Bride and Prejudice

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Bride and Prejudice
Bride-and-prejudice.jpeg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Gurinder Chadha
Written by
Based on Pride and Prejudice
by Jane Austen
Produced by
  • Gurinder Chadha
  • Deepak Nayar
Starring
Cinematography Santosh Sivan
Edited byJustin Krish
Music by Anu Malik
Production
companies
Distributed by
  • United Kingdom and France:
  • Pathé Distribution
  • United States:
  • Miramax Films
  • India
  • Panorama Studios
Release dates
  • 6 October 2004 (2004-10-06)(United Kingdom)
  • 11 February 2005 (2005-02-11)(United States)
Running time
111 minutes [1]
Countries
  • United Kingdom
  • United States
  • France
  • India
Languages
  • English
  • Hindi
  • Punjabi
Budget$7 million [2]
Box office$24.7 million [2]

Bride and Prejudice (also known as Bride and Prejudice: The Bollywood Musical) is a 2004 romantic comedy-drama film directed by Gurinder Chadha. The screenplay by Chadha and Paul Mayeda Berges is a Bollywood-style adaptation of Jane Austen's 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice . Shot primarily in English, with some Hindi and Punjabi dialogue, the film was released in the United Kingdom on 6 October 2004 and in the United States on 11 February 2005 to mostly positive reviews from critics.

Contents

Plot

Lalita Bakshi is a young woman living in Amritsar, India with her family. The family is invited to a friend's wedding ceremony, where Lalita meets Will Darcy, a handsome and wealthy American who is a long-time friend of the Indian-British barrister Balraj, and Balraj's sister Kiran. Balraj is instantly attracted to Lalita’s eldest sister Jaya and likewise, Darcy is attracted to Lalita. During the wedding reception, Lalita takes a disliking to Darcy but when Balraj invites Jaya to Goa, Mr. Bakshi asks Lalita to go with them and she eventually agrees to do so. In Goa, Lalita and Darcy clash over their ideas on men and women and India's economic future. Later that night on the beach, Lalita meets Johnny Wickham, Darcy's former friend from London, and he validates her low opinion of Darcy.

The Bakshi family is visited by Kohli Saab, a family friend living in Los Angeles, who has come to India to find a "traditional woman" to marry. When Kohli Saab is attracted to Jaya, Mrs. Bakshi steers him towards Lalita, making Lalita uncomfortable. Wickham is invited to join the family and Kohli Saab at the Garba, despite Mrs. Bakshi's disapproval. Lalita happily accepts a dance from Wickham, even as Darcy and Kiran warn her against becoming involved with him. Lalita angers her mother by turning down a proposal from Kohli.

Balraj, Kiran, and Darcy are invited to the Bakshi house for dinner, where Jaya and Lalita’s younger sister Maya performs an awkward snake dance for the guests. Mrs. Bakshi furthers her guests’ discomfort by commenting loudly on Balraj and Jaya’s impending engagement and future babies.

Balraj comes to the house the following day to bid farewell to Jaya and promises to write to her from London. Youngest sister Lakhi Bakshi later announces that Lalita’s friend Chandra is marrying Kohli Saab, much to the surprise of Jaya and especially Lalita. The same night, Wickham also announces that he is leaving and promises to write to Lalita. Neither Balraj nor Wickham writes to the two older sisters, but Wickham is shown secretly writing to Lakhi. Kohli Saab and Chandra phone to invite the Bakshi family the wedding ceremony in Los Angeles. The family accepts and Jaya is excited to stopover in London hoping to see Balraj again.

In London, Kiran informs the Bakshi family that Balraj is in New York to meet potential brides, devastating Jaya, Lalita and Mrs Bakshi. At Heathrow Airport, Lakhi, Jaya, Lalita and Mrs Bakshi coincidentally run into Darcy, who is also a guest at Kohli Saab and Chandra's wedding. On board Darcy offers his First class seat to Mrs. Bakshi so he can sit next to Lalita in Economy class for the remainder of the flight. During their stay in California, Lalita's opinion of Darcy slowly improves, and the two fall in love.

At the wedding, Darcy's condescending mother, Catherine, introduces Lalita to Darcy's former girlfriend, Anne who mispronounces Lalita's name as "Lolita". Jaya and Lalita also meet Darcy's younger sister, Georgie, who tells Lalita that Balraj and Darcy are not in contact because Darcy persuaded Balraj not to marry an Indian girl with a "gold-digger" Mother. Lalita furiously realizes that Darcy is the reason why Jaya never heard from Balraj. Darcy proposes to Lalita, who angrily refuses, blaming him for Jaya's unhappiness.

