Well, if you seen and loved “Bend it Like Beckham,” then you might
just like or even fall in love with “Bride and Prejudice.” Usually,
many Indian films released in England may not do so well there. However, in America,
with an independent film audience always intrigued to learn more
about other cultures...a film might do a little bit better in the States.
Having seen Gurinder in Los Angeles talking about this film…Gurinder
stated, “By
the time my movie comes out in America…most of you (referring to the South
Asians) have already seen the film through a pirated copy…For me, I wanted
to make a British film that was not Eurocentric. Unfortunately, a lot of people
don’t get that…they just thought it was a Bollywood movie. When it
comes out in America, I urge you all to kind of think about it…it is an
attempt to put on the agenda this idea of us being “diaspora-centric” and
that’s my term.” That’s what Gurinder Chadha really said
about “Bride
and Prejudice” in LA (this quote takes up about 30 seconds what she said
in a four minute speech).
There were a couple of acting performances that I am going to point out:
Apunam Kher (The actor who stars the most recent works either
acted upon by Parminder
Nagra or Gurinder Chadha… “ER,” “Second Generation,” Bend
it Like Beckham,” and “Pride and Prejudice”). As usual, he
plays a father-type figure in the movie. He plays the character of the realistic,
all-knowing father who wants the best for his daughters.
Nitin Ganata (“Second Generation” who ironically plays the son of
Apunam’s character as a father). He plays the stereotypical Indian-American
who makes lots of money in LA, and wants to have an arranged marriage with an
Indian woman.
Aishwarya Rai (“The Most Beautiful Woman in the World” according
to Julia Roberts)
Having seen “Ash” done a couple of TV interviews on CBS, she really
does play a character that’s a lot like her in real-life. In a way, she’s
not really acting. Lalita, Rai’s character, seems to be very sharp and
knows what’s really going just like Aishwarya in real life.
If you have read Jane Austen’s “Bride and Prejudice,” you might
be disappointed. It’s very non-traditional and tries to challenge the stereotypes.
Gurindher does something very unique in this film. She takes the concept of the
Bollywood musical and diversifies it. Not only is the musical element done in
traditional Hindi, but also on English and through a mariachi and a black gospel
choir.
Yes…this film is stereotypical in some aspects; however, this film does
pose a lot of questions based on the identity on…What is Indian?
This question gets to be explored in through an Indian, American, and sort of
British prospective.
You might just come out of the theatre learning something new if you can see
though the Bollywood, glitz & glamour aspects
of the film.