give it 3 stars because this is clearly above average, however Amazon doesn't allow reviewers to do that. So in choosing between 3 and 4 stars, I would have to say it is closer to a 3 star item than a 4 star one.

Nothing short of exquisite - I loved every minute of it
I wasn't sure I wanted to watch this film at first. Both the title and the DVD box image are rather cheesy - but then I saw the trailer, and it convinced me that this would indeed be something worth watching. Thank goodness for that trailer because I absolutely adored this movie. Bride and Prejudice introduced me to a whole new world of cinematic magic. It's an explosion of vibrant colors, exotic settings, incredible music and dancing, and genuine pleasure. The story itself, combining romance, drama, as well as comedy, was also a treat in its own right. If you haven't guessed by the title, this film was inspired by Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice - and I hope Austen enthusiasts will give this film a try, despite whatever misgivings they must surely have about it. I prefer to judge the film on its own merits, and I can't find anything not to like here. It's just exquisite.

The film is primarily set in India. Will Darcy (Martin Henderson) has come with his friend Balraj (Lost's Naveen Andrews) to attend a wedding - and what a wedding it is. The whole town is in full celebration mode, and the song and dance numbers that come spinning at you in kaleidoscope fashion entrance you with their beauty and grace. Darcy is immediately taken with a gorgeous young lady named Lalita Bakshi (Aishwarya Rai), who just happens to be the sister of Balraj's object of affection. She comes from a family full of girls and a mother working tirelessly to find husbands for her older daughters - hopefully rich ones. Darcy and Lalita, despite a lot of meaningful eye contact, don't exactly hit it off, but that's largely Darcy's fault. Henderson really isn't very charismatic in the role, and he's not all that eloquent either. Lalita finds him to be a rude, arrogant American who looks down on her and everyone else in India. Darcy's also a bit of a wimp, seemingly incapable of standing up to his domineering mother's influence. She would never approve of an India-born daughter-in-law, of course - but Mrs. Bakshi wouldn't necessarily leap for joy at an American son-in-law, either (no matter how rich he is - and Darcy is filthy rich). Darcy does get to spend a little time with Lalita (but not because she wants to), but then an acquaintance of his shows up in the form of Johnny Wickham (Daniel Gillies) - why the son of Darcy's nanny suddenly shows up there in India is a complete mystery to me, though. Wickham's no good, but the ever-ineffectual Darcy won't tell Lalita why. As for Lalita, she has to fend off a new suitor in the form of an incredibly annoying fellow who has come back from America seeking a bride. It looks like Darcy and Lalita just weren't meant to be, as he returns to London and Lalita finds herself having to fend off a new suitor in the form of an incredibly annoying fellow who has come back from America seeking a bride. The world's a small place, though, and fate brings Darcy and Lalita together again in Los Angeles (where the Bakshi family has come to attend another wedding).

The romance is quite predictable, but it does take interesting twists and turns along the way. I found it pretty compelling, but in many ways the love story is just the excuse to put on an awe-inspiring spectacle of music, dance, and incredible entertainment. I can't adequately describe the lavish nature of this film, except to say that it is a visual and auditory treat. I haven't had this much fun watching a film in a long time. Singing and dancing can start at the drop of a hat, and as often as not it doesn't end until the entire village has joined the fun. Lalita and her sisters are just wonderful, adorable characters (even the one who does the rather unforgettable Cobra Dance) - and Aishwarya Rai, the true star of this film, shines like the heavens on a dark night. I'll eagerly watch any movie she appears in. You won't have to worry about nodding off in the middle of this one - as Bride and Prejudice has the contagious energy to revive even the weariest of souls. Hollywood just doesn't make films like this; until you see this Bride and Prejudice, you probably won't even know what you're missing.