London, October 5
Exotic fairy light garlands and Indian drummers in traditional tunics have brought Bollywood to the UK with the world premiere of ‘’Bride and Prejudice’’, an adaptation of Jane Austen’s classic tale.Director Gurinder Chadha said the film gave ‘’Pride and Prejudice’’ a modern twist in an Indian setting.
‘’It’s a very British Asian movie that incorporates India, England and America,’’ Chadha told reporters as a host of stars arrived for the premiere yesterday.
‘’It is very true to Jane Austen and the spirit of the book, and I think if she came down and went to see it in her local Odeon (cinema), she would like it,’’ Chadha said.
Stars walked up a pink carpet, rather than the usual red, into the London Palladium, decorated in Indian fabrics and fairy lights and abuzz with the sound of Indian drummers.
Like the novel, the film features a lower middle-class family’s attempts to marry off its daughters to men of a higher social standing.
But the film is a million miles away from the setting of Austen’s classic—it is an all-singing, all-dancing affair set in India, London and Los Angeles.
Heroine Elizabeth Bennett becomes Lalita Bakshi in the film, and is played by Aishwarya Rai, one of Bollywood’s most sought-after actresses.
Mr Darcy is played by Martin Henderson, a Los-Angeles based actor from New Zealand. The character is brought up to date in the film - he is a wealthy heir to an American hotel chain.
“Bride and Prejudice” is to be released in the UK on October 8. —
Reuters