Back in London, Lakhi uses the family's layover as an opportunity to sneak away and meet Wickham. Darcy apologizes to Lalita, telling her that he has gotten Balraj to reconcile with Jaya. Lalita realizes that Darcy was right about Wickham and calls for his help to find Lakhi. Darcy explains that Wickham got Georgie pregnant at age 16, tried to marry her for their family's money, and ran away when his plan did not work. They both rescue Lakhi and Lalita accepts Darcy's proposal. The film ends with a double wedding of Jaya to Balraj and Lalita to Darcy.

Cast

Names in parentheses are the characters in the original Austen novel.

Soundtrack

The songs were composed by Anu Malik. The lyrics were written by Farhan Akhtar and Zoya Akhtar. [3]

TitleSingers
Balle Balle Sonu Nigam, Gayatri Iyer
Tumse Kahen Ya, Hum Na Kahen ("Take Me to Love") Udit Narayan, Alka Yagnik
No Life Without Wife Gayatri Iyer, Nisha Mascarenhas, Sowmya Raoh
Lo Shaadi Aayi Alka Yagnik, Kunal Ganjawala, Anu Malik, Sunidhi Chauhan, Gayatri Iyer
Tumse Kahen Ya, Hum Na Kahen (sad) ("Take Me to Love" reprise) Alka Yagnik
Dola Dola Gayatri Iyer
Payal Bajake (Goa Groove)Gayatri Iyer, Ashanti

Production

Bride and Prejudice received funding from the UK Film Council with the stipulation that a majority of filming had to take place in the UK. Locations used include Halton House, Stoke Park Club, Turville, and Cobstone Windmill in Buckinghamshire, and Southall, Somerset House, Little Venice, the London Eye, and the National Film Theatre in London. Other locations include the Golden Temple of Amritsar, the beaches of Goa, the Grand Canyon, the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, and Santa Monica Beach.

Ashanti sings "Touch My Body" and Gayatri Iyer sings "Take me to love" in the film. According to director Gurinder Chadha in "making-of" extras on the DVD release, Ashanti's appearance is an homage to the tradition of a celebrity making a cameo appearance to sing an "item number", a song that has no direct involvement in the plot in Bollywood films.

Critical reception

The review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes reported that 64% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 134 reviews, with an average rating of 6.10/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "A colorful and energetic adaptation of Austen's classic." [4] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 55 out of 100 based on 34 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". [5]

Peter Bradshaw from The Guardian reviewed, "Bride and Prejudice could be any unremarkable Bollywood picture". [6] Stella Papamichael at the BBC noted that "swapping corsets for saris, and polite pianoforte for the bhangra beat, director Gurinder Chadha reinvigorates Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice with fun and flamboyance". [7]

Professional reviews
Hollywood.com Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [8]
USA Today Star full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [9] [10]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [11]
reelviews.net Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [12]
The New York Times Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [13]
ABC Australia Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [14]

Related Research Articles

<i>Pride and Prejudice</i> 1813 novel by Jane Austen

Pride and Prejudice is the second novel by English author Jane Austen, published in 1813. A novel of manners, it follows the character development of Elizabeth Bennet, the protagonist of the book, who learns about the repercussions of hasty judgments and comes to appreciate the difference between superficial goodness and actual goodness.

<i>Pride and Prejudice</i> (1995 TV series) 1995 British television drama series

Pride and Prejudice is a six-episode 1995 British television drama, adapted by Andrew Davies from Jane Austen's 1813 novel of the same name. Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth starred as Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy, respectively. Produced by Sue Birtwistle and directed by Simon Langton, the serial was a BBC production with additional funding from the American A&E Network. BBC1 originally broadcast the 55-minute episodes from 24 September to 29 October 1995. The A&E Network aired the series in double episodes on three consecutive nights beginning 14 January 1996.

<i>First Impressions</i> (musical) 1959 Broadway musical

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<i>Pride & Prejudice</i> (2005 film) 2005 film by Joe Wright

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elizabeth Bennet</span> Fictional character from Pride and Prejudice

Elizabeth Bennet is the protagonist in the 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. She is often referred to as Eliza or Lizzy by her friends and family. Elizabeth is the second child in a family of five daughters. Though the circumstances of the time and environment push her to seek a marriage of convenience for economic security, Elizabeth wishes to marry for love.

