Approved by the Jane Austen Society, this film is true to the spirit of Pride and Prejudice with a cross-cultural twist-18th century Hertfordshire meets a Bollywoodised Amritsar and finds it has much in common. The matrimonial cattle market, its pressures, compromises and etiquette are (broadly speaking) similar in both societies and prime fodder for irony, drama and romance. If you cannot catch a husband on your own, one must be caught for you.

The main characters are reasonably true to the originals in the book with four sisters to be married off in order of seniority, an ambitious mother (Nadira Babbar) and her long-suffering husband (Anupam Kher). The eldest is Jaya, attractive and obedient, Lalita follows, intelligent and independent, played by Ashwariya Rai, third comes reckless Lakhi (lucky) and the youngest is the unglamorous Maya. So far so good.

A highly eligible UK based bachelor Balraj (Naveen Andrews) arrives in Amritsar to attend a friend’s wedding with snobbish sister and good friend Will Darcy in tow. Little does he know that the whole of Amritsar waits with bated breath for such a “catch” to come to their doorstep, and the matriarch of the four girls, like every other in Amritsar, is intent on making a good impression. As luck would have it, Balraj and Jaya take to each other in a glance while Lalita catches Darcy’s eye. But far from catching her eye, Darcy manages to come off as arrogant, conceited and simply unbearable to Lalita.

As Bollywood would dictate, and now Hollywood, the sisters are whisked off by Balraj to Goa where Lalita meets the roguish Johny Wickham who reinforces Lalita’s condemnation and prejudice of Darcy. In the sidelines, you see a flicker of envy in Darcy but nothing overt.

All this is rather slight and ineffectual until the arrival of Mr Kohli, an Indian who has made good in America, who is, as was expected, looking for a bride and his gaze falls on Lalita. Defying convention she refuses him outright so he decides to marry her best friend (Sonali Kulkarni) who insists that the family attend the wedding in L.A. Lo and behold but who should be on the same flight but good ol Darcy who manages a thaw in his relations with Lalita. Could it be love??? Darcy finally manages to redeem himself by saving Lakhii from the evil machinations of Wickham and love triumphs after all, Bollywood style.

Chadda’s film attempts a sort of tribute to Bollywood but with a sense of trying to infuse some meaning to the whole story with her adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. Sounds like a great idea but unfortunately, Chaddha’s film is as hollow as it comes. It shines and shimmers from the exterior but has no depth at all. Chaddha would argue that that is the same in Bollywood but heck, they do them much better than this in Bollywood.

Martin Henderson plays Darcy whose character has been made into an American and not English (to avoid any clichéd Raj overtones) which gives the film a little more of its own identity. But he hardly has the time or opportunity to give his character any depth or genuine feeling. Its all too fast and too put on at the end of the day. Aishwarya Rai looks beautiful and gives a reasonable account of herself. Nadira Babbar as the mother is excellent but Namrata Shirodkar seems somewhat wasted.

The weakest point of the film is its music. Colourful choreography manages to salvage the first song in hindi but the rest of the score is of a mediocre standard and merely tends to make things somewhat tedious. Undoubtedly the film has its moments but overall it is disappointing and fails to deliver the high expectations created by its predecessor Bend it Like Beckham. Chaddha hasn’t really understood the magic of Bollywood and Bride and Prejudice is simply her rather lightweight tribute to the Indian cinema.