Monsoon Wedding

Plot synopsis:
The film's central story deals with the organisation of an enormous, chaotic, and expensive wedding that is due to take place in a modern Indian family. Lalit Verma (Naseeruddin Shah) and his wife Pimmi (Lillete Dubey) have arranged a marriage for their daughter Aditi (Vasundhara Das) to Hemant Rai (Parvin Dabas). Hemant is the son of a family friend who lives in Texas, and Aditi has only known him for a few weeks. As so often happens in Indian culture, such a wedding means that, for one of the few times in each generation, the extended family comes together from all corners of the globe, bringing its emotional baggage along.
Lalit and Pimmi are helped with the main planning by Pimmi's sister Shashi and her husband C.L (Kulbhushan Kharbanda), who have arrived earlier from Oman. A few days before the engagement, Tej Puri (Rajat Kapoor), Lalit's extremely wealthy brother-in-law, arrives from the U.S.. Tej is married to Lalit's sister and has helped the Verma family regain their financial footing after the Partition of India left them penniless many years ago. Tej offers to pay for Aditi's cousin, Ria Verma (Shefali Shah) to attend university in the U.S., after the family consults him for advice. Ria and her mother live with the Verma family, who took them in after the death of Ria's father. Despite his generous offer, Ria stays away from Tej and is not comfortable in his presence.
Lalit begins experiencing difficulty in paying for the final, smaller aspects of the wedding and is embarrassed when he has to borrow money from friends and colleagues. Meanwhile, P.K. Dubey (Vijay Raaz), the eccentric wedding planner, falls in love with Alice, the Vermas' maid. Ria grows concerned after she witnesses what appears to be Tej flirting with a younger relative, ten-year-old Aliya. Aditi's younger brother Varun (Ishan Nair) plans an elaborate dance for the pre-wedding party with another cousin, Ayesha (Neha Dubey), but Lalit worries that his son is becoming too effeminate and plans to send him to boarding school. Dubey's workers see Alice trying on Aditi's wedding jewellery, and the men accuse her of stealing. The incident causes her to become withdrawn from Dubey and he grows depressed.
A few days before the wedding, Aditi sleeps with an old lover, her married boss Vikram; and confesses this to Hemant. The incident only serves as a reminder to Aditi as to why she stopped seeing Vikram. Though he is initially angry, Hemant is glad for her honesty and is confident that they can put it behind them and be happy together. The workers apologize to Alice and she reconciles with Dubey. The night before the ceremony, Varun refuses to dance due to the comments made by his father, and Ayesha performs with the help of Rahul (Randeep Hooda), Pimmi's nephew from Australia. Aditi and Hemant grow closer and they share a few intimate moments, which re-affirms their faith in the marriage. After a night of jokes, drama and dances, Ria catches Tej trying to take Aliya for a drive alone. Ria stops them from driving off and takes Aliya away from him, revealing to Lalit and others that Tej had molested her as a child. Lalit's sister does not believe her, attributing her accusations to her character and unmarried status. Emotionally distraught, Ria leaves.
The next day, Lalit pleads with Ria to return to the wedding, admitting that he can't possibly imagine what she has gone through but also saying that he can't disown Tej, since they are family. Ria is not pleased but agrees to return for the sake of Aditi. Hours before the wedding, however, Lalit changes his mind and tells his sister and Tej to leave the wedding and the family home. Tej's wife insists that Ria's accusation was a small matter but Lalit stands his ground.
The Monsoon rains begin as Aditi and Hemant are married in an elaborate wedding, while Dubey and Alice simultaneously wed in a simple ceremony, and later celebrate with the Verma's. Ria moves on from her past life, and is finally able to freely enjoy the festivities.

Tags: humor

Review:
Unlike many others I was not familiar with Mira Nair's work at all, but after having seen how she delicately handles child-abuse, pre-arranged-marital-infidelity, growing old and trying to be different as an upper middle class Indian boy, being a flirtatious, bored but basically settled non-resident Indian housewife, or being a too well-doing for your own class "wedding-parties producer" desperately seeking for love - I have surrendered!This is a Great Film by a Great Director and you might not want to miss it....
Yeah, we've seen ethnic weddings/family gatherings before ("Lovers and Other Strangers," "Wedding Banquet," "The Godfather," "Avalon," "What's Cooking," "Tortilla Soup," among others), but this is still an original.Not just because it takes place in India, not just because the characters come in from the Indian diaspora of IT jobs in the U.S., Australia, and the Middle East to the old homestead, and switch between Hindi and English mid-sentence, and switch comfortably between tradition and modernity.
