Austen + Bollywood = Colorful, Delicious, Excellent Fun

I have to admit it up front: I am a hopeless romantic, I love musicals, and I am an Austen fanatic. I'm also drawn to the vibrancy of the culture of India. So, yes, since this film has all that, my positive opinion of it was almost a foregone conclusion. Pride and Prejudice is even my favorite novel! Yet this film, a Bollywood adaptation of Pride and Prejudice of course, is genuinely entertaining. Gurinder Chadha's Bride and Prejudice is wildly romantic, funny, and evocative of a distinct culture, all within that timeless story.

For those of you who don't know or don't read Austen (i.e. most guys), the basic plot is that the second oldest daughter (Aishwarya Rai as Lalita) of a genteel but not quite wealthy family, here named the Bakshi's, fall in love with Mr. Darcy (Martin Henderson), here an American, only after a lot of misunderstandings sparring matches, and the presence of a smooth handsome heartbreaker, Wickham (Daniel Gillies). There is also the subplot romance between the family's eldest daughter (Namrata Shirodkar) and Darcy's best friend (Naveen Andrews, TVs “Lost”).

Cinema in India has long been referred to as Bollywood, its output of song-and-dance-filled, chaste romances more than equaling Hollywood's. The pairing of this style with Jane Austen's material is unexpectedly perfect. Couples don't even kiss in Bollywood and they don't in Austen either. The romance of Lalita and Darcy is so well orchestrated though that it isn't until well after the glow of the film as slowly subsided that you realize their lips never met. Every longing look, every caress of the arm around the shoulder makes you feel like they have. As for the music, it may take a moment for some to get used to the style of dancing and singing, but it such infectious fun, you really will want to get up and try some of it yourself.

The first is a fast, battle-of-the-sexes-type dance, with the lyric translations wisely put onscreen, while others are soft love songs. Chadha, having mixed India and soccer in 2003's Bend It Like Beckham, astutely makes even her direction adhere with the light tone of this confection. She'll sometimes start songs, then in a couple shots show them being sung. She moves the action from a small town in India's rural areas to the beach resort of Goa to London to L.A. and back again, much like Austen does. She updates and gives ample setup for the Wickham/Lahki development and cleverly makes Austen's Lasy Catherine character Darcy's mother. Her nearly constantly moving camera with good editing and excellent, richly colorful art direction just give the eye as much to feast on as the ears have with the songs. India's landscape and culture get an affectionate and gorgeous treatment. It just so gorgeous! Chadha's even thrown in a Mexican street band, an African-American choir and Ashanti for good measure.

Rai and Henderson are playfully perfect together, both so beautiful. Rai, a former Miss World of course, is clearly comfortable with Bollywood in all its grandeur and Henderson, a New Zealander playing a Yank, has "romantic lead" written all over him. I love a lot of the supporting actors, too. Nitin Ganatra as Kholi, the Mr. Collins character, is hilarious, Alexis Bledel and Marsha Mason make an appearance, and best of all is Andrews as the Bingley character. Watch him dance and then think of him as Sayid on ABC's outstanding Lost and its clear he's quite a talent.

Oh, I just enjoyed this film so much! Bride and Prejudice is part Bollywood, part Austen, all wonderful. If you don't leave this film with a smile on your lips, something's wrong! Chadha may also be able to credit herself with sparking interest here in all things Bollywood. After this film, a traditional Regency English version of Pride and Prejudice is planned for later this year (which I didn't know about before my Top Ten Anticipated List, or it would have appeared there) from Focus Features. What a year for Austen and Bride and Prejudice has started it with a song.

Film Rating: êêêê1/2  (out of 5)  | Film Grade: A-