Rai is belle of "Bride & Prejudice" ball

It is a truth universally acknowledged that musicals are not everyone's cup of tea. And Bollywood musicals, that India-born genre featuring lavishly colorful song-and-dance numbers and a frequent air of frothy silliness, particularly may not suit all tastes.

Thus "Bride & Prejudice," Gurinder Chadha's Bollywood take on Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice," must be approached in the right spirit. Watch it as a movie musical and you may be disappointed; watch it as an experiment in genres and be intrigued; watch it for the birth of an international star and be dazzled.

That star is Aishwarya Rai, and it's something of a misnomer to refer to her emergence in English-speaking films as a "birth": She's the biggest star in India's vast film industry, known as "The Queen of Bollywood." She's little-known in North America, but expect that to change soon. "Bride" is the first of several English-language projects for her (including the upcoming drama "Chaos" with Meryl Streep), and it's a candy-colored showcase for her devastating beauty and relaxed charm.

(Let it be said that the gentleman accompanying me to "Bride & Prejudice" later had little comment about the film afterward; rather, he was more interested in finding out whether That Incredibly Beautiful Woman would be in another one soon. For the record, her first name is pronounced Ash-why-ree-uh. Learn it; it'll come in handy.)

Rai plays Lalita, an outspoken daughter of the middle-class Bakshi family of Amritsar, India. Her mother (Nadira Babbar)is determined to find husbands for her four girls who will take them away from the dullness of Amritsar and from the no-longer-elegant family home where plaster peels from the walls. Mrs. Bakshi plans for Lalita to marry Kholi (Nitin Ganatra), a tiresome India-born Californian who says "It's all good" a lot. Enter Mr. Darcy (an uncomfortable-looking Martin Henderson), an American hotel tycoon whose eyes catch Lalita's, along with his friend Balraj (Naveen Andrews), who sets his sights on Lalita's sensible sister Jaya (Namrata Shirodkar). Add the naughty Wickham (Daniel Gillies), and a parade of brightly dressed supporting players, and it's all very Jane Austen — in saris, of course.

Chadha, who previously made the delightful sports comedy "Bend It Like Beckham," is taking a big risk here in dipping partway into the Bollywood pool but never quite diving in. She's making a statement about class and global politics, with her Indian, American and British characters — rather more of one than her frothy movie can support. Though her movie is far shorter than typical Bollywood fare (which usually runs three hours or more), by Western standards it still feels less sophisticated than other recent screen musicals like "Chicago" or "Moulin Rouge" — the music is repetitive, the song lyrics often silly.

That's a stylistic choice, rather than a failing, and those who approach "Bride" with an open mind will find much to enjoy in its colors, its performances and its ultimately irresistible high spirits. And if it doesn't appeal — well, stare into Rai's vast green eyes for a moment, and see if you don't feel just a little happier.

Moira Macdonald: 206-464-2725 or mmacdonald@seattletimes.com