Before Bride and Prejudice was released, there was a lot of hype. Understandable, because the film being directed by Gurinder 'Beckham' Chadha starred Aishwarya Rai for whom this was the first foray into the world of English films. Post-release, everyone is wondering: why did Ash sign the film, and how seriously did Chadha look into her flaws as an actress and work on them which Sanjay Leela Bhansali and, to an extent, Rituparno Ghosh have done in India?
In the film, Ash looks a little plump but Chadha has justified that as a cinematic need because the actress plays a robust girl from Punjab who obviously isn't familiar with the ways of the ramp. All that is fine and, in fact, there are times when Ash does look really gorgeous.
In the movie, what does she do? She belongs to the Bakshi family, has a few sisters, and ends up falling in love with Darcy (Martin Henderson), an American whose contempt for India is pretty obvious. She is well-read but is waiting for the right proposal – a bit strange, but like a 'true' Indian – and she even has to deal with Darcy's prejudices which offend her…naturally. The character of Lalita – her name – has some nice shades that were waiting to be manifested but never are. Ash is simply not up to the mark.
Her giggle – a huge weak point – is quite irritating, but what is really bad is her diction. She speaks English in a manner which is hugely artificial, and one wonders how Chadha left those scenes unedited at the editing table in which her pronunciation is so hopelessly flawed.
Ash has bagged some big projects, among them a film called Chaos in which she has been cast opposite the legendary Meryl Streep. Should history repeat itself, Ash will be forgotten news as far as English films are concerned. As far as this Chadha flick goes, the news of the moment is that Namrata Shirodkar has made a bigger impact than Ash in a smaller role. And, Namrata is no Meryl Streep!
Ye Hai Mohabbatein
Anupamaa
Dr Aarambhi
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