cLoSe tExTuaL aNaLySiS..x

...of a scene from 'BriDe & PreJuDiCe'

This particular scene takes place towards the end of the film where there is a form of resolution between the two lead protagonists of the film – Lalita & Mr. Darcy. There is a wedding taking place and Lalita and her family are at the event, although she did not expect to see Mr Darcy there. This scene shows their union at the end of the film – a typical happy ending?

• Initially there is a long shot at the scene of the wedding. This helps to show the audience what exactly is going on in the scene and allows them to view the setting and mise en scene.
• This long shot then zooms into a medium close up shot of Lalita. This shot focuses on the facial expressions and reactions of the protagonist. This allows the audience to be able to relate to and identify with her as they are able to view exactly what she is doing and how she may be feeling – which in this case is happy and even slightly coy.
• The scene then cuts to a long/medium long shot of Darcy and several other ‘dhol’ players, this scene then too similarly zooms into a medium close up shot of our other protagonist – Darcy. Both these scenes seem parallel to each other in terms of expressing the facial expressions and attitudes portrayed by each character. This can be said as Darcy’s facial expressions are reminiscent of Lalita’s.
• The scene then cuts back to Lalita in a medium shot and pans across with her until she reaches Darcy where they both embrace; showcased via a medium close up. The scene ends with a high angle shot of the two in each others arms which could connote the fact that no matter how much they may be or have been looked down upon they still ended up happy and with each other.
• This particular scene is significant to the film as it displays a ‘typical’ happy ending that you would usually expect from a Bollywood film. In this sense you could argue that this scene conforms to the stereotypical vision that we have of asian texts and is a predictable and characteristic end to a Bollywood film.
• The clothing is this scene is generally traditional Indian apart from Darcy’s. This is also usual of the nature of Bollywood films which is the feel that the director has managed to maintain throughout the film which this scene is an example of. There are not many props -apart from the drums (dhol) used to portray the feeling of a traditional Indian wedding. The set seems to be outdoors and is not focused upon too much within this scene as the real importance of this scene is on the facial expressions and actions of the characters.
• The lighting used throughout this scene is bright, high key natural lighting as the shot is filmed outdoors. This connotes the happy and bright nature of this scene - allowing the audience to expect a resolution.
• There is only one line of dialogue in the scene which is spoken by a non central character at the beginning of the scene. There is a sound bridge between the non diegetic sound of music building up till the two embrace and the diegetic music of the dhol that Darcy is playing. This is parallel to the scene as the sound is building up to the resolution.
• This text has been produced by a non – Hollywood institution by the name of ‘Miramax Films’. Miramax are renowned as the producers of more independent films. However, ‘Bride & Prejudice’ was distributed as mainstream film in multiplex cinemas.
• 'Bride & Prejudice' was a heavily advertised and promoted film. It was hyped up due to director, Gurinder Chadha's previously successful release 'Bend it Like Beckham'. However, considering general ratings for both films 'Bride & Prejudice' was not as much of a success as Chadha's former film.
• The genre is a hybrid between drama/musical/comedy & romance. Style and narrative in this case are a combination of both Hollywood/Bollywood, this blend has been constructed intentionally in order to give audiences a bit of both worlds.