The Hindu : New Delhi News : When East meets West

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Sep 23, 2004

New Delhi

New Delhi

When East meets West

By Mandira Nayar

NEW DELHI, SEPT. 22. It was certainly a "perfect match" of "East meets West" at the music launch of Gurinder Chadha's much-waited homage to the Hindi film industry "Bride and Prejudice" in the Capital today. With the Indian star Ashwariya Rai deciding to stick firmly to only "angerzi" while answering questions posed to her, the director stayed true to her Amritsari "origins" and replied in rather broken Hindi.

"The movie will be released in English and Hindi in India on October 8. The Hindi version of the film is exactly the same, except that it is dubbed and will be called "Balle Balle! Amritsar to L.A". We will be also releasing some prints in Hindi in Britain. Anu Malik has composed music for the film and the songs have all been recorded in India. But we have reworked some of the music in England," remarked Ms. Chadha.

Keeping the international spirit, the music of the movie also has a little of Amritsar, L.A and a lot of "balle balle". Paying tribute to movie legends like Yash Johar, Raj Kapoor's songs of the street as well as American musicals like "Grease", the soundtrack of "Bride and Prejudice" gives the listener a taste of the joyful peppy music of Hindi films.

Moving Elizabeth Bennet out of 18th Century England with its class divisions, Ms. Chadha prefers to look at the impressions that people make of different cultures in the global village. While it might use the larger-than-life backdrop of Hindi film industry, it is essentially a British film, she believes.

"I don't think that mine is a crossover film. I think it is a British Asian film as I am a British director. I think mine is a mainstream film and I have not made it just for the Indian audience. It is an international film and is a bit like the three of us. I am a British Asian, Ash is Indian and Paul Mayeda Berges, the writer is Japanese American," she states.

While it changes class divisions in Jane Austen's England to the "prejudice" that an American Darcy may have for an Indian girl, the movie is ultimately about the love story. And sticking to the inspiration that she has got from Hindi cinema, Ms. Chadha has also taken this love story, like the directors she admires, to different parts of the world -- Arizona, Amritsar, Windsor and London.

Hoping to introduce many more people to the wonder of Hindi cinema, "Bride and Prejudice" will also be the first time that Ashwariya will be stepping into the world in English. Asked if the movie will help her make her move to Hollywood, she said: "I am not a bird. I will not migrate or move. As an actor it will add to my versatility as I have acted in Tamil and Bengali. We actors are gypsies and nomads, we go where the movie takes us. I think my experience with Gurinder was exceptional."

And whether it "Bride and Prejudice" will "bend" it for Ms. Chadha, will probably depend on whether "Balle Balle" can transcend "L.A to Amritsar''.

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