If I were to categorize this year in terms of my prevailing preoccupation, I would have to say that 2007 has been the Year of Harry Potter. Just behind the boy wizard, however, were several other fictional fancies, prominent among them the hit ABC drama LOST and Jane Austen's enduring classic, Pride and Prejudice. When I learned that a marriage, however tenuous, between the two could be found in Gurinder Chadha's Bride and Prejudice, a splashy Bollywood adaptation of Austen's novel, I couldn't wait to attend the ceremony.
It was Naveen Andrews, better known to me as (mostly) reformed Iraqi
torturer Sayid, whose inclusion in the cast pushed this cinematic take
on the Elizabeth and Darcy saga up to the top of my must-see list.
Sadly, the happy-go-lucky (and marvelously fleet-footed) Balraj Bingley
doesn't get a lot of screen time, but he's sufficiently lovable for this
gal who harbors suspicions that, delicious as Darcy is, she may be more
of a Bingley devotee at heart. And Martin Henderson is, alas, no Colin
Firth, nor is this Darcy written to be nearly as interesting or
intoxicating as the original.
Few of the other cast members were familiar to me. Alexis Bledel, whose role in Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
I enjoyed, puts in a sweet performance as Georgie, good-natured little
sister of the inscrutable William Darcy, and Ashanti makes a rather
random appearance. Otherwise, while I recognized the characters, I can't
say the same for the actors playing them. The cast is solid, however,
from Indira Varma, who plays the high-falluting, flirtatious Kiran
Bingley, sister to Balraj and pursuer of William, to Nitin Ganatra, the
insufferable Mr. Collins-like Mr. Kohli who could give Fran Drescher a
run for her money in a most-annoying-laugh competition.
Most
of the characters have names that are similar to the Austen version, but
before they were properly introduced it was fun to point to them and
guess which character they corresponded to. I was impressed by how many
of the characters remained relatively intact; obviously, since the bulk
of the film takes place in modern-day India (with brief forays into
London and California) rather than Georgian England, there are going to
be changes, but the basic nature of the characters is pretty similar.
The Bakshi family is very much like the Bennets, with an easy-going dad
(Anupam Kher), a hilariously high-strung mom (Nadira Babbar) and four
unmarried daughters. Poor Kitty, who never was very distinctive, is
excised entirely, but Elizabeth is present in all her feisty glory,
though this time her name is Lalita (Aishwarya Rai). Her older sister
Jane becomes Jaya (Namrata Shirodkar), whose charitable personality
isn't as developed as Jane's but who still is perfectly likable. Maya
(Meghna Kothari) is Mary-like primarily in one scene in which, instead
of a tedious musical performance, she subjects guests to a poorly
performed snake dance. Lakhi (Peeya Rai Chowdhary) is the irresponsible
Lydia through and through, though her fling with Johnny Wickham (Daniel
Gillies) turns out quite differently than in the book.
The
most striking aspect of this film, even more than the setting, is the
fact that it is a musical, and an incredibly eye-catching one at that.
The first half of the movie is loaded with extended, vibrant dance
numbers, most of which do little to advance the story, though they are
roughly in keeping with the emphasis the novel places on dance. Of
course, this is dancing of a very different sort, and even the liberal
Elizabeth would likely blush at some of the rather immodest displays -
though it's all beautifully coordinated, and still much more tasteful
than the half-dressed gyrating of From Justin to Kelly.
It's fun to watch, what with the dazzling array of fabrics and the
unique cultural dances, particularly those involving sticks that the
dancers slap together, and there's an entertaining Matchmaker, Matchmaker-style
derisive ode to Mr. Kohli, but most of the songs went on a bit longer
than I thought was necessary, and I was rather relieved when the second
half focused mostly on character development and dialogue.
If you're a fan of Jane Austen, you're in for a treat with this unique re-telling of Pride and Prejudice, and if you're lost without LOST, prepare to be doubly delighted!
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