July 04, 2007

Movie Talk

This blogs coz i love complaining:P..Love complaining every now and then that things arent the way they should be, though i must admit,that it would probably be a really boring world if things were just right..For one, wouldnt have gotten to blog this post[which mt not at all b bad news as far as U are concerned..But tht could just be ur reason for complaining:P] Anyways, all this prologue is to talk bt all the Pride and Prejudice movie adaptations that have happened. Happened to watch the Keira Knightley starrer version recently.[Okie..I know it was released a loooong time ago..But i am a lil behind the times:P]
Am probably the most biased critic that could ever exist on this planet coz i am a huuuuuuuuge fan of Jane Austen and Pride and Prejudice [P&P] is amongst my all time fav books and i honestly do not think anybody can quite capture the varied essences that she manages to so expertly weave into her books on screen..And unfortunately, the belief keeps getting proved right every now and then. Have to admit that its prob way too difficult a job to transalte a 300 odd pages classic with soo many subtleties into a movie and still keep the viewers interested. So, am not even going to complain about the way the movie has been made...My complaints more on the superficialities that are so important to the plot. The fact that Jane is prettier than Elizabeth, i would say, is where the story starts off;is what kicks off the Elizabeth-Darcy tussle. And its probably the easiest thing to show on screen..I mean, how difficult can it poss be to cast a wow looking person as Jane and a slightly plainer looking one as Elizabeth. Must b really difficult coz have never caught a version whcih has a prettier looking Jane. Sample this: In the desi version, Aishwarya Rai is Elizabeth and Namrata Shirodkar is Jane. And you are expected to digest the Darcy character mouthing a 'Cant see any pretty girl apart from Miss.Jane' kinda line with a straight face..I mean..come on. Dont think this movie fares any better on that front either..Kiera looks wow!..And sumhow, the story seems rushed..Can think of so many scenes and dialogues that have been left out..Would have liked a longer one i think.
Complaints apart, this movie does have some plus points. Keira makes for an excellent Elizabeth.Macfayden's pretty believable as Darcy. Mr.Collins and Lady Catherine characters are played really well too. So, all in all, a decent watch i would say but then the more knowledgable and the saner critics have lauded this movie quite a bit and and so, if u havent yet watched the movie, u shud def do it.
N for kicks, came up with my cast for the movie. [Ignore the ages ..afterall this cast will never get to act in a movie:P]
Mr.Bennet: Boman Irani
Mrs.Benent:Kiron Kher
Jane: Sonali Bendre
Elizabeth: Kajol
Mr.Bingley: Hrithik Roshan
Mr.Darcy: Aamir Khan
Mr.Wickham: John Abraham
Lydia: Kareena
Mr.Gardiner : Anupam Kher
Mrs.Gardiner: Fareedha Jalal
Colonel Fitzwilliam: Akshaye Khanna

Cant think of ppl for these: Mr.Collins,Lady Catherine[ though think the saas in the KSBKBT serial mt do:P]

N for those of u who want to go catch up with the original story,u can go check out this link:
http://esnips.com/_t_/pride+and+prejudice
Enjoy maadi :)

8 comments:

Anu said...

you know what?? you must be indulging in some black magic! I have a draft written on P&P which I had to post two days back, but haven't! and now I read this! my God! this is unbelievable! :D

And I thoroughly loved ur casting... we can try a few changes though...how abt Vidya Balan for Jane? Kajol is perfect for Lizzy, but for Bingley we need a good looking li'l dumb guy, hmmm...can't think of anyone! Hrithik I think would make a good Darcy, he should try it...and John as Wickham is bang on too...and so is Kiron and Anupam Kher and Farida Jalal! I bursted out laughing for Kareena as Lydia!

no Shah Rukh in the movie casted by Smitha?!! :O is this a miracle? :))

absolutely loved the post! :) keep it coming!

Smitha.S said...

Anu: Firstly,please publish the blog..Will b fun to read ur take on it :)
Cool:)..Vidya Balan does sound better than Sonali Kulkarni ..n bt Hrithik..Didnt put him as Darcy coz thot he wont gel with Kajol..hehe
n also leaving out SRK has been the hardest decison of my castin career:))..Will prob giv him a guest appearance in the movie...lol.

Anonymous said...

hey smi, cool one...so u watched that keira knightly's P&P?..I hv been plannin to get the DVD of the movie since the time it got released but v nt been able to do it...will do it this weekend for sure!
Ur casting is too good kane....Kareena as lydia is the funniest part! Sonali fits in well as Jane n so is Kajol as elizabeth...
just loved reading it! :)

Anu said...

Yeah I will soon, but I'm afraid it's a rather sombre take on P&P, not as interesting as urs! :)
Yes me too thought Hrithik didn't go too well with Kajol, but I think Darcy's role would be a challenge he should take up.
ha ha! lol! voila! guest appearance is the answer...how abt Shah Rukh as Mr.Collins, that again would be a challenge to his acting and make-up skills :D

Smitha.S said...

Ayyo!no..will break my heart to make Shah Rukh look so ridiculous!..hehe

Tin Tin said...

uhh.. pride and prejudice was very 'girlie' for me.. I can come up with the cast for hitchhikers if u like

Sandy said...

@ Smita aunty

Never read P&P! But i think there are very few movies which have been able to live upto the class of the books if not more. LOTR maybe, is the only one that reaches that level. Thrillers are easier to replicate on screen. Day of the Jackal, Guns of Navarone,Rocky...lots in that list.

@ Namrata
There was a movie made on H2G2. For me it was the biggest letdown movie ever

Souvik Chatterji said...

Namrata Shirodkar is one of the soft-spoken personalities of bollywood. The films in which she had acted she had left a lasting impression based on the softness of her character. She played the role of the daughter of a military officer in Raj Kumar Santoshi’s film Pukar, opposite Anil Kapoor.