<i>Pride and Prejudice</i> (1940 film) 1940 film by Robert Zigler Leonard

Pride and Prejudice is a 1940 American film adaptation of Jane Austen's 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice, starring Greer Garson and Laurence Olivier. Directed by Robert Z. Leonard, the screenplay was written by Aldous Huxley and Jane Murfin, adapted specifically from the stage adaptation by Helen Jerome, in addition to Jane Austen's novel. The story is about five sisters from an English family of landed gentry who must deal with issues of marriage, morality and misconceptions. The film was released on July 26, 1940 in the United States by MGM and was critically well received. The New York Times film critic praised the film as "the most deliciously pert comedy of old manners, the most crisp and crackling satire in costume that we in this corner can remember ever having seen on the screen."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peeya Rai Chowdhary</span> Indian actress

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mr. Darcy</span> Literary character

Fitzwilliam Darcy Esquire, generally referred to as Mr. Darcy, is one of the two central characters in Jane Austen's 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice. He is an archetype of the aloof romantic hero, and a romantic interest of Elizabeth Bennet, the novel's protagonist. The story's narration is almost exclusively from Elizabeth's perspective; the reader is given a one-sided view of Darcy for much of the novel, but hints are given throughout that there is much more to his character than meets the eye. The reader gets a healthy dose of dramatic irony as Elizabeth continually censures Mr. Darcy's character despite the aforementioned hints that Mr. Darcy is really a noble character at heart, albeit somewhat prideful. Usually referred to only as "Mr. Darcy" or "Darcy" by characters and the narrator, his first name is mentioned twice in the novel.

Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman is the collective name given to a trilogy of historical romance novels written by Pamela Aidan. As the title suggests, they are based heavily on Jane Austen's 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice, and feature many events of the novel as seen from the perspective of Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy, the central male character of Austen's novel.

<i>Lost in Austen</i> 2008 British television fantasy series

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<i>Pride and Prejudice and Zombies</i> 2009 parody novel by Seth Grahame-Smith

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<i>Death Comes to Pemberley</i> 2011 novel by P. D. James

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<i>The Lizzie Bennet Diaries</i> American web series

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bennet family</span> Fictional family

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<i>Pride and Prejudice and Zombies</i> (film) 2016 film by Burr Steers

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Wickham</span> Fictional character

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<i>Longbourn</i> 2013 novel

Longbourn is a 2013 novel by the British author Jo Baker. It gives an alternative view of the events in Jane Austen's 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice, telling the story from the perspective of the servants at Longbourn, the Bennet family home. It was published by Doubleday in the UK and by Knopf in the US. It has been translated into twenty-one languages, was shortlisted for the IBW Book Award and is due to be made into a film, adapted by Angela Workman and Jessica Swale and directed by Sharon Maguire.

References

  1. "Bride and Prejudice (12A)". British Board of Film Classification . 24 September 2004. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
  2. 1 2 "Bride and Prejudice (2005)". Box Office Mojo. 26 May 2005. Retrieved 8 February 2012.
  3. Roy, Saumya (17 May 2004). "Farhan Akhtar". Outlook . Archived from the original on 25 January 2011. Retrieved 19 March 2012.
  4. "Bride and Prejudice (2005)". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango . Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  5. "Bride & Prejudice Reviews". Metacritic . CBS Interactive . Retrieved 3 January 2020.
  6. Peter Bradshaw (8 October 2004). "Bride and Prejudice | Reviews | guardian.co.uk Film". www.theguardian.com.
  7. Papamichael, Stella (7 October 2004). "Bride & Prejudice (2004)". BBC Film . Retrieved 21 January 2019.Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg
  8. Knolle, Sharon (15 February 2005). "Bride and Prejudice Review". Hollywood.com. Archived from the original on 19 June 2008. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  9. "Showtimes, reviews, trailers, news and more". MSN Movies. Archived from the original on 12 June 2012. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  10. "'Bride and Prejudice' doesn't adapt". USATODAY.com. Archived from the original on 1 January 2011.
  11. "Bride and Prejudice". Rolling Stone . Retrieved 4 September 2021.
  12. Berardinelli, James. "Reelviews Movie Reviews". Reelviews Movie Reviews. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  13. Dargis, Manohla (11 February 2005). "Mr. Darcy and Lalita, Singing and Dancing". The New York Times . Retrieved 4 September 2021.
  14. "At the Movies: Bride and Prejudice". Abc.net.au. Archived from the original on 7 June 2017. Retrieved 4 September 2017.