Bride and Prejudice
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| Bride and Prejudice | |
|---|---|
 Original film poster |
|
| Directed by | Gurinder Chadha |
| Produced by | Gurinder Chadha, Deepak Nayar |
| Written by | Jane Austen (novel), Gurinder Chadha, Paul Mayeda Berges |
| Starring | Aishwarya Rai, Martin Henderson, Alexis Bledel |
| Distributed by | Miramax Films (USA) Pathé (non-US) |
| Release date(s) | 6 October 2004 |
| Running time | 107 min. |
| Language | English, Hindi |
| Budget | US$7,000,000 |
| IMDb profile | |
Bride and Prejudice is a 2004 Bollywood adaptation of Jane Austen's 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice. It was filmed in English, Hindi, and Punjabi and was directed by Gurinder Chadha. The screenplay was written by Chadha and Paul Mayeda Berges.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
- Tagline: Bollywood meets Hollywood...And it's a perfect match.
When Lalita Bakshi (Aishwarya Rai) meets Californian blue blood and hotel business heir Will Darcy (Martin Henderson) at a wedding in her Indian hometown, Amritsar, it's hate at first sight. She accuses him of being an imperialist snob, and he brushes her off as a coddled village girl, blinkered to the ways of the world. Eventually, they find themselves drawn together in a series of fractious but increasingly flirtatious encounters.
[edit] Locations
The film received funding from the UK Film Council and one of the stipulations was that a majority of filming took place in the UK with some of the Indian and US scenes being filmed in UK locations. Locations used include:
- Halton House, Buckinghamshire - Wedding party in Amritsar
- Stoke Park, Buckinghamshire - Exterior shots of Darcy's hotel in Beverly Hills
- Somerset House, London - Dancing through fountain
- Turville, Buckinghamshire - Wedding dream
- Ealing Studios - Interior shots
- Cobstone Windmill, Buckinghamshire
Other locations used in the UK are:
- Little Venice, London
- London Eye
- National Film Theatre
- Southall, London
Other locations used for the film are: Golden Temple of Amritsar, the beaches of Goa, the Grand Canyon, the Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown Los Angeles California, and Santa Monica Beach (also in California).
[edit] Selected cast
| Actor/Actress | Character | Pride and Prejudice counterpart |
|---|---|---|
| Aishwarya Rai | Lalita Bakshi | Elizabeth Bennet |
| Martin Henderson | William "Will" Darcy | Fitzwilliam Darcy |
| Daniel Gillies | Johnny Wickham | Mr. Wickham |
| Naveen Andrews | Balraj | Mr. Bingley |
| Anupam Kher | Mr. Bakshi | Mr. Bennet |
| Nadira Babbar | Mrs. Bakshi | Mrs. Bennet |
| Namrata Shirodkar | Jaya Bakshi | Jane Bennet |
| Indira Varma | Kiran | Caroline Bingley |
| Sonali Kulkarni | Chandra Lamba | Charlotte Lucas |
| Nitin Chandra Ganatra | Mr. Kholi | Mr. Collins |
| Meghna Kothari | Maya Bakshi | Mary Bennet |
| Peeya Rai Chowdhary | Lakhi "Lucky" Bakshi | Lydia Bennet |
| Alexis Bledel | Georgina "Georgie" Darcy | Georgiana Darcy |
| Marsha Mason | Catherine Darcy | Lady Catherine de Bourgh |
| Harvey Virdi | Mrs. Lamba | Lady Lucas |
| Georgina Chapman | Anne | Anne de Bourgh |
[edit] Trivia
- There was no counterpart for Kitty A. Bennet in the film.
- The director, Gurinder Chadha, wanted Shahrukh Khan in the movie, however he was not available. During the ending credits, a large promotional poster of Khan is shown from the movie Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham.
- Kareena Kapoor was offered a role but she wasn't available either.
- Aishwarya Rai did not read the novel prior to filming because she did not want the character of Elizabeth Bennet to influence her. However during the pool scene in Goa she is reading another Jane Austen novel.
- It has been a long-held tradition in Bollywood movies that, even though there is much romance and sexual tension, there would not be shown scenes of intimate contact such as kissing, etc. When such did occur the scene would shift to a euphemistic setting -- i.e. birds chirping, wind blowing through trees, waves crashing, etc. So in Lalita's wedding dream when Darcy leans to kiss her she falls back in a faint.
- This was Aishwarya Rai's first English-language movie.
- Aishwarya Rai gained about 20 pounds for this film because Gurinder Chadha felt it was more suitable for her character to not look like a fashion model and to give her a more realistic appearance.
- The Punjabi wedding song and dance number took six days to shoot.
- Many of the background dancers and extras in "A Marriage Has Come To Town" were cast from the local Sikh temple. Gurinder Chadha didn't care if he or she could dance as long as they looked like they were having fun while dancing.
- Although the movie was filmed in Hindi, English and Punjabi, it also features a brief Mariachi performance in Spanish, bringing the number of languages to four.
- Mellan Mitchell had one line during the scene in the kitchen when Lalita and Johnny are talking, but it was cut out of the film.
- Ashanti was on tour during the filming. She had to fly into India during her break to film her part just in time to head back on tour.
- Ashanti's appearance in the film is meant as a homage to a tradition in Bollywood films where a celebrity would make a cameo appearance to sing a song that has no direct involvement in the plot. The rest of the characters do not interact with the celebrity but rather are seen in the crowd enjoying the show.
- Just a year after Bride and Prejudice was released, a more traditional adaptation of Jane Austen's novel was released, starring Keira Knightley whose breakthrough role was in Gurinder Chadha's Bend It Like Beckham.
[edit] Quotes
- Lalita: There's so much to see in India, Mrs. Darcy; you must come sometime.
Mrs. Darcy: (with slight hostility) Well, if I had a hotel I might have. But with yoga and spices and Deepak Chopra and wonderful Eastern things here I suppose there's just no point in traveling there anymore.
Lalita: Well, I don't know about that. After all, people haven't stopped going to Italy just because Pizza Hut's opened around the corner.
- Mr. Kholi: You know what they say. No life - without wife!
- Kiran Bingley: (as Balraj walks off to dance) Watch yourself, Darcy, he's about to transform into an Indian MC Hammer!
- Kiran Bingley: (to Darcy as music starts) The Indian version of American Idol. Hope you brought your earplugs.
- Mr. Kholi: As Gloria Estefan says, "The Rhythm Is Going to Get You".
- Will Darcy: I'm a hopeless dancer, but this looks like you just screw in a light bulb with one hand and pet the dog with the other.
- Mrs. Bakshi: Our guest Mr. Kholi is soon arriving: be demure and don't say anything too intelligent. (pointing to Lalita) You!.
- Mr. Kholi: (on Indian "Amrikan" girls) You know, in U.S., they're all too outspoken and career-oriented. And some, have even turned into...The Lesbian. (shocked silence from Mrs. Bakshi, stifled laughter from the sisters)
- Darcy: Oh, I think there's a lot we can learn from India. For example, I like the way families come together to celebrate. Something my sister and I never had.
- Lalita:(facing Darcy) When I first met you I thought you were rude, selfish and arrogant. Over the past few days, I thought maybe I was wrong. But I was right. You are the last person I would ever want to be with!
[edit] External links
- Official site
- Bride and Prejudice at the Internet Movie Database
- Bride & Prejudice at Rotten Tomatoes
- upperstall.com, review
- [1] Exclusive picture and article pertaining to Gurinda Chanda's Bride by Ashanti OMkar
