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Bride and Prejudice “Bride and Prejudice” by Gurinder Chandra although settled in Amritsar, in the heart of Punjab and in the heart of quintessential Indian culture, the plot follows the same story as in the Austen’s classic “Pride and Prejudice”. The Bakshi family has been blessed with five daughters and just as in “Pride and Prejudice” the main preoccupation of their mother is marrying them off to preferably very rich gentlemen. However, the main heroine – Lalita (Aishwarya Rai) is not interested in marriage but rather in reading and self-development. At the wedding of a friend the whole family meets Balraj and his sister along with their friend –Will Darcy a rich, arrogant hotelier. Balraj falls in love with Lalita’s sister Jaya and the love-hate relationship between Lalita and Darcy begins… The initial contact between Lalita and Darcy reveals the power relations and still existent stereotypes between Westerners and Indians. The image of the Englishmen as oppressors and Indians as victims is deeply rooted in the mentality of both cultures. And even though in the movie Mr. Darcy is American he is still portrayed as rich, snobbish and disrespectful of other cultures which he doesn’t understand. Supposedly, the director has decided to make Mr. Darcy American in order to reflect the present political and economic situation of the world in which the US is perceived as the powerful “Empire” just as Britain used to be when it ruled in India. Initially, Darcy sees India only as another business opportunity. He thinks that the country is under-developed and is reluctant to get to know the Indian culture. Lalita is appalled by his ignorance. Just as Lizzy Bennet she uses her wit and intelligence to prove to Darcy that Indians posses many virtues that he fails to notice. Consequently, it seems that the cause of the tension between them is a kind of cross-cultural disagreement or, one might say, cultural prejudice. The tension reaches its limit and leads to an argument when Lalita and Darcy go to a trip to Goa and start an animated discussion by the pool. They discuss Darcy launching his business in India however Lalita gets the impression that Darcy wants to create a sort of ‘theme park’ for tourists allowing them to avoid eye-to-eye contact with the native people of India by accommodating them in 5 stars hotels with some cultural entertainment which has little to do with the real Indian culture. Lalita feels very offended and replies with a very powerful line: “I thought we got rid of imperialists like you!”. Another aspect of British-Indian cultural relationships is portrayed by Balraj and his sister Kiran. They are both of Indian origin but they were brought up and educated in the UK and they speak perfect British accent. However each of them represents a different attitude towards the culture of their parents. Balraj is enthusiastic about his visit to India and is willing to marry a traditional Indian girl to preserve the cultural heritage. Kiran on the other hand looks down on other Indians and she even hires an Indian maid in her beautiful British mansion. She doesn’t seem to be emotionally attached to the Indian culture. The loss of cultural awareness and attachment is a troublesome issue to NRIs (Non resident Indians) and the juxtaposition of the pure East and the spoilt West is noticeable in this movie. Even Mr. Kholi (another candidate for a husband for Bakshi daughter) who is fascinated with his new life in America claims that the Indian girls living there have forgotten their roots. The film has been mainly shot in India however some scenes were also shot in the US and in the UK. Nevertheless, wherever the setting is the viewer can admire magnificent views with vivid colours filmed with a typical Bollywood touch. As it comes to music, Chadha has managed to transform Jane Austen’s traditional romance into a Bollywood show full of dancing and bhangra music. However, some of the .
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