Hollywood meets Bollywood in director Gurinder Chadha’s newest film. It’s not as good as her two previous films WHAT’S COOKING? or BEND IN LIKE BECKHAM, but it is 100% fun. Loosely based on Jane Austen’s much filmed PRIDE & PREJUDICE, the film’s setting is shifted from England to India (making stops in London and L.A. as well). Actually it's more than set in India, the country is like a character.
Mrs. and Mr. Bakshi (Nadira Babbar, MEENAXI: TALE OF 3 CITIES, & Anupam Kher, BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM) have four unmarried daughters, which Mrs. Bakshi desperately wants to marry off. At a wedding, her oldest daughter Jaya (Namrata Shirodkar) meets best man Balraj Bingley (Naveen Andrews, KAMA SUTRA), who is from London, and an instant attraction is struck. Now that moves second daughter Lalita (Aishwarya Rai, former Miss World) in line for suitors. Lalita is attracted to Balraj’s American friend Will Darcy (Martin Henderson, THE RING), but finds him arrogant, prejudiced and snobby when she talks to him. Other suitors include Mrs. Bakshi’s favorite – the rich Indian-American businessman Mr. Kholi (Nitin Chandra Ganatra, TRULY MADLY DEEPLY) -- and Will’s archrival Mr. Wickman (Daniel Gillies, SPIDER-MAN 2), who also gains the attention of the youngest sister Lucky (Peeya Rai Chowdhary).
If you don’t know the typical standards of a Bollywood film then when his film just breaks out into song you might be surprised. Bollywood films pride themselves in having a little bit of everything. Chadha embraces this idea and has a lot of fluffy fun with it. But this doesn’t mean she dumbs the film down. She uses the film as an opportunity to make some poignant points about India’s emerging place on the world stage. In one pointed argument, Lalita and Will debate what the "real" India really looks like.
At times, it feels like Chadha is using the film as an advertisement for the traditional India. However, for the most part, the film is just grand romance, melodrama, broad comedy and lots of music and dancing. Rai was recently named the most beautiful woman in the world and is a megastar in Asia. I will not argue that she is not worth staring at for two hours. And I’m sure the ladies in the theatre didn’t mind staring at Henderson or Gillies as well. It’s a fun and colorful date movie that throws something really intelligent in when you least expect it.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
