Bride & Prejudice: If Only They Had Chemistry

BRIDE AND PREJUDICE: India, America, England, Bollywood music and Gurinder Chadha directing! What more could you want? Well...maybe a Mr Darcy who actually appeals, and a Lizzy stand-in with whom he has some chemistry? But can't have everything, right? How to pitch a Lizzie Bennet character, why this Mr Darcy doesn't quite work for me, and how Bridget Jones' Diary did a similar thing but made it work.

[isabelguzmanmiranda]

Bride and Prejudice is a pretty movie, but... you need someone who is second in beauty to someone else and you choose AISHWARYA RAI? WTH? She's the most beautiful person in the room regardless of the room, the people inside and the age of the cosmos.

[oliviamackenzie]

Gotta say, Colin Firth is the unprecedented master of loving stares.

[digvi]

a bunch of years too late but yeah - its a bollywood thing xD... also, canonically lizzie was polite and yes a part of it comes from the period but also it is imp. to note that because when lizzie rejects him, he is taken aback. he had no clue at all that she disliked him. at worst, he assumed she was neutral. So yeah, the outright hostility doesn't work at all.

and yes - Colin Firth ♥️♥️

[tianacross]

"because nobody does repressed stares of british longing quite like Colin Firth" hahahaa yes

[slightlyembittered]

One thing that endlessly frustrates me about modern Rom-Coms is that they have no reason for the two leads to be in love. Darsey loves Lizzy because she's kind, and witty, and has positive traits which he admires. Whereas many modern Rom-Coms take "in love" as a matter of circumstance. As if love is a matter of fate rather than mutual respect and appreciation.
You can't love somebody without loving things about them.


Also, nice cross.

[onewinter]

Why was this only recommended to me now?

[pufthemajicdragon]

"Darcy is not a Byronic hero" THANK OMG HOW LONG HAVE I BEEN SAYING THIS AND PEOPLE JUST DON'T GET

[tonygroves]

My husband and I started out like this. He liked me, I loathed him, then we became friends, then I liked him, like turned to love... now we've been married for 28 years.

[toridles]

I’d have to re-watch but I think it’s most that Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Martin Henderson didn’t have amazing chemistry. I have to blame Henderson for that, mostly, as he just isn’t that great of an actor. Knowing Aish’s body of work, she has amazing chemistry with other male leads.

I get what you’re saying about the blatant dislike for no apparent reason vs. rejection of Darcy due to his misjudgment and bad action towards a beloved older sister. But you must realize this is India and it was right for them to tweak Lizzie’s character to fit the narrative.

India still feels the devastation of Imperialism and it is a very deep wound still felt intensely by her people. I think it was entirely appropriate for Aish to have played Lalitta that way because it’s what knocked the American rich white boy mentality on his butt.

Too often such a person is catered to because being in their favor can mean one is hired and lifted out of poverty or, at least, out of the intense financial burdens of Indian middle class. Having lived in India (both the north & south), it is easy to live in a white person’s bubble and just think that the reason lower income people agree with you or attend to you is because you’re intrinsically special. It’s easy to get a big head and to get in the habit of calling the shots without asking people their opinions. I’ve seen a lot of white people get a hero complex rather than see it for what it is, disgusting white privilege. It’s what happens when those with economic power wield it without considering the impacts and implications or partnering with local stakeholders and empowering the community to make decisions. To not do so is wrong and it hurts the nation as a whole in ways most will never see.

I love that Lalitta isn’t impressed by that and bursts Darcy’s bubble. It is a rude slap in the face, but it wakes Darcy up to a different reality and perspective than he’d had previously. Darcy doesn’t even realize there is another perspective until Lalitta says something. She is the first person brave and independent enough to speak truth and open his eyes.

It’s as he examines himself and his family’s practices that he realizes his actions will truly hurt others and it’s not part of his values system. So he changes. That is when Lalitta sees that he isn’t what she thought — he was simply blind. That he heeds her words and makes the change opens her heart to see him as he really is.

IDK. Just some thoughts.

[robinsonsomething]

The issue in Bride & Prejudice is that extra element added of a HUGE culture clash. I think that allows for a bit more leeway in the exchanges between Lalita and Darcy, but it's a much bigger issue than can be just glossed over in a short rom-com. These are real issues that would come up over and over again in a relationship - even if it's just simple misunderstandings. I think they did the best they could with it.

[writerspen]

I never had a problem with the way the Darcy of B&P was wrtten, or even acted necessarily, but you are right in that these two just do not have chemistry, let alone romantic chemistry. It doesn't take away from how much I loooove this movie though. The colors and songs are wonderful, making it a really fun reinterpretation. (And, yes, the transitions are a Bollywood thing~)

[OpqHMg]

As an Indian person, I really appreciate your pronunciation of Lalitha

[Gilari]

I adore Bride and Prejudice, but you're right, some of it is goofy Bollywood tropes. The part where they chase each other through fountains and people sing around them on the beach? Pure Bollywood silliness. The musical aspect is Bollywood too. Gotta have a few musical numbers in there, or how would we know how people feel? Looking forward to your Lizzy Bennett Diaries review. Are you following Emma Approved as well? 

[jones]

those transitions are a bollywood thing. it's a convention of the genre.

[SR-zpje]

I never saw a lack of chemistry, but I wasn't really watching for that. I was watching for the music, the bright colours and sounds of India, sassy Indian women, and my mid-teens crush on Naveen Andrews, which hasn't faded with the years. *fans self*

[playfulpanthress]

Lalita doesn’t just see her family as family, she sees her people and her culture as family. When they go to the hotel in Goa, Lalita sees the situation the way a native Hawaiian sees five star hotels on their island. Honestly, that scene was amazing, I don’t understand what you don’t get.

I’m no pro at Bollywood style or choices, but if there was something you thought weird jarring or didn’t make sense, I thought they were heavily influenced by Bollywood. I would suggest watching some full Bollywood movies or music videos.

This is an older video, how about watching it again? Perhaps with someone familiar with Bollywood?

[menax]

2:00 -ish . . . Don’t forget The Shop Around the Corner and it’s ‘remake, ’ You’ve Got Mail.

[lisaroper]

My husband and I were very excited to love Bride and Prejudice, but our biggest problem was that in the original Lizzie grows as a person, but in Bride and Prejudice she was just right the whole time. That makes it a much less satisfying story to me, since if she is so great, and he is so bad, why should I be happy when they end up together?

[ej]

“stares of repressed British longing” 🤣😂🤣 exactly

[claudiawright]

Lol. I can’t stand “Bride and prejudice”. There is really no chemistry between the Leads. The thing that made me actually chuckle is that the actors who portray Mr Bingley and Caroline (siblings) have much more chemistry with each other. And that might have something to do with me first seeing them together in the movie “Kama Sutra, a tale of love”, where they share many steamy scenes with each other. Lol. That movie was quite the scandal.