Rating: 
Summary: Enjoyable Distraction
Review: Mira Nair's latest romp into Indian culture takes us to the rain soaked outskirts of Delhi as the colorful tale Monsoon Wedding unfolds. Filmed on a tight schedule with minimal resources over a course of merely 30 days, the film chronicles the days leading up to the wedding of the daughter of Punjabi businessman Lalit Verma (Naseerudin Shah) and his high society wife Pimmi (Lillette Dubey). In Monsoon Wedding, Nair makes a 180 degree turn from her days of slum hopping in Salaam Bombay, by weaving aspects of India's rapid globalization into the thick fabric of Indian traditionalism. As patriarch Lalit golfs with his friends, he discusses his troubles financing the wedding despite his shipments to Macy's. All the while, his golf cart coasts past village women walking along the greens, donning fruit baskets on their heads as they have done for centuries. Meanwhile the comical marigold munching wedding planner Dubey (Rajiv Vaaz) talks on his cell phone with his stock-market obsessed mother who later laments in a single breath, the downturn of one of her investments before switching to complaints that her son has "not taken an interest in any girl and will never allow me to see the face of a grandson". Naseerudin Shah and Lilette Dubey give strong performances as the preoccupied parents of Aditi (Vasundhara Das) the daughter who tries to do the right thing by entering into an arranged marriage despite her passion for her former boss and married lover Vikram (Sameer Arya). Nair doesn't shy away from taboo topics as the arrival of a family friend leads the orphaned older niece Ria (brilliantly acted by Shefali Shetty) to expose a terrible secret from her past that threatens to break up a long friendship. Meanwhile Rahul (Randeep Hooda) an NRI from Australia and Ayesha (Neha Dubey), Aditi's promiscuous cousin act on each other's attractions towards one another under the very noses of the elders. Never one to lose sight of the labor class, Nair tenderly portrays the blossoming romance between wedding planner Dubey and the pretty young servant girl Alice (Tilotamma Shome). Despite brilliant performances by Naseerudin Shah as the dutiful father and uncle, Lilette Dubey, Rajiv Vaaz and Shefali Shetty, Monsoon Wedding is not without its weaknesses. The hand-held camera, a by-product of the low budget makes the film look at times more like a home video taken by the unsteady hand of a thirteen year old. Wavering shots, extreme close-ups and noticeable breaks in the film are distracting. Also disappointing was the pallid performance given by Vasundhara Das. As the confused bride, Das pouts and blinks, but for all her lip -biting and knit eyebrows, she appears to be acting in her own film. One begins to wish that she would return to her old lover and allow a romance to blossom between her understanding fiancé (Parvin Dabbas) and her more mature and worldly-wise cousin Ria. But Nair once again surprises at the end and manages to serve up a Bollywood style-ending that allows for an enjoyable distraction on any rainy, if not monsoonish afternoon.
Rating:
Summary: Expected a little more thunder.
Review: It's fun but Mira Nair hasn't been able to find her step since the phenomenal success of "Salaam Bombay." The acting is very natural, the cinematography is gorgeous, and you get a modern portrait of India, rather than some bloated view of its colonial past. There are lots of witty lines and it is a good story that pulls you along, but somehow it doesn't quite come together in the way I had hoped. Mira rather deftly handles the "family secret." But, she floods the screen with incidental characters, rather than reveal the deeper layers of her main characