Laughter, colour, light, and sound: P&P #7

Bride and Prejudice

I loved this movie. Loved, loved, loved it. P&P, Bollywood-style. William Darcy, an wealthy American, comes to India with his friend Balraj and Balraj's sister Kiran for a wedding and meets Lalita Bakshi and her sisters Jaya, Maya, and Lakhi, along with her very embarrassing mother. He's smitten, but when he refuses to dance with her (because his trousers are falling down), she thinks he's a jerk. Meanwhile, Balraj is very taken with Jaya, Mrs. Bakshi is very excited, and they're off!

Image source: wikimedia.org

I thought this was a great adaptation of the snooty Mr. Darcy/prejudiced Elizabeth meme: he seems nice enough, but makes several condescending comments about India, she is quick to jump down his throat.

Will Darcy: I'm a hopeless dancer, but this looks like you just screw in a light bulb with one hand and pat the dog with the other.

Lalita Bakshi: You know what? I suggest you find yourself a simple, traditional girl to teach you to dance like the natives.

The arranged marriage theme works here, which is important with the Mr. Kohli/Collins storyline. Speaking of whom, I really liked what they did with Mr. Kohli's character in this movie. I don't like it when they make him creepy, because in the original he's not creepy, but comic. Here, he's hilarious. And now I've got "No Life Without Wife" stuck in my head again...

And I'm sorry about that one shot; I can't unsee it either.

Other nice touches: Maya's horrifically funny snake dance, the Dola Dola dance/Netherfield Ball scene, and the scene in Goa by the pool where Lalita pulls out a huge book that I recognized as the complete Jane Austen because my dad had that book!

I also think it's hilarious that everyone seems to agree that Wickham has killer abs.

They turned Catherine de Bourgh into Darcy's mom here, which adds quite a bit of tension, but they cut the confrontation scene (it's included in the DVD extras). Also, the Lakhi/Wickham drama doesn't seem like that big a deal - it's not really clear if she planned to stay with him or just hang out for the day. However, these are minor quibbles when put against the entire movie.

If you haven't seen it yet, do it now. NOW!

The only other Bollywood-style movie I've seen is Bollywood/Hollywood and I really liked that one, too. I want to see some actual Bollywood movies, but I don't know where to start. Suggestions?