BRIDE AND PREJUDICE Directed by: Gurinder Chadha Starring: Aishwarya Rai, Martin Henderson, Naveen Andrews, Indira Varma, Namrata Shirodkar, Peeya Rai, Meghna Kothari, Nadira Babar, Anupam Kher, Daniel Gillies, Nitin Ganatra, Marsha Mason, Alexis Bledel and Sonali Kulkarni UK Release 8 October 2004

"It is a combination of Bollywood and Hollywood, all tied up with a very British overall sensibility. It's pushing British filmmaking into a whole new direction." says director Gurinda Chadha of her new film 'Bride & Prejudice'. This is a Jane Austen adaptation like never before. Pride and Prejudice gets the Bollywood treatment and the result is a spectacular fusion of East meets West. Austen's classic love story unfolds in a riot of colour and emotion, song and dance that jet sets from rural India via London to Los Angeles.

A must see for lovers of Bollywood, musicals and ultimately for romantics everywhere, the warmth, affection and enthusiasm of director Gurinda Chadha's interpretation is inescapable. Plus for sceptics, there's a serious side tackling Western preconceptions about India and Indian women in particular.

Bollywood's reigning queen Aishwarya Rai debuts in her first English language film as our heroine Lalita [Austen's Lizzie Bennet]. Rising star Martin Henderson takes on Darcy in a wet T-shirt. [Martin's work includes Gore Verbinski's The Ring and forthcoming feature Little Fish opposite Cate Blanchett and Sam Neil]. Naveen Andrews [The English Patient] is Balraj Bingley. Indira Varma his sister Kirin. Nitrin Ganatra [Canterbury Tales[BBC] is Kholi [Austen's comic relief Mr Collins] and Daniel Gillies, [impressing this summer as Tobey Maguire's nemesis in Spiderman II] is attractive bounder Wickham.

Director Gurinda Chadha [Bhaji on the Beach, What's Cooking, Bend It Like Beckham], producer Deepak Nayar [Heat and Dust, Lost Highway, The Buena Vista Social Club] and writer Paul Mayeda Berges [What's Cooking, Bend It Like Beckham] combine their knowledge of commercial Western cinema with the established Bollywood expertise of choreographer Saroj Khan [Devdas], composer Anu Malik, lyricists the Akhtar family and cinematographer Santosh Sivab [Ashoka].

Bride and Prejudice is a fully-fledged first. Living proof that by interweaving Eastern and Western filming traditions, acting styles and talent - both on and off camera - a film of universal accessibility and impact can be created. Hold onto your Sari's because as Gurinda puts it ...

"In Bollywood anything is possible."

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