Bride and Prejudice (2004)

Let me begin with the negative points, which may not be all that negative actually!

1) I don't know why Chadha decided to name a guy, "Kholi" and not "Kohli! As far as I know, "Kohli" is a Punjabi surname, and not "Kholi". "Kholi" is a word found in Bombayya Hindi. I would have liked to think that one of the Hollywood geniuses, who often convert, for example, "Gandhi" into "Ghendi/ Gendi/ Gandi" etc. (You don't believe me? Please check the subtitles of the movie, "Gandhi".) turned Kohli into Kholi, but that is not the case. Was it to mock at "Hollywood" with the rhyming "Kholiwood"? Or was it that Chadha meant that Kohli became very Westernized to call himself Kholi.

2) Pot smoking and Goa go as much hand in hand as expletives and the Punjabi language do. It's not a criticism; it's a fact!. This movie, however, did not show anyone smoking pot in Goa. (Maybe the director did it intentionally to avoid the censor; also, recently the Indian government banned depiction of smoking in movies, and Chadha surely had the Indian audience in mind).

3) The cows in Indian streets seems to be a very popular cliché (though not completely inaccurate depiction of the situation in some places in India), which each so-called non-Bollywood movie must decidedly include. Punjab is one of the well-developed states of India, mind you. Girl in Jeans and sport-shoes going to the field also seemed to me a bit out of place.

Even more obvious is the omission of the ritual horse-ride. Each Punjabi groom must have a horseback (or, rather a mare) ride for the wedding procession. This movie does not show that, which seems like an absolute mistake to me!

3) The Bad guy in the movie looked more innocent and adorable than the good guy in the movie. That just did not seem good to my eyes; but this is a subjective opinion.

5) Kohli eating with his fingers: he won't do it after living in America for so long. It's a matter of getting used to at least spoons, if not to knife and fork. Also, most Indian middle-class families (and other too) would, for sure, offer a spoon to a guest, especially one who had lived abroad for long, and with whom almost the entire family was so fascinated! It was apparent to everyone that Kohli did not have the slightest clue as to how to use his fingers for eating food! Actually, many Indian families these days use spoon rather than their fingers.

6) A green card holder like Mr. Kohli would perhaps not marry a non US citizen. (Note: if I can believe what my friends told me, she can not get a dependent Visa, or Green card or whatever. One of the guys I know says that he can not marry any Indian girl now, because he got his Green card about a year ago, and he has been unsuccessful so far to get a long-term girlfriend within the United States).

Now good points.

1) Music: Chadha has done a great job in making this music possible, by bringing in Anu Malik. Sure, Malik steals left and right, but he also can fuse very well. The music played for the Cobra dance, for example, is the celebrated Been (clay pipe) music, composed by the late Hemant Kumar (Mukhyopadhyay) for the movie, Nagin, in the early 1950's (was it 1952?), which was played by Ravi and Kalyanji, the would be music composers in the not-so-far future. Similarly, the song,"Wedding comes to town", is based on an old Hindi movie song; perhaps it was "Reshmi Rumal". Chadha

Fmovies: If you didn't like this movie, it's only because you expected the same nonsense Hollywood has been pumping out for years.

India has its own unique style of popular entertainment, little appreciated or understood by much of the West. The most well known is the Bollywood musical. They're easy to roll your eyes at if you're used to seeing the subdued cinema of Hollywood - as I'm sure most Indians would do were they to see the hours of explosions & dribble that comes out of the US.

This movie delicately and playfully bridges the gap between the two genres, which is not an easy task. Starting with a Western classic storyline and draping it in the bright colors of India, it takes you on a ride around the world. Just think Jane Austin in the Punjab. It takes a tong-in-cheek approach to much of the theatrics, being well aware of how it looks to the uninitiated.

"B & P" doesn't attempt to show a foreign family simply conforming to the West's lifestyle, as so many other similar types do (like director Chadha's other well-known film, Bend It Like Beckham). It celebrates the diversity of the cultures, passes no judgment on any person or practice and allows a dignified India to be well portrayed. Much of this takes place along with music and laughter – what could be better?

