Jane Austen Meets Bollywood – A DVD Review of Bride and Prejudice

Bride and Prejudice is Gurinder Chadha’s 2004  attempt to fuse Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, Bollywood glitz, British satire and Hollywood schmaltz into a single film. The movie follows Lalita (Bollywood goddess Aishwarya Rai) in the Elizabeth Bennet role, who in this adaptation is a middle-class Indian girl with three sisters (presumably four would have stretched the budget?) Her romance with American hotel tycoon, William Darcy (Martin Henderson), loosely follows Lizzy and Darcy’s relationship in Pride and Prejudice. However, Chadha has avoided stretching the contemporary parallels too far, so she is liberal with her changes to the storyline along the way. Jaya (Namrata Shirodka) is Lalita’s older sister, and her Mr. Bingley is Darcy’s friend Balraj, played by Naveen Andrews of ‘Lost’ fame.

Darcy’s initial arrogance is reflected in his ‘imperialist’ attitude when he arrives in India to accompany Balraj to a wedding and also visit a luxury hotel he is thinking of buying. Lalita, politically sensitive and patriotic, is offended by Darcy’s comments about his host country, and from their spiky conversations love begins to bloom. We still have George Wickham’s character, although here he is Johnny Wickham. Just as an aside, it seems a little odd for a contemporary adaptation to give him a first name that was last seen in movies like the Karate Kid and Dirty Dancing, but never mind – George would apparently have been old-fashioned or something. In any case, Wickham’s character arc is pretty much the same. It does come across quite unlikely when Darcy and Wickham bump into each other on a beach, however. In 19th Century England it’s enough of a coincidence, but an Englishman and an American chancing upon each other in a country of one billion people?

The movie’s energy and color would recommend it, even without the majesty of the source material. It is, without doubt, one of the handsomest movies of my acquaintance. The songs from the excellent soundtrack (reviewed here) are, depending on your point of view, either wonderfully or horribly catchy. The dances too, combined with the gorgeous costumes, also stand out – particularly the first, which occurs at the modern Indian equivalent of the Meryton town ball. Given the crucial role that dances play in Pride and Prejudice, this is where Jane Austen and Bollywood meet most advantageously. The songs vary in memorability and the dances in scale and splendor, but the best are truly loveable and the worst are all agreeable.

Ghada believed that the themes driving Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice remain central to the lives of many Indian women, and her movie does translate these – particularly the need for advantageous marriages – quite effectively. On a few occasions lines of dialog have been lifted directly, for example when Mr. and Mrs. Bakshi argue about whether Lalita should accept Kholi Saab’s proposal. Kholi is the movie’s Mr. Collins. He is an Indian-American expatriate and Los Angeles is his Lady Catherine de Bourgh. He only sees the good in the country that has made him rich, complains about India and Indians during his stay, and will hear nothing against his adopted country. The re-imagining of his character is one of the most interesting aspects of Bride and Prejudice.

It’s not difficult to see the relevance of Jane Austen’s work to contemporary India and it’s links to the US and Britain. The movie is certainly successful in this regard. The fusion of styles, however, is often a little jarring. The mixing of Bollywood and Hollywood would be tough enough, but to do so via classical literature and toe-curling British cringe comedy is probably impossible. Rather than creating a genuine fusion, the movie veers instead from style to style and often leaves you feeling a little confused. Some scenes contain naturalistic satire, some possess lashings of Hollywood cheese and others are pure Bollywood sparkle. It’s hard to be presented with such cynicism and naivety in the same film and know what to make of each. Maya’s snake dance is supposed to be exaggerated and embarrassing, yet when approached with these eyes so was the sisters’ “No Life Without Wife” number. The film engages our cynicism and then demands we suspend it, when a more consistent tone would have perhaps made it an easier watch. Nevertheless, this is a recommended movie for Austen fans and anyone thinking of dipping their toes into Bollywood cinema.

Your toe-tapping friend,

Lizzy