Yeah I was confused sometimes about who's related to whom, but from the rebellious teen-age boy dreaming of being a chef, to the bride with a secret lover, to the Houston engineer come home for an arranged marriage, to the complicated intra-family obligations and past positive and negative interactions, to cousins, aunts and uncles who genuinely love each other -- all are fully realized and completely believable, being both very individual and very universal.
A bonus is the wonderful use of Indian music -- I have zero idea if it's folk or Bollywood music they're singing but the soundtrack is exotic and exuberant as the characters use it to liberate thoughts and feelings within the structure of wedding rituals, with dancing as well.
Without hand-held camera pretensions, Monsoon Wedding nonetheless feels more like meeting a family at a big affair than watching a movie.
It is also worthwile to mention two more exceptionally powerful performances by Vijay Raaz (who was a struggling actor before this movie) as Dubey (Alice's love interest) and Shefali Shetty, as Ria (who has a dark secret that can ruin the binds of family) These three performances were outstanding, but the entire cast was incredible.
I didn't hate it, but it doesn't begin to touch Monsoon Wedding's issues: family, trust, abuse, love, grief, joy, tradition and oh so much more.
Lalit has to make difficult choices but in the end like a cleansing monsoon down pour his decisions heal past hurts and make the wedding celebration in the rain more joyous.The movie is anchored by exceptionally strong performances from Naseer Shah, Lillette Dubey, Vijay Raaz, Tilotama and Shefali Shetty.
My favorite scenes are Naseer constantly calling the Aussie cousin idiot, the dance number at the post engagement party when the whole crowd joins in (I wanted to dance in the aisles too), the dynamics between Mr. Dubey and Alice, the song Aaaja Saanwariya Tohe Garwa Laga loon as Mr. Dubey goes to his Old Delhi home...This is a fine film that celebrates family and is a great one for repeat watching.
Indian Punjabi weddings are like that, loud and colorful, people coming in from practically everywhere, weird uncles and aunties who just don't know how to mind their own business, cousins coming in from abroad who have no clue whatsoever, IITian settled abroad.
I loved Naseer's character, he was like just another father cribbing over money spent on he marriage at the same time, being the happiest man on earth and going to every extent to ensure a great wedding.
Every character in the movie was well sketched in terms of having their own unique characters, Dubeyji being this harassed wedding planner in love with the house maid, that aunty from Australia who has her own story to tell, the brother being a little anti social and a bit feminine according to the father (which was really cute, the relationship), the mother who smokes in the loo, the young cousin trying to impress the boy, loud uncle.
Mira Nair has outdone herself in this film by giving us such a glorious look at India's upper classes during a pre-arranged wedding.
After all, this is how I speak ;-).As a non-resident Indian living in the US for three decades, the film reflects the reactions of my family and friends back in India every time I return for a visit.The story revolves authentically around the way rich, cosmopolitan Indians live.
It is not surprising that this is the only Indian movie that has been seen by more people outside India, than in India-to the tune of thirty million-that is testament to the talent of Film maker, in the caliber of Mira Nair..
The film is crowded with characters, the members of a family gathering together for the marriage of a young woman in New Delhi: we trace their stories, retrieve facts and feelings about their lives, get to know them, even when drama is behind the corner and the past seems to mix with the present.
The problem is that the film goes for a collection of characters and story lines all around the one wedding and not all of them work as well as one another.
It was still pretty interesting and become more cohesive towards the end but I was not as drawn in and impressed as I had expected to be  to be honest Die Hard was on the other channel and it was a real effort to ignore the luring calls of that great movie and stick with this.However what the film does manage to do pretty well is deliver a very vibrant film which, for the majority of its running time, gives a lively and busy impression of this part of India and is enjoyable mainly because its energy and pace.
'Monsoon Wedding' directed by Mira Nair, is the story of Aditi, a young woman who is in love with a married man, yet has acquiesced to an arranged marriage in India.
During this time, there are several subplots revealed, involving fledgling love, the institution of family in India, and buried family scandal.Nair provides a very beautiful setting for the film, the most prominent feature within this setting being the incredible bright colors of the wedding decorations and wardrobe.
As a Delhi family prepares to celebrate its daughter's wedding to an expatriate Indian living in Canada, the secret tensions, desires and histories of its members are gradually revealed as either endearing or dysfunctional - but always credible.It would be foolish to pigeonhole Nair as an 'ethnic' director - her films are about families, relationships and culture, and they are universal.'Monsoon Wedding' brings all these themes together, across sexes, generations, classes and continents.
