Monsoon Wedding

Rating:
Summary: Simply Fannntastic!
Review: What a special and warm bollywood movie. Had some fun moments by the dad. Everybody did a fine job! I love and am very drawn into the Indian culture. The music at the end made me go and order the cd.
If you're looking for some feel good entertainment, Monsoon is simply wonderful.

Rating:
Summary: Delightful Snapshop of Family Preparing for Wedding
Review: I usually do not enjoy most Bollywood films as I find the drama overdone and the interjections of singing and dancing confusing and inexplicable. I must say that I found Monsoon Wedding to be absolutely delightful!! The cast of colourful characters and their relationships made for riveting viewing. The dancing and singing are all wonderful and appropriate (I must get that soundtrack!!). I do confess though that, in my opinion, the romance between the wedding planner and Alice stole the show!! My heart still warms when I think of their little ceremony under the umbrella on the bridge. Wonderful movie!! Even my husband enjoyed it!!

Rating:
Summary: Dancing in the Rain!
Review: Grinning from ear to ear for hours after watching this movie, I happily commend it to the humble viewer.

From the opening sequences, the fabulous scenes of monsoonal India, this lovingly detailed film is part Shakesperean comedy with Dubaie the event planner as [...] part realistic family drama, and round to pure escapist romance.

The movie follows a couple of tangents, and various romantic subplots, but is set around a wedding (as the title shouts).

Deciding she can not wait any longer for her married lover to divorce his wife, Aditi asks her parents to arrange a marriage for her and is hopeful that moving to America to live with her new husband will help her overcome her heartbreak and build a new life.

Her doting parents are struggling to put on the most wonderful celebration they can afford, and preparing to receive all the extended family members who are arriving for the wedding.

The parents utter absorbtion in the task is demonstrated when the mother nearly leaves the house with her curlers still in - a feeling mother's around the world about to launch their children into married life would relate to!

When Dubaie (the wedding planner/event manager) first debut's in the movie, he comes across as an abrasive, obnoxious cockrell, entirely self absorbed until someone else intrudes on his sphere, then he falls desperately in love.
I thoroughly enjoyed his portrayal, his ability to skull water whilst grinning cheesily, and the wonderful quote "10 minutes exactly & approximately", which is just such a commentary on the Indian schedules. The meddling workers were also a delight.

Aditi's cousin Ria is troubled by Aditi's decision to go through with the arranged marriage, and proves herself a wise counsellor with a fierce love for family. Her character is well fleshed out with another thread involving some painful family secrets, which I must confess, I saw coming.

Nontheless the film, and the characters, handling of the emotions is superbly done, and very tear-inducing.

The moment the taps really turned on for me, was when Aditi's father (in a sublime performance)says "sometimes when I look at my children, I feel love which I almost cannot bear" which is a sentiment I relate to on such a deep level.

On another note, it was refreshing to see so many "full figured" girls. They were beautiful in their bounty, and in particular Ria was a gorgeous full-bodied celebration of womanly curves & the appeal of a warm smile and glowing personality. She (the actress) look strikingly similar to Elizabeth Taylor in her Cleopatra!

I was amused to see the "Australian cousin" what a genuine accent he had, and if you watch, do notice how even with his broken finger he is the one who ends up carrying everything (all the time) as well as serving at the bar, which is a bit of a comment on his heritage isn't it!

Loved the wonderful Indian accents, and their sharp little witticisms that were peppered through the script, and the interesting variation in their colouring. Half the families relatives looked no more than partly Indian, in particular the main villian.

Last thoughts?
I want an Indian Wedding with the amazing bamboo construction bedecked in silks & flowers! (and I wouldn't mind the roominess of a sari, come to think of it!)

Interestingly after I pressed my father to watch it, he had an entirely different reaction, commenting on the degradation of their society & integration of Western values. But that's a different review all together.

There are moments of sublime beauty, the cinematography and the eye to fine detail are exquisite, and this combined with the script, actors (That and the constant procession of gorgeous males) & humanity of the film found me elated by the final scenes.

kotori Dec 2004 - [e-mail]

Rating:
Summary: Wonderfully endearing...
Review: You can read the other reviews for the plot. Just placing my vote here. Highly recommended. Well done. Thoroughly enjoyed.

Rating:
Summary: Bollywood Subdued
Review: My friend, a doctor and a descendent of India by way of Kenya invites me to wonderful New Year's Eve parties at his house where men smoke Cuban cigars and drink fine liquor. Then everyone dances all night to pop-Indian sounds. Monsoon Wedding is in that spirit. This Bollywood film is subdued somewhat for some serious girl meets boy, looses boy, makes out with married man, and gets back boy that was an arranged husband anyhow. That's the main plot, but an Indian family is extended and talkative. Then they dance in persistent rains whirling in lovely silk.

