By DAN DUN Special to the Daily Press
The term “Bollywood” was coined in reference to India’s robust film industry, and a cinematic style that incorporates a rainbow of bright colors, lively dance numbers, clean-cut comedy and, above all, hokey love stories seemingly into every epic the prolific Eastern filmmakers produce (about 800 titles a year). With “Bride & Prejudice,” writer-director Gurinder Chadha (“Bend it Like Beckham”) scores a lightweight hit by combining the spectacle of B’wood with a classic work of Brit lit, Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice.”
For Anglo audiences, the social conventions that drive the plot may seem quaint: In the tiny village of Amritsar, a meddlesome mother is determined to marry off her four daughters to well-heeled suitors. The most willful of the exceptionally beautiful brood is Lalita, played by Bollywood’s most popular female star, Aishwarya Rai. This is Rai’s first go-round in English-language film and as a result her delivery is just a bit stiff, but she is truly one of the world’s great beauties and there is no doubt that American audiences will be captivated by her. Martin Henderson (“The Ring”) certainly is. The New Zealander plays an American hotel magnate who goes ga-ga for Lalita, and while he’s clearly not a seasoned song and dance man, he does just enough to keep up with his more accomplished counterparts. Chadha’s color-splashed, almost immaculate portrait of Indian life is glorious (and an affront to cultural purists), and the musical numbers are great fun. Nitin Ganatra is a scene-stealer as an inelegant California transplant who returns to his native land hoping to land a trophy wife. (Rated PG-13, for some sexual references. Running time: 111 minutes)
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on February 11, 2005. Read the original PDF.