Bride and Prejudice: MOVIE REVIEW

When Bend It Like Beckham became an unexpectedly massive global sensation, director Gurinder Chadha must have rubbed her eyes, pinched herself hard, and wondered when she was going to wake up. So it was understandable that, on introducing her new movie, she asked the audience to forget Beckham and watch something new and different. Bride & Prejudice is a re-working of Jane Austen's much-loved and oft-adapted classic. This time its moved to India, LA …

…be a wealthy Indian? There are some funny moments, and Mr Coli, the annoying cousin in search of a bride, works well as always, but the film never amounts to more than a toothless novelty version of Pride and Prejudice, and the familiarity with the story makes it feel very long and flat, elephants and bindis notwithstanding. For a much more interesting, moving, and 'real' look at contemporary marriage mores in India, watch Monsoon Wedding.