Tradition vs Modern ways - it's the underlying element knitting the sub-plots together.Mira Nair's romantic dramedy 'Monsoon Wedding' has genuine likability value, filled with colour and energy.
The unsure bride-to-be who still hasn't gotten over her past relationship, the completely occupied father-of-the-bride dealing with debts and responsibilities, the bored but committed mother trying to find meaning, the usually bad-tongued wedding planner trying to find love, the unmarried cousin still in pain from her childhood molestation trauma - all these and many such characters just fill the story with brimming honesty.
Nevertheless, I am more than glad I finally watched this one.Mira Nair's film presents a voyeuristic view of an ordinary next door type North Indian wedding.
The story revolves around not one but many well developed characters brought in together for a wedding on a rainy day invigorating hues of different emotions in the viewer.The film honestly tries to bring out the true dimensions of human relationships in a society where the imperfect things in life are swept under the carpet as if they cease to exist.
Mira Nair captivated on the essence of Indian wedding , which is soooo beautiful,this lady has got the mettle and already she has proved it many times.another thing what i liked in the movie is it simplicity none of the scenes were exaggerated and they bring out the best human emotions on screen ,what a delight to watch.The movie represents the contemporary India,just like any other family in the movie too they have their internal problemsIt was not a yash chopra genre movie where everything is perfecthuge sets n all and thats where Monsoon wedding sets itself apart.In the past few years after HAHK bollywood witnessed many marriage oriented movies but Monsoon Wedding is of a diff league A class cinema.
Monsoon Wedding is full of life  interesting characters, bright swirling colours, fabulous Indian music  and like one of Nair's previous efforts, the Oscar nominated Salaam Bombay, seems poised to break through the cultural marketplace and become a mainstream North American hit.
Mira Nair does an excellent job of taking an overly used theme, weddings, and giving it a personal touch that reflects the ideology of Indians both young and old.
By having many things going on during the lives of the many different characters we are able to get an interesting perspective on India and how marriages effect and are played out in such a family oriented society..
Monsoon Wedding directed by Mira Nair is a film about an India family marriage.
You see family parties, drama, lot's of music and dancing and a new romance for Dubey the wedding planner and the household maid, Alice.The great filmmaking and the use of hand held captures camera scenes is an important setting in the movie.
In the movie Dubey starts putting up a white tent to display a more American traditional wedding but to the Indian dad white is meant for a funeral and he demands a color tent consisting of reds and oranges.With combinations of warmth and laughter, music and dance, romance and serious problems, Director Mira Nair has made this movie a family entertainment..
Mira Nair's simple love letter to large families is terrific, filled with wonderful characters and funny situations, the antithesis of Robert Altman, whose `A Wedding' and `Dr. T & The Women' mined similar territory but in a dysfunctional, exploitive way.
Her huge cast (there are dozens and dozens of speaking parts) is warm, confident and--though it takes place in an exotic locale--familiar; but it's Vijay Raaz as the snitty wedding planner humbled by the discovery of true love who steals the show, a heartbreakingly real performance that grows increasingly more powerful as the film progresses.
'Monsoon Wedding' is indeed about a wedding, an arranged marriage for Aditi, the daughter of the middle-class Vedha family of New Delhi, and what happens to them and all the many other people involved in the festivities.
The woman in the audience with me who giggled repeatedly  through Monsoon Wedding, along with the five or six Aussie/Indian little kids who chatted away delightedly during the film, added to the charm of a very good time at the cinema.Monsoon Wedding, directed by Mira Nair (Salaam Bombay!, Mississippi Masala) along with writer Sabrina Dhawan have concocted a delicious wedding punch of colour, vivacity, romance and drama.
The editing of this film is superb.Of course we're treated to some exuberant singing and dancing numbers, coloured by those peaking Indian melodies and with flashes of eyes and midriffs.There's a ridiculously romantic scene concocted with marigolds and candles and a wonderful dance routine in what looks like some sort of empty swimming pool.There must be twenty major characters, a moment of extreme pathos, and at least twenty moments that will encourage you to smile.
I first saw this film in Mumbai, where though I missed the sub-titles that made my appreciation of its humour clearer, I was surrounded by the atmosphere of a large Indian crowd, the plaintive cinema advertising (Please do not spit or urinate in the street!)and the positive expectation created by friends who had already seen it back home and enjoyed it.The characters are wonderful and the film is well scripted to make maximum money by appealing to an international audience, making it easy for Americans, Australians, Dubai residents and more to identify with people in the movie.The focus is on the family coping with each other and each member of the family facing him/herself as the wedding draws near.
