Yet another contemporary movie "inspired" by a Jane Austin novel, this time taking the form
of a Western-friendly Bollywood production. In English (with a few songs sung in Hindi), 'Bride
& Prejudice' is clearly aimed at the Western market, probably to launch the absolutely stunning Aishwarya Rai (thankfully, the actress is endowed with enough talent and charisma to carry the day).

Rai plays Lalita, one of four daughters of a middle-class farming family, whose empty-headed matriarch's fondest wish is to see her daughters married off to wealthy and important men. Herself a beneficiary of a successful arranged marriage, she sees no reason why her more modern daughters would ewshew this valuable service themselves. The 'Darcy' of the piece (Martin Henderson) is an attractive American heir to a hotel fortune.

While the film closely follows Austin's plot template, it rarely tries to capture the wit and subtley of the comedy of manners that makes Austin's work so beguiling. The film does somewhat make up for this lack in numerous wonderful large-scale singing and dancing productions for which Bollywood is celebrated. There is also some humorous lampooning of both Western and Indian cultures, and an overall nice message of the virtues of cultural diversity and openmindedness.