Saw "Bride and Prejudice". I don't think I like it after having read the book. The "pride" part has disappeared not just from the the title, but also from the movie. I mean, the pride of Darcy does not really show up properly, the inner struggle that he goes through before accepting his love for the heroine does not come out here. In the original story, his was certainly not a "love at first sight" as some of the reviews put the situation in the movie. The deeds of Wickham and Lydia (aka Lakhi) have been highly toned down (resulting in the complete disappearence of the part where Darcy had tried to do good to the heroine secretly and heroine feels the gratitude on discovering it) and so is the ridiculous nature of the Heroine's mother. Well, for an Indian audience the ridicule of the mother to the extent the original novel portrays, would have been slightly indigestible too. Had read in one of the news clips that the director felt Jane Austen certainly would have been an "Indian at Heart". And also somewhere "It was about a big family, they don’t have much money, daughters that need marrying off… very Indian!" Later one, well may be! But as for characters, you will have a tough time projecting an Indian Heroine, who acknowledges the faults of her mother without feeling guilty (I am not making a statement on what a real Indian would be like, rather what literature/art can portray about an Indian character) and an Indian Custom, where cousins can think of marrying! Of course, you overcame the later difficulty by making Mr. Kohli too distant a relative.

Anyway, the friend from whom I got the movie is pretty content with the "cute Darcy" in the movie (sona Darcy??).

Categories: Movies, Literature