Rating: 
Summary: 'Nair's best' by a writer.
Review: Monsoon Wedding is a film for people who like Cassevetes or Altman. The spectator needs to be sharp and an experienced film-goer. Here we have a middle class Indian family (one of 50 odd million in India alone) getting ready for a wedding, the most important event in their lives. It starts like a ballet, with many characters going in and out. you will get to know them. have patience, settle down, this is India today, with problems such as we all have : family members who do not get on, generation gaps, skeletons in the cupboard, sex, laziness, inefficiency and charm humour, music, colour, real people (but no Hindi-style dance sequences) this is a really great film, extremely well directed and acted. Should have gone to the Oscars. Go see it. Jim Hodgetts
Chennai
Rating: 
Summary: Yuck
Review: ...If you are one of the ABCDs who love to denigrate Indian culture and family values, then this is the film for you. Otherwise if you like good clean movies without an abundance of swearwords or profanity, then give this movie a skip.
Rating: 
Summary: A look at India today
Review: Mira Nair's Monsoon Wedding, from the perspective of this non-Indian Westerner, does an excellent job of portraying the mix of traditional and contemporary that makes up Indian culture today. The intercut scenes of street life in Delhi are rich details that complement the story of a well-to-do family whose oldest child, their daughter, is about to be wed in an arranged marriage--still practiced, judging by this film. When the daughter questions the arranged marriage, it's based not on the tradition itself, but on her possible attachment to another man, her ex-boyfriend. The resolution of this situation is satisfying because the obvious vacillating of her emotions is shown so clearly and sympathetically. Another integral part of the story is a second marriage of a man not as well off to a young woman domestic with whom he's smitten.
This second love story is, in fact, much more poignant and gripping; the smitten man is, in spite of his initially crass behavior, full of loneliness and heart. The juxtaposition of these two strata--wealthy and working class--is handled very well, as is the complexity of family dynamics: the young, spoiled, possibly gay son; the rich, corrupt family friend; the "duffer" (a young Indian male relative living in Australia--complete with an Australian accent--who comes back to Delhi for the wedding); the adopted niece who suffered child abuse much earlier in her life; the women relatives who, in one great scene, sing together about the trials and tribulations of finding the right man. After the visually and musically stunning yet somewhat vacuous Kama Sutra, it's great to see Nair returning to the peak of her talents, applied to Indian life with the same sensitivity and attention to detail she displayed in her first (and some say, her best) film, Salaam Bombay. Highly recommended
Rating: 
Summary: Not the best not the worst...
Review: The strength and weakness of this movie is that it doesn't really count as an Indian movie. The Harvard educated, US-based director seems mostly interested in interpreting India for Western audiences, deals with subjects that are more typical of Western Films, and her movies don't get played at local Indian cinemas. I would classify this more as an American artsploitation, like "Chocolat." However, that gives the director the chance to re-interpret Indian conventions. Another reviewer complained that mentioning gritty details was just to make Indian families look bad. I agree to an extent, as I think the author spent too much time on scandals, while glossing over such obvious subjects as the personality of the fiance. However I enjoyed seeing how a family unit that loved each other very much managed to deal with its difficulties. Bollywood movies have a very distinct and stylized (although throroughly enjoyable) way of portraying weddings, that bears no resemblance to real life. This movie gave a more realistic depiction of the details of the marriage, at times resembling a documentary. The vaguely Altman-ish style of the movie, with no central plot but a related group of stories, grew on me over the course of the movie... So while I'd strongly recommend a great number of Indian movies ahead of this one, I still think this is worth watching, both as a change of pace and as a movie with more American distribution than typical Bollywood fair.
Rating:
Summary: Dissapointing and crass
Review: This is the type of "crossover" film that the Indian film industry can do without. Mira Nair and Deepa Mehta have the same agenda in their films -- pandering to Western stereotypes of India. Here she takes a crack at one of India's wonders-- the strong social order of the family.And supposedly tears away the facade of happiness and shows how enslaving and oppressive the institution of family can be. And this is about as stereotyped and cliched as it can get.There is also a disgraceful scene where policemen are seen almost molesting the bride when she is caught having sex with her boyfriend in a car.....as Mira Nair would like us to believe India lurks with molesters and predators be it inside the police or inside the trusted structure of family. Watch Lagaan instead if you wanna see what Indian films can really be.
