HAVING ridden the wave of global success which Bend it Like Beckham afforded her in 2002, director Gurinda Chadha attempts to catch it again with her latest cross-cultural flick.

This time she has given another of England's national treasures - Jane Austen - the Bollywood treatment, in the hope of bringing this film-making genre to the mainstream.

The story follows Austin's classic 19th century novel of marriages and manners, but places it in 21st century India. The Bennet family are now the Bakshis, Lizzie is Lalita (played by the stunning Aishwarya Rai) and there's not a lacy handkerchief or embroidery hoop in sight.

The film's modern-day heroines sport saris instead of empire-line dresses and their trademark ringlets are replaced by bhindis and nose-studs. And rather than taking the air on a gentle afternoon stroll, the characters do their flirting at beach raves and lavish Indian weddings.

Lalita's love interest is Will Darcy (Martin Henderson) - whose uber-affluent American family owns a string of luxury hotels across the world.

When they meet in her home town, Lalita regards him as an arrogant imperialist and he classes her as something of a country bumpkin.

Much to the delight of the Bakshis' matchmaking parents (Nadira Babbar and Anupam Kher), the oldest of their four daughters, Jaya (Namrata Shirodkar), has a more instant attraction to Darcy's friend, the wealthy Balraj Bingley, played by Naveen Andrews.

In the meantime, Lalita's head is turned by Darcy's half-brother Wickham (Daniel Gillies) who is a bit of a wrong 'un and threatens to bring dishonour to the family.

Lalita can't see this, but Darcy knows the truth, and as he tries to protect her, his feelings for her slowly unravel.

To a certain extent, Chadha has remained faithful to Austen's characters: The neurotic Mrs Bennet desperate to marry off her daughters and the low-key but sharp-as-a-pin Mr Bennet who only has their best interests at heart.

The pathos of wife-hungry suitor Mr Kohli (aka Mr Collins) is portrayed fantastically by Nitin Ganatra who turns him into a desperate, Ali-G type character. However, in placing the novel into a modern-day context, much of the scandals and subtleties of a bygone era are lost in translation. Lucky, the youngest daughter visits the London Eye with Mr Wickham - a far cry from the scandalous elopement of 1813. And (perhaps also due to the film's 111 minute time frame) we miss out on the slow build-up of suppressed physical tension between Darcy and Lalita.

The Bollywood bombast also moves it along with some pace, though at times the characters suddenly bursting into song is somewhat jarring.

Bride and Prejudice is good to look at and entertaining enough, but Ms Austen could be forgiven for turning in her grave right now. Besides, there's just no substitute for a soaked-to-the-skin Colin Firth.

See it at UCI, Odeon