"It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife."

What seemed so apparent in 1813, when Jane Austen penned "Pride and Prejudice," apparently remains the norm in the filmmaking capital of Southeast Asia.

	Miramax Films Aishwarya Rai stars as Lalita in "Bride & Prejudice," a Bollywood update of a Jane Austen classic. Click photo for larger image. 'Bride & Prejudice' Rating: PG-13 for some sexual references. Starring: Aishwarya Rai. Director: Gurinder Chadha.

Director Gurinder Chadha, the British-schooled Kenyan of Indian descent who scored with Americans on "Bend it Like Beckham," continues her multiculturalism with a grand Bollywood musical based on classic English literature and aimed at mainstream Western audiences.

With "Bride & Prejudice," Chadha adapts aspects of Austen's tale about a young society woman who breaks social conventions in the name of love. The story moves to 21st-century Amritsar, India, where the daughter of an upper-caste family begins to hate but learns to love a rich American, who starts to despise but comes to accept Indian culture.

As is the Bollywood way, "Bride" is frequently stinted by corny dialogue, silly cliches and manufactured moments when everybody breaks into song. It's the contemporary Indian hybrid of the American Technicolor film musical of a generation ago. The music is a mix of Eastern "filmi" and Western hip-hop, and the moves range from belly dance to booty bounce.

Former Miss World 1994, Aishwarya Rai, stars as an educated, independent single woman frequently at odds with her traditional gold-digging mother, whose meddlesome life revolves around constant efforts to marry off her daughters to wealthy suitors without going broke on the dowries. The "Bride" of the title, Rai has a bouncy, flirtatious relationship with the camera that works well in the kind of movie that shouldn't be taken too seriously.

New Zealander Martin Henderson ("The Ring," "Windtalkers") plays up anti-American stereotypes as a boorish, self-indulgent and insanely rich charmer. He's the "Prejudice" that director Chadha is going for. His character is slow to accept new ways, and he's accused of snobbery toward the subcontinent and of being an "imperialist" for suggesting that his company might open a swanky hotel in Amritsar.

A little nationalistic pride can be a good thing. But while the American is taunted for his family's wealth and accused of intolerance and insensitivity, the snobbish, rich Indians bark orders at their darker skinned, lower-caste servants, berate Western lifestyles and even joke about American lesbians.

But, again, it's the kind of movie that shouldn't be taken too seriously. "Bride & Prejudice" is a jumble of big, bright colors, splashy group dance sequences, a little light drama, even lighter comedy, and upscale locations from Indian temples to London mansions to Hollywood hotels. It's in English, pretty to watch, playing at the multiplex and reasonably accessible to mainstream crowds.