(From above) Lawrence Olivier; Aishwarya in Bride and Prejudice; Colin Firth in Pride and Prejudice.

It is one of the most beloved romances of all time. Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice has lent itself to a number of films through the decades and there seems no sign of its appeal withering. The tale of love and misunderstanding, which takes a satirical look at marriage and society in 19th Century England, is about to find its way back to the big screen in a number of forms, some of which could turn out to be a purist’s nightmare.

On October 8, Gurinder Chadha’s Bollywood-style musical Bride and Prejudice, the latest to draw from the novel, will hit Indian theatres. It is, however, more of an interpretation, not a remake. The conflict is cross-cultural, with the small-town Aishwarya Rai’s Lalita Bakshi (based on the character of Elizabeth Bennet) heading off with Will Darcy (based on Mr Darcy) played by Martin Henderson, from Los Angeles. There is music, song and dance in the comedy of errors, which received mixed reviews after a recent preview.

Featuring Bollywood faces, including Namrata Shirodkar and Anupam Kher (back after a memorable role in Chadha’s runaway hit Bend It Like Beckham), and casting Ash in an English “crossover” film for the first time (finally), it promises to drum up considerable interest on home turf at least.

Chadha is certainly not the only one to draw on the classic for inspiration. Helen Fielding’s Bridget Jones’ Diary did just that. There are some parallels in plot. That is also why Colin Firth, who has arguably played the best Mr Darcy in the 1995 BBC remake of Pride and Prejudice in mini-series form, was chosen to play Bridget’s love interest (appropriately named Mark Darcy).

What will happen in the celluloid version of Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, slated for a November release, remains to be seen. In the sequel on paper, Bridget, a reporter, has a hilarious interview with Firth while besotted by his take on Darcy. She is obsessed with the fact that, in the mini-series, he plunges into the lake at Pemberley, just before the crucial meeting with Elizabeth. But with Firth playing Bridget’s boyfriend, will this section be chopped out? We will have to wait and see.

Of course, that wet-shirt scene is not the only departure the five-hour mini-series makes from the original. There are a few others, including a brief glimpse of the devastating Firth — devastated at Elizabeth’s rejection — fencing to let off some steam. But even if this perfect performance (which thrust Firth into the limelight) is cast aside, this has to be the best version filmed so far. The 1995 remake features a number of notable actors, including Jennifer Ehle as Elizabeth, Crispin Bonham-Carter as Mr Bingley, Alison Steadman as Mrs Bennet and Benjamin Whitrow as Mr Bennet.

Keira Knightley

It is also risky territory. Loyalists are already panning the next true-to-the-novel interpretation as not having a shot at success. The film in production is slated for a 2005 release. Whether Keira Knightley (Bend it Like Beckham and Pirates of the Caribbean) can pull off Elizabeth is being loudly doubted, while Matthew MacFadyen as Mr Darcy has received a marginally warmer response. There is at least one thing to look forward to: Dame Judi Dench breathing life into Lady Catherine De Burgh.

Pride and Prejudice could well be a story so close to the hearts of readers that nothing will really match up. The BBC mini-series managed to because it had the time to develop characters and situations almost exactly as Austen has done herself. The 1980 mini-series, another BBC production starring Elizabeth Garvie as Elizabeth and David Rintoul as Darcy, stuck to the text almost a little too closely. But the first 1940 film, written by Aldous Huxley, failed miserably, even with Laurence Olivier in the lead. Greer Garson’s Elizabeth turned out to be tolerable but acting aside, the screenplay left out crucial elements of the book and introduced unnecessary features for little apparent reason. It was also disappointingly unfaithful to the spirit of the story.

Maybe it is time to ask whether more films are really needed. But then, chances are that true devotees will hardly be able to resist even a half-baked attempt at reviving the magic.