Bride & Prejudice (2004)

A modern adaptation of Jane Austen's classic novel, Pride and Prejudice, that features the lives of four unmarried daughters in an Indian family.

Director:

Gurinder Chadha

Writers:

Jane Austen (novel), Paul Mayeda Berges

Stars:

Martin Henderson, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Nadira Babbar

4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan	...	Lalita Bakshi (as Aishwarya Rai)
Martin Henderson	...	William Darcy
Nadira Babbar	...	Manorama Bakshi
Anupam Kher	...	Chaman Bakshi
Naveen Andrews	...	Balraj
Namrata Shirodkar	...	Jaya Bakshi
Daniel Gillies	...	Johnny Wickham
Indira Varma	...	Kiran
Sonali Kulkarni	...	Chandra Lamba
Nitin Ganatra	...	Mr. Kohli
Meghna Kothari	...	Maya Bakshi (as Meghnaa)
Peeya Rai Chowdhary	...	Lakhi Bakshi (as Peeya Rai Choudhuri)
Alexis Bledel	...	Georgina 'Georgie' Darcy
Marsha Mason	...	Catherine Darcy
Ashanti	...	Ashanti

Storyline

A Bollywood-style update of Jane Austen's classic tale, in which Mrs. Bakshi is eager to find suitable husbands for her four unmarried daughters. When the rich single gentlemen Balraj and Darcy come to visit, the Bakshis have high hopes, though circumstance and boorish opinions threaten to get in the way of romance.

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Plot Keywords:

f rated | elizabeth bennet character | mr wickham character | lydia bennet character | mr. darcy character | 

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Taglines:

Bollywood meets Hollywood... And it's a perfect match

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Musical | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some sexual references

Details

Official Sites:

BIM Distribuzione [Italy] Miramax [United States]

Country:

UK USA India

Language:

English Hindi Punjabi Spanish

Release Date:

11 March 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

Coup de foudre à Bollywood

Filming Locations:

Amritsar, Punjab, India

Box Office

Budget:

$7,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£1,667,616 (United Kingdom), 10 October 2004, Limited Release

Opening Weekend USA:

$385,848, 13 February 2005, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$6,601,079, 22 May 2005

Company Credits

Production Co:

Pathé Pictures International,UK Film Council,Kintop Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min (International) 122 min (Hindi)

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Punjabi wedding song and dance number took six days to shoot.

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Goofs

When Lalita's mother asks Balraj to find Lalita 'a nice Indian husband' right in front of Darcy, Lalita and Darcy exchange lengthy dismayed looks as they realise that Lalita's parents don't view Darcy as a potential marriage match. Yet in the next scene, her parents smile and laugh and openly signal permission when Darcy looks to them for permission to embrace Lalita. Their sudden total change of heart is never explained.

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Quotes

Kiran Bingley: Darcy's a great reader.
Lalita Bakshi: In fact, I think a love of books is on his list for his ideal woman.
Will Darcy: I think you've had one too many Sea Breezes.
Kiran Bingley: I remember a very drunken night in Oxford when you recited the list. She has to be smart, speak several languages...
Will Darcy: Allright Kiran, drop it.
Kiran Bingley: No I recall she had to be athletic, voluptuous of course, graceful, witty, confident...
Lalita Bakshi: I'm not surprised Darcy found a woman with a list like that. Does this mean you're an ideal man?
Will Darcy: I'd guess you'd be a better judge ...

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Crazy Credits

Out-takes, behind the scenes footage and clips of the cast and crew singing along to the music are shown during the credits.

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Connections

Version of Pride and Prejudice (1995)

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Soundtracks

My Lips Are Waiting (reprise)
Composed by Anu Malik
Arranged by Ranjit Barot
Lyrics by Paul Mayeda Berges and Dev Kohli
Main Vocals by Ashanti
Background Vocals by Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Martin Henderson, Namrata Shirodkar,
Meghna Kothari, Peeya Rai Chowdhary, Nitin Ganatra, Gurinder Chadha,
, and Mellan Mitchell
Used courtesy of Casablanca Music, LLC
Ashanti appears courtesy of The Inc
(c) Pathé Fund Ltd 2004

User Reviews

Bollywood Miramax style . . .

Inspired by Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, this Western-style Bollywood musical can't possibly achieve the heights that a union of the best of East and West movie making and English literature might suggests, but it manages to fulfil a delightful couple of hours of song and dance that Western cinema these days struggles to accomplish.

Like the novel, Bride and Prejudice uses the ideas that that first impressions are often wrong, and that a person can mature if he or she keeps an open mind. The unlikely courtship of Mr Darcy and (in our movie) a beautiful Indian girl starts with mutual contempt, but moves forward as they become wiser and learn that their first instincts, based on pride, prejudice and illusions, were wrong.

The scene moves between Amritsar and Goa to London and Beverley Hills, all in brighter-than-bright super-saturated colour, with an assortment of equally colourful characters, wonderful costumes, lavish dance pieces and heavenly bollywood-style ballads. While almost everything is in English (except for a few subtitled songs), nearly all the characters are top Indian performers.

In the golden age of musicals, stars such as Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire had a whole sub-industry to draw on for good dancers who could also sing and act well, plus the technicians used to producing high-end musicals. As demand waned, so did supply, and the West is now hard pressed to produce song and dance films that don't rely on snappy editing to suggest good dancing from top actors, or heavy coaching to suggest top dancers can act. Bollywood, on the other hand, has no such shortage, and Bride and Prejudice is the sumptuously choreographed musical with Indian dancing that has become nigh impossible with western dancers.

Admittedly it's a bit cheesy at times - but it's self-consciously so, and as endearing as warm, gushy Indian hospitality. The sets and dialogue give authentic, if stereotypical, glimpses of Indian life and values. Like many east-meets-west movies, the stereotypes are a handle to allow easy assimilation of foreign ideas, and the heavy Indian involvement wards off any tendency to patronise (which is one of the themes explored in the film).

This is not high drama or high art, but it's an accomplished romantic comedy / song-and-dance film, and one that warms the heart and makes you want to wave your arms in the air Indian-dance-style for the sheer joy and exuberance of happy endings.