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Having not seen Bend It Like Beckham, or anything that was even close to a Bollywood flick, I wasn't sure what to expect. However, I had two thoughts while watching this movie. First, that it was similar to My Big Fat Greek wedding on the romance side, as it was a love story which dealt a great deal with the culture one of the love interests is from. I loved the glimpse it gave into the non-commercial world of Indian culture, and how the creators weren't afraid of laughing at the silliness of Bollywood movies. The other was that despite the change of location and time from the original subject matter, Pride and Prejudice translated amazingly well, and I was often surprised at the bits that translated almost directly from the original story.
Characters: the lead ingenue, Lalita, is lovely, and quite believable. Her sisters are all lovely as well. The eldest, Jaya, has her own little love story, with Balraj, who is played by Naveen Andrews, aka Sayid from Lost. One of the younger sisters, Lakhi (Lucky) has a love story as well, though if you know Pride and Prejudice, you'll have some clue as to how well that turns out.
A surprising bit they managed to pull from the original story was the youngest daughter's artistic talent. In this case, she does a dance for their guests. Absolutely hilarious scene.
The suitors were well-chosen. Darcy was perfect, a rich outsider who just doesn't get it, but keeps trying. Balraj was sweet, though I would have liked to have seen more of him. Mr Kholi (the suitor that their mother wants Lalita to marry) is obnoxious and overwhelming, and just utterly perfect. I had honestly forgotten that Wickham even existed until he'd appeared on the screen, but the actor that they got to play him was perfect, sleezy and sweet in turns, and always believable in each role.
One surprising bit from the book that did not appear in the movie: in the book, Darcy's friend's sister is trying to get him to court her, and she is constantly getting in between him and Elizabeth. While Kiran (Balraj's sister) did seem to be headed this way (she flirts with him a bit at the beginning of the movie), they never did much with that part of the storyline. I assume they probably intended to have it in there, but decided it complicated the plot too much. No big, as I didn't particularly miss it, but it did surprise me that it wasn't there.
Favorite bits: the wedding dance, with Balraj egging Darcy to dance with Lalita so he can dance with Jaya. The snake dance mentioned above when Darcy, Balraj and Kholi are there for dinner. The spontaneous choir on the beach when Lalita begins to fall for Darcy. And Wickham's "You've always been the only one," after Lalita slaps him for absconding with her sister, at which Lucky turns and slaps him as well before the two girls leave with Darcy.
It is a Bollywood film, which means two things. One, that there will be lots of music, singing, and dancing. But all of the numbers are done in good-hearted fun, and they're quite willing to laugh at themselves (cross dressers in the scene where the girls are wandering around downtown before the first of the best friends is to be married and move to England!). And two: no kissing. It wasn't until the Bakshi family were in Hollywood attending the wedding of Lalita's best friend that I realized there had yet to be a single kiss in the entire film. But honestly, you never miss it.
Just trust me, if you like romances, particularly if you liked My Big Fat Greek Wedding, go see it. You'll love it. :D
9/10
