Bride and Prejudice This Just

Bride and Prejudice

This just in. Lalita Bakshi, daughter of Mr. And Mrs. Chaman Bakshi, is now engaged to American William Darcy, a double wedding is planned. The events leading up to Lalita's engagement are especially, well, "engaging." Lalita, a traditional but modern Indian girl, met this Darcy character through a mutual friend. At first, Lalita does not take to Darcy, in fact, in Goa, she meets another young man, Johnny Wickam, and is quite taken with him, leaving Darcy alone and confused. Soon, Johnny takes up with her sister, instead, and the family travels to California for the wedding of Kohli, another family friend.

While visiting Goa, Lalita informs Darcy building a resort there is not a wise idea, and Darcy heeds her advice. She tells him that the resort would simply be a place "to go to India without having to deal with Indians." She believes Darcy is prejudiced against Indians, just as Kohli has become during his time in America. The human interactions throughout this section of the film set the pace for the human interactions later on. Lalita indicates she is proud of her country and her culture, and does not believe Darcy respects either. She recognizes the geographical beauty of her country as well, and does not want to see it altered by modern innovation, something she indicates throughout the film.

Consistently, Lalita reacts to the environment around her, and believes what she hears, rather than what she should know in her heart. Johnny tells her that Darcy kicked him out of his household when Darcy's father died, but throughout this film, Darcy has proved himself to be kind and generous, certainly not the type of man who would kick a person when he was down. Lalita adapts to the environment by believing others when they are clearly not to be trusted, and she must learn to listen to her own conscience and her own feelings. She knows she has feelings for Darcy, but she will not admit them.

She is strong, however, and can see that Kohli is not the man for her, and she will not be pushed into a marriage with a man she does not want. In that, she does not adapt to the environment and culture of her parents, she is a woman on her own, a modern woman of India who knows what she wants and will not settle for less. She is easily led in other areas, though, and one of those weaknesses is Darcy, who she continues to see in a negative light, and refuses to really see the good in him. She only wants to believe the worst, which gets in the way of her real happiness and love.

She does adapt, however, when she changes her mind about Darcy, and she is open to change and growth because of this. Her life has followed an uncertain path, from India, through London, to California, and back again. In this journey, she learns about herself, and learns about her emotions, as well. She is strong, she can be led to do the wrong thing in certain situations, but this modern Indian woman is not afraid to stand up for what she wants, and she is not afraid to fall in love with an American man. She modifies her behavior when she needs to, because she is not inflexible and stiff. She is wise, she is capable of love, and she is capable of reversing herself when she knows she is wrong.