Product Description

A clash of cultures in the spirit of MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING, this modern musical retelling of Jane Austen's classic PRIDE AND PREJUDICE is a hilariously entertaining tale of one girl's unlikely search for love! Sparks immediately fly as a love/hate relationship ignites between a small-town beauty (international star Aishwarya Rai) and a wealthy American (Martin Henderson -- THE RING, TORQUE) who's visiting her modest Indian village. In a swirl of music, dance, and comic misunderstandings, these opposites continue to attract and repel each other in a riotous romance that spans three continents! Featuring Naveen Andrews (TV's LOST, THE ENGLISH PATIENT) and a memorable performance from top recording artist Ashanti -- love will eventually conquer all in this acclaimed treat from the director of BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1404 in DVD
• Released on: 2005-07-05
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English, Portuguese
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 112 minutes

Amazon.com
The exotic sounds, vibrant colors, and ecstatic dancing of Bollywood collide with the cunning storytelling of Jane Austen in Bride & Prejudice (from the writer/director of previous East/West hybrid Bend It Like Beckham). When smart, outspoken Lalita Bakshi (Indian beauty Aishwarya Rai) meets Will Darcy (Martin Henderson, The Ring), she finds this American businessman arrogant and conceited--but because his best friend is falling in love with her sister, Lalita agrees to travel around India with Darcy. On the trip, a childhood friend of Darcy's named Johnny (Daniel Gillies, Spider-Man 2) both tickles Lalita's fancy and confirms her worst suspicions about Darcy. But as events unfold, Lalita wonders if she hasn't misjudged Darcy--and Johnny. Austen fans will be find much to criticize; Bride & Prejudice transplants the basic plot of Pride & Prejudice to modern India, but not much of Austen's sly wit or her insights about character and society have survived the translation. Henderson, though handsome, lacks the intimidating charisma of previous Mr. Darcys (including Laurence Olivier and Colin Firth). Thank goodness for the delightful Rai, here making her first all-English-language movie. She commands the screen like a true star (unsurprisingly, she's hugely popular in India, and previously starred in a more homegrown Austen adaptation: I Have Found It, based on Sense & Sensibility). For Western audiences unfamiliar with the freewheeling exuberance of Indian movies--wild musical numbers can break out at almost any moment--Bride & Prejudice offers an engaging taste of this fantastic cinematic style. --Bret Fetzer

From The New Yorker
Ridiculous, but immensely enjoyable. Jane Austen's most enduringly popular story done as a Bollywood musical comedy, with Martin Henderson as Darcy, a callow American millionaire, and the ravishing Aishwarya Rai as the smartly alert Elizabeth Bennet figure, known here as Lalita, one of four highly nubile daughters living in Amritsar. The ballroom scene is turned into a sprightly Bollywood production number; in the street bazaars, cross-dressers and goofy guys with turbans break into dance. It's a travesty, of course, but also an exuberant, good-hearted movie, and it won't corrupt you or Jane Austen. Directed by Gurinder Chadha. -David Denby
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

loved it!!!
This is one of my favorite movies, i've seen it over and over again and i still think it's hilarious!.
Aishwarya Rai is delihgtful, clever and funny...I'd never seen a Bollywood movie before, but this i loved, the dancing sequences were great and i loved them, made me want to learn how to dance like them, and i even liked the songs, although i don't know what they're saying.
I would totally recomend this movie to anybody interested in it.

Fun and Funny, A good interpretation what a Bollywood movie
Fun and Funny, A good interpretation what a Bollywood movie would be in English. Jody Bissoon

Thank goodness for then fast forward button
Jane Austen's classic "Pride & Prejudice" gets the Bollywood treatment in a rollicking update by Director Gurinder Chadha who brought "Bend it Like Beckham" to the screen creatively modernizing Austen's timeless story. Reigning Bollywood Queen Aishwayra Rai portrays Lalita Bakshi, the headstrong independent sister in search of Mr. Right while maintaining her independence. Her foil is American hotel magnate William Darcy played by Martin Henderson.

Just as you get into the storyline, suddenly the cast breaks out into song, reminiscent of "Grease." It takes awhile to get into it, and might have some viewers reaching for the fast forward button. Overall, it is an enjoyable timeless story.