Rating:
Summary: Bravo!
Review: I laughed, I cried, I danced, I gasped! The Indian culture was richly depicted through artful writing, directing and acting. The scene with Dubay on the rooftop in his underwear was marvelous and made me cry with longing for magical, mystical India. The colors, singing, dancing...I enjoyed every second of this movie. I'm hoping the video will become available...this is definitely a movie which deserves to be a part of everyone's video library.
Rating:
Summary: Two Weddings and a Family Secret....
Review: MONSOON WEDDING finally opened in Denver this 2nd weekend of March. I was in line Saturday for the matinee, and the wait was more than worth it. Mira Nair is truly an extraordinary filmmaker and storyteller. From an interview I read about the making of the film, many of her family members star in the film, as well as their saris and jewelry! I haven't been to India yet, but seeing the movie brought me that much closer to experiencing the colors, the noise, the crowds and the history that is all modern India. The music, a blend of traditional Indian ragas and modern techno/trip-hop lends a sense of joy and exuberance to almost every moment. There is much singing and dancing, as well as family time spent celebrating the impending nuptials of the young couple. The relationships between the members of this extended family are rich, complicated and very real. The storyline flows well, as it is a mixture of comedy and drama. There are highs and lows, making the story very believable and touching. I will definitely be seeing MONSOON WEDDING again. Too bad it didn't make the Oscar best picture/best director cut this year. It did however win the Golden Lion prize at the Venice Film Festival, and deservedly so. A beautiful movie not to be missed!!!
6 stars easily!!
Rating:
Summary: SURPRISE DELIGHT
Review: What a wonderful, surprising movie. You will be transported, via the rich color, music and most of all characters of this bright, funny and poignant ensemble comedy. As much as you feel as if you have an insider's intimate look at one upper-class Indian family's emotional rollercoaster ride in their preparation for one daughter's wedding, you also recognize the core truths of people everywhere. This is one of the best films I've seen in years. The movie casts a magic spell, and opens doors you will want to go through.
Rating:
Summary: Very good and enjoyable movie!
Review: I saw it last night (03/01/02) here in NYC (Sunshine Cinemas) and it was sold out. Although I'm an Indian-American, most of audience was not, which maybe is an indication of the popularity of Mira Nair and hopefully of crossover Indian movies in general. I liked her deliberate "documentary" style with the extreme close-ups showing barely repressed emotions of desire, sadness, anger. There are a lot of sub-plots and politics that revolve around any wedding, and this is no exception. The soundtrack is great (esp. the bhangra music) which is why I'm here on Amazon.com to buy it. There were a few inside Indian jokes that I found hilarious, but the film was definitely made to be accessible to as wide an international audience as possible. If you would like to explore other good mainstream crossover Indian movies, please check out "American Desi" (romantic comedy), "ABCD" (drama), and "Ashoka" (historical epic). Oh, and to the reviewer below who liked the PK Dubey character because of the foul language he uses in the movie, there is no need to be cute and actually type it out. You're not cool by showing off you know Indian curse words like "madar----". Would people be impressed if you typed out "motherf--ker" in the review? I don't think so.
Rating:
Summary: How 'bout 6 stars ?
Review: I had very little expectation about this movie before I saw it. And it took me a few minutes to identify with the dozens of characters in the movie. But once things went underway, the movie turned out to be simply awesome. It is by far one of the most realistic and well directed movie I have ever seen (Hindi or English). Mira Nair has done a fantastic job in extracting the best out of Naseerudin Shah and Shefali Shetty. Everyone has done a fantastic acting job in this movie. But in my opinion, the actor who really stole the show was the kid who played Naseerudin Shah's son. This is not your typical obnoxious Bollywood kid. I would give this movie 6 stars if allowed.
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