Bride & Prejudice (India-UK-USA, 2004)

On one hand the story of the movie follows closely Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice that I re-read two years ago. At a few points I laughed out loud when the original lines were used. E.g. When Lalita’s father (Elizabeth Bennet in the original) says to her daughter “your mother won’t talk to you if you marry Mr. Kholi and I won’t if you do.” The plot is same as the original in the sense that it is the story of a four daughter family and their friends and enemies. The setup, who marries whom, who is friends with whom is symmetrical. Lalita by the end gets Mr. Darcy, (whom she originally misunderstands due to lack of accurate information), Wickham turns out to be wicked, the girls’ father solid patriarch, the girls’ mother rumbling matriarch, Mr. Darcy’s mother empty headed aristocrat, etc … On the other hand the location, culture and the people’s ethnicity is different. Most of the move is played out in India, more precisely in Punjab, with some scenes in London and Los Angeles. I found it unfortunate that Indian culture in the movie is homogenized. Amritsar, the religious capital of Sikhs, is prominently displayed; indeed the movie opens with the Golden Temple. However we don’t learn anything about the differences between Sikhs, Hindus, Muslims, and Indians coming of other ethnicities or religions. Those who are (somewhat) familiar with the multicultural aspects of India will recognize that the movie’s extras include people from wide variety backgrounds. For example, in one of the dance scenes a group of hijras (male transgenders) joins in. The song everybody is singing is about marriage and the cultural reference is missing: hijras, being the third sex, play an important role in ensuring the sacrality and success of upcoming marriage. The major addition of this movie to the original book is the colonial twist. In the original Darcy’s speech is awkward and he often doesn’t express himself appropriately. This aspect is enhanced by his white, western, colonial attitude towards the “primitive, backwater, poor, natives.” His character is enchanted by Lalita, but that doesn’t clearly change his attitude towards Indian culture. As Lalita puts it he would make a themepark out of the country, or at least from the posh hotel he was thinking of buying there. In addition to being an independent and intelligent spirit (like Elizabeth Bennet) she is also proud of her Indian heritage. Darcy joining the drum circle at the very end might reflect the idea that finally he sees Indian culture not as lower, but something equal to his own. On the other hand we don’t actually hear any words from him signaling change in his attitude. Yes, he was benevolent throughout the movie, but his feelings could be characterized more like sympathy, than empathy or transformative insight (to use Jacqueline Johnson’s framework.)

• IMDB
• DVD (@Amazon)