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Bride and Prejudice's premiere dazzles London
Saris, bindis, dholaks and fairy lights took Bollywood to Britain with the world premiere of the movie.
Saris, bindis, dholaks, fairy lights - that is what happens when Bollywood arrives in Britain. On Monday, London's Palladium theatre was transformed for just such an occasion.
The traditional red carpet, which was pink in this case, was laid out for the UK premiere of Bride and Prejudice. Dressed in a glittering green and black Armani dress, Aishwarya Rai, the heroine of the film, who has been in London since last week, meeting the press, sounded excited about the premiere. She said: "This is so exciting. I've had a wonderful welcome from the crowd out there. It's fantastic to be in London, and I loved making this movie." The former Miss World and Bollywood superstar claimed that working with Gurinder made the transition to a more European film 'so easy.'
The director of the film, Gurinder Chadha, attired in a cream sari, said she felt intense pressure following the success of Bend It Like Beckham. "There was an extreme amount of pressure to deliver something that people will really like." Until now the film has had mixed reviews and she said: "I think the most important thing about making a film is that you're happy with it. It's not a masterpiece, but it is a lot of fun. It's very true to Jane Austen and the spirit of the book, and I think if she came down and went to see it in her local Odeon, she would like it."
Miramax boss Harvey Weinstein was all praises for Chadha. He gushed: "What inspires me is new cinema and that's what Gurinder has done with this movie." Before the film, he said: "I love those Bollywood movies and you always wonder whether they are going to translate and tonight Bollywood comes to the world and I'm very proud of this movie."
The handsome hero of the film, Martin Hendersen spoke highly of his director: "Gurinder is very much about the spirit - she's not typical of Hollywood in that she's not bogged down by special effects and visuals."
Chadha and Rai have been busy over the past week blitzing the media. As part of the build-up for the release of the film on October 8, Rai's wax replice was also unveiled at London's prestigious Madame Tussauds last week. The pair, who are good friends, have been giving interviews to the media and holding press conferences.
Chadha, a food lover, pointed out that all the engagements have left her with no time to visit her's and Rai's favourite Chinese restaurant. "We've been doing so much press which is a shame, because normally when Ash comes into London, the first thing that we like to do together is that we go to China town. And we really get into crispy aromatic duck! That's our big tradition but this week we haven't even had a chance to do that."
Chadha's movie takes Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice and places it in Amritsar. The £10 million film is a song and dance affair set in India, London and Los Angeles.
