Bride & Prejudice

Bride & Prejudice
October 8, 2004
Miramax etc.
Romance, Musical, Comedy
DVD
B

This has obvious, surface similarities to Monsoon Wedding (2001) in that both are about large families living in modern-day India, and both films show the influence of Bollywood.  Also, as the titles suggest, weddings are important in both stories, although Wedding covers a shorter span of time, just the days leading up to and including a wedding, while here, in the Jane-Austen-inspired plot, much more attention is paid to how couples get together, and how they are sometimes separated, perhaps temporarily, perhaps not.  Besides the change in settings (not just India, but also London and L.A.), and such touches as email, the major differences from Pride and Prejudice are that Mr. Kohli is much more sympathetic (if still very comical) and the exact nature of Wickham's seductions and attempts is changed.  Other changes, such as the omission of Kitty Bennet, serve to streamline the movie, as the omission of various characters did in Sense & Sensibility (1995).

This came out shortly before the Keira Knightley P & P.  As with Paltrow's Emma vs. Clueless, I prefer the movie that is stylistically less faithful but more truly faithful to the spirit of the original novel.  The themes and the essence of the Austen novel are captured well, but there's also, particularly in the first third of the movie, a lot of what one song calls "color, light, and sound," the same dazzling elements seen in Monsoon, but with much better music.  The definite stand-out is "No Life Without Wife," where the four pajama-clad sisters are playful, romantic, and, well, sisterly, and the song is very catchy to boot.

Aishwarya Rai as Lalita (the Lizzy equivalent) is almost too perfect: witty and clever of course, but also devastatingly beautiful and of course musically talented, including playing the guitar.  She's also both feminist and proudly traditionally Indian.  In contrast, Martin Henderson as Will Darcy (equivalent to guess who) is a little bland.  It's a romance where I don't mind the main couple getting together but I don't feel terribly invested in it.  Luckily, as in the original novel, there are so many interesting side characters that it doesn't ultimately matter.