This picture isn't due out in the US until February 2005, but I had a chance to see it released in Switzerland, and I thought it was a load of guilty pleasure.

"Bride and Prejudice" is a Bollywood telling of Jane Austin's classic novel "Pride and Prejudice." Set in India, and directed by Gurinder Chadha (Bend It Like Beckham), the picture focuses on one Indian family and their mother's attempt to find her daughters suitable husbands, as the girls fight off these cultural arrangements to marry for love.

The film centers on the second oldest daughter, named Lalita Bakshi, played by Aishwarya Rai in her first all-English language role, as she meets three men within a short amount of time, quickly becoming marriage material.

The first is Will Darcy, played by Martin Henderson (The Ring), an American whose family owns several top end hotels in the country. However, he makes a horrible first impression on Lalita and is taken out of the running.

He second man is Wickham, played by Daniel Gillies (Spider Man 2), a Brittish beach bum whom quickly gets Lalita to fall for him. However, he has a history with Darcy and his family, which eventually ruins him in her eyes.

The third man is Kholi, played by Nitin Chandra Ganatra (Secrets and Lies), a well off accountant who is soiled by American cultures and returned to India to find a more "traditional" wife.

Lalita's mother wants her to marry Kholi of course. She knows Darcy is her best choice, but cannot stand him. She really wants Wickham, but her mother absolutely despises him. Thus, we have conflict.

There is a subplot with the older sister falling for Darcy's wealthy Indian born, raised in England friend. Her mother is extremely happy for her, until he dumps her at Darcy's convincing; more conflict.

Anyways, the picture is a musical, which I didn't know by the trailer. I saw dance numbers in it, but they all occurred at wedding scenes and stuff. However, this picture is a full on musical, with some characters breaking into song out of no where.

However, my distaste for cinematic musicals was set aside for this picture. Aishwarya Rai is so gorgeous and perfectly photographed in this movie, I can't remember half the corniness of the story. She also put on 20 pounds for the role to make her character look more real and less "supermodel" like. I have an incredible amount of respect for any actress putting aside her vanity for the better of a performance. Let's see JLO do that...yeah, right. Rai has great moments in Act Three which show how much talent she actually has.

Musical numbers were very active and fun to watch. Most of them didn't even seem out of place, while others for sure were.

"Bride and Prejudice" as a whole was very amusing and beautifully shot. The cinematography at the hands of DP Santosh Sivan was bright, colorful and near flawless. However, Chadha's shot selection during the musical numbers could've given the choreography more space. Sivan's efforts are definitely worth the Academy's look among Best Cinematography nods. However, it's not going to reach stateside until after the 2004 nominations are out. Oh well.

One of my two favorite performances came from Nadira Babbar, in only her second movie, as the mother of the Bakshi family. Her eyes on the gold and desire to live the good life vicariously through her daughters were conveyed easily and with so much subtle humor.

My other favorite was from Nitin Chandra Ganatra as the less desired Americanized suitor. His take on this Indian turned American, wanna-be hip-hop character was SO funny and enjoyable. His scenes, along with the jaw dropping beauty of Rai, were among the most memorable for me.

I really enjoyed "Bride and Prejudice." However, it is a musical, a romantic comedy and based on a Jane Austin novel, so needless to say, there is a high amount of corniness to it. This may turn people off. For me, I dug it. I laughed plenty, even though Act Three was fairly predictable.

Benn - Where's the Humanity?