It's no new news that Chaddha's 'Bride and Brejudice' is based on Austen's 'Pride and Prejudice'. Chaddha Bollywoodizes the film by adding numerous songs, dance numbers, setting it in India and casting Indian actors but she also tries to Hollywoodize it by casting Hollywood actors. So this is what has been called a 'crossover' film.

Result: I found it to be very boring. The screenplay drags. The lead pair have no chemistry. Rai is strictly okay in some scenes and wooden in others. Hendersen is wooden in most scenes. Kulkarni deserved a much better role. Shirodkar is grateful and makes her presence felt. Kothari's snake dance is one of the plus points. Alexis Bledel has a tiny role but I just had to mention her. It's hilarious. Most of the songs are sleep inducing. No Life Without Wife looks funny but the song itself is irritating. Ashanti's item number is unintentionally funny.

Chaddha was probably too focused on making 'Bride and Brejudice' into a Bollywood meets Hollywood film which is why the film failed (in terms of screenplay, performances as) as a whole. The colourful locations and set design are pleasant but you can see those in numerous much better Indian movies that would be more worthy of your time.

Bride and Prejudice fmovies. I just saw this movie at a press show, and I have to admit, it was magnificent. The whole movie was full of color and life, and it was so vibrant. The lyrics for some songs were a bit cheesy, but one can overlook that when watching the movie. It portrayed a true Indian family. I think that everyone should watch this movie and get insight into the lives of Indian families. The songs didn't appear out of nowhere as is the trend of most Hindi movies, the actually fit into the movie excellently. The acting was superb and the Indian snake dance was hilarious. However, the director should have given a bigger "role" to the other sisters. Ash Rai did a great job and Martin Henderson was just perfect for the role of Mr. Darcy.

This movie deserves four stars!!!!1

well what can i say i went to this movie expecting it to be really bad as i am not a big fan of the actress aishwarya rai but i was surprised . one must look at this movie from the point that it was made more like a bolly wood movie that is dramatic , has songs (as all Hindi movies are incomplete with out) and a dash of Indian culture yes the movie is based on pride and prejudice so a lot of people will go expecting it to be like the book and hence will be surprised. the whole point to having an Indian girl who is from a different culture, background,class and country fall in love with a rich ,snobbish American boy is to make it romantic almost i would say like a mills and boons romance. and this is where the movie gets a thumbs up. martin henderson as will darcy looks smashing and plays his role well . this movie is funny as well as emotional and has all the stuff required in making a good movie one must go and see this movie and expect it to be like a bollywood film and the person will not be disappointed.this is a truly different movie and is worth a watch.

B&P just opened in cinemas over here this week and hey surprise!surprise!... its wonderful holiday fare. BP is most enjoyable despite what hardcore critics may say and the reason ...the definitive romantic script that Jane Austen wrote with her lovable characters. No movie based on JA novel is bound to be a disaster. BP 's genre of East meet West is bright, funny, and wonderful escapism for a 112 min. I enjoyed the characters...Mrs. Bakshi is a great laugh and Mr. Kholi ...spot on with their characters from P & P. Leads Rai & Henderson needs no more to strut the beautiful selves , a suitably arrogant Darcy and feisty Lalitha and they make a visually stunning pair. Their acting, a major point with many, is absolutely spot- on "cheesy" for this genre movie and I cannot see anybody else looking gorgeous enough to play Lalitha & Darcy. The other cast members is suitably bright, beautiful, funny and charming and Gurinda put together a very good team for her follow up to "Bend it...' Despite being novice to Bollywood.. the music was quite nice and I saw a few cinema patrons nodding their heads along the funky music. All in all an entertaining movie , not traditional fare in any sense, but hey it was good enough for a hardcore romantic movie fan like me to really DIG it...even so I 've seen it twice already :) ..and thinking seriously of seeing it a 3rd time:)

On another note.... IMO BP might be the breakthrough vehicle for the beautiful Ash in Hollywood as she's really a good actress....and Martin Henderson...mmmm ... lets just say Hollywood loves NZ hunks ( and so does all the die hard romantics like myself :)) and a few more hunky roles will certainly rise his star :)