Modern India is clawing to prosperity. Mira Nair is showing us an upper-middle class family with a big house. The father is breaking the bank to put on one whopper of a wedding and the relatives are flying in from America. Everyone speaks English for the most part and when they speak an Indian dialect, sub titles appear.

The wedding planner is from humble means but he is cell phoning his way to bigger things. He falls for the beautiful maid and hopes for a wedding of his own. So we have an upstairs, downstairs subplot. I recommend this movie, a snapshot of a place we would never go without American Express.


Rating:
Summary: Colorful and cultural, and taboos to boot
Review: This movie is an enjoyable introduction to Bollywood Indian movies without being one itself. It's much shorter than a Bollywood epic, and there are no choreographed music videos included as part of the story, even though there's a lot of singing and dancing.

This is in fact two love stories, the more touching one involving the domestic helper Alice, and the wedding planner P. K. Dubey. Back at the main story line, Lalit Verma, convincingly played by Naseeruddin Shah, has arranged a marriage for his daughter Aditi. It's a gala affair, with everything supposed to be perfect, but is in fact way over his financial capabilities.

Aditi however, has been seeing a married man, but unable to ascertain whether he will ever divorce his wife, she agrees to the arranged wedding. As the wedding date approaches, she again reaches out to her boyfriend, and it works out not to have been such a good idea after all.

Unable to live with her guilty conscience, she confesses all to her intended husband, whose initial reaction is understandable, but then he proves himself to be a real nice guy by forgiving her. (Reality check: This is an arranged marriage. He's never met the bride before. Doesn't know diddly squat about her. Did he forgive her because he fell in love with her at first sight?)Anyhoo, it's a romantic movie, so let's agree that he's a handsome, understanding, caring, unattached, straight, really sweet guy with a heart of gold. (Can we clone him?)

As the family gathers for the big day, cousin Ria observes some untoward behaviour patterns that she recognises, and puts the damper on an uncle's fun. Lalit Verma is now faced with a huge problem, and is forced to make an important family decision, which he does superbly.

As the festivities are in full swing in the pouring rain, we get a sneak peek at the guy chosen for Ria, and he's certainly breathtaking. Good luck Ria! (Monsoon Wedding 2 perhaps?)

Colorful and cultural, the movie has its share of stereotyped Bollywood characters, but smoothly blends traditional values with modern settings. It also touches on a lot of difficult subjects, and accomplishes this without affecting the overall lightness of the movie.

One I wouldn't mind seeing again.

Amanda Richards, September 14, 2004

Rating:
Summary: A MONSOON OF A MOVIE!
Review: I know, I know, I am late in seeing this movie. I have it on my Netflix queue, but other movies mysteriously move ahead of it :0). Anyway, I love Kama Sutra (I think Indira Varma is one of the most beautiful woman in the world), but it was my only introduction to Mira Nair's work. I didn't know what to expect from this movie, but it was such a breath of fresh air. I love the story and the scenery and music--all together--just took you to another place. My favorite characters are the cousin (it was such a touching moment when she was talking to her younger cousin in the kitchen and they touched noses to show their love for each other), the father (I cried when he was telling a relative the reason why he wanted them to leave the wedding) and the wedding planner (it was amazing how his character grew--I was laughing at him in the beginning and I was cheering him on at the end). Wonderful movie!

Rating:
Summary: Simply Sensational
Review: If readers are expecting a Bollywood-style offering from this movie, you would be sorely disappointed. There is neither a hero nor a heroine chasing after one another over dances and songs, no hero trying to save the heroine from bad guys and ended up happily together forever, no virginal heroine donning her white and pure sari taking a slow-motion shower under a waterfall. Rather, you are graced with a complex family story that slowly unfolds itself. The movie is split into few subplots such as the orphaned cousin who's got a dark secret that would only be revealed towards the end of the movie; a maid who is from Bihar (poor part of India) and who has given up hope in marrying a decent man but through fate, she would eventually find a shelter for her heart from the most unexpected source, the loud but funny event manager for the wedding; a reluctant bride whose heart belongs to a married man & yet, she finds the courage to be honest with the groom-to-be towards the end & doing the right thing; a father who's financially pushed to have the best wedding ever for the daughter & yet, his love and responsibility towards his family is absolute; the lust and desire that visiting cousins have for one another. Along the way, we are introduced to the vivacity of the Punjabi culture, the societal change of India caste-wise & career-wise (overseas bound), the assimilation of the old and new values. In the end, we would come to a realisation that this movie transcends cultures & that, it confronts issues that are pertinent to any families. There isn't much extra features in the DVD collection. The making of the movie is quite succinct & incomparable with the makings that are offered by Hollywood counterparts. Still, it's a feature that's worth exploring. The setting for this movie is in New Delhi. Highly recommended and enjoyable.