Maybe it's my problem, but I can never understand the professional knockers, the ones who can't enjoy a fun movie because in some ways it fails to live up to their superior artistic sensitivities.I thoroughly enjoyed Monsoon Wedding, and as it wound towards its conclusion felt it had managed to give some profound insights into the dilemmas created when east meets west and the old traditions become suddenly challenged by new social norms.
We've seen it all before, of course: big wedding, family crises, old scores being settled, secrets being revealed, people falling in love, etc.
Actually, no-one minds getting wet, for it seems a wet bride is a happy one.Watching the movie with a partly Indian audience gave a different perspective to it all  there was great hilarity when one character says `now speak English; it shows you are a refined person', and when the event organiser Dubey ( a gem of a performance from Vijay Raaz), his suggestion of white for the marquee rebuffed by the bride's father, tells his men, `OK, put up the old colours' (which turn out to be brilliant orange and red).
Here love blooms despite all the social constraints.The noise, number of characters and  Mira Nair's Altman-style direction make this is a somewhat confusing movie to watch, and even at the end I hadn't worked out exactly who was related to who.
The music, singing and dancing is well integrated into the story and although there's a lot of noise, it's generally easy to listen and watch for the 115 minutes it takes Mira Nair to paint her cross-cultural picture of  a universal happy event..
Although entertaining in some sense; Wedding offers nothing new and confirms that Ms. Nair still lacks in her films the following: narrative flow, subtlety and basic crafts of filmmaking which differentiates a good movie from an average or a bad one.
Walking out of the theater one feels good about the vibrant colors of India, it's free spirit that is omnipresent, the music (albeit not original) but cannot deny the fact that a lot of people with a handheld camera, lacking illusions about cinema verite and a sudden urge to make a film in 30 days or less can churn out better stuff than Monsoon Wedding.
May be the sad truth is filmmaking in a lot of people's mind does not equate to good storytelling and a thoughtful representation of the subject matter in hand.Did the jurors at Venice Film Festival actually see the movie or they were happy to note that Wedding is not your everyday Bollywood production?
One (Westerner) would assume that the typical Indian family would be quite different from theirs because of all the talk of arranged marriages and other traditions that are seen throughout India.
I consider this her best work because in Monsoon Wedding she is able to tackle these issues within the framework of an overall feel-good movie.
Monsoon Wedding- 2001 Director: Mira NairMonsoon Wedding directed by Mira Nair is a film about an India family marriage.
The great film-making and the use of hand held captures camera scenes is an important setting in the movie.With combinations of warmth and laughter, music and dance, romance and serious problems, Director Mira Nair has made this movie a family entertainment.
That's because although I had seen it before, it had no significance, it was just an intimate and authentic look at a loving family with quirky characters having an arranged wedding in India with side dramas.
It's set during and around an arranged wedding and the movie follows multiple different members of the family and others involved.
If I try to go into details I can say that the movie is about a bride who is about to get married but is still in love with a married man, or it's about a father who wants to make a beautiful wedding for his daughter but eventually will find himself torn between the feeling of great debt to one of the members of his family and the fact of revealed child abuse.
Whether it is a stressed father, a confused daughter forcing herself into a marriage, a woman having to see her disturbing childhood again but thru the eyes of another or even a crazy event planner's realization to settle down.Now if you have not seen the movie, you probably think, "What does this have to do anything with a festive Indian wedding?" Well, nothing.
fun, light-hearted feel-good wedding movie.
I think this is Mira Nair's best work thus far.The movie revolves around the wedding of the only daughter Aditi of an Indian family living in New Delhi.
The story is profound, and the wedding is NOT the main event - merely a forum for more important events to unfold in the lives of people who surround the bride and groom.And if you love Indian music, see this.
If you have never been exposed to Indian music, you may fall in love with it by the time the closing credits roll.I highly recommend this sublime work of movie art..
Like all of Mira Nair's films set in India, much of what goes on will be baffling to non-Indian viewers; you just have to "go with it" and be rewarded.
Monsoon Wedding, Mira Nairs film, details the days leading up to an Indian woman's wedding.
Mira Nair's Monsoon Wedding reflects the marriage of Indian tradition with modernization and globalization, which is represented in the film through the language, scenery, clothing, and music.
A delightful "happening", "Monsoon Wedding" will score best with viewers into foreign films or with a specific interest in East Indian culture.
I confess to hold a prejudice against Indian films, and it will take a few more like 'Monsoon Wedding' to erase it.
But "Monsoon Wedding" makes it clear that one does not have to leave India to find clashes of values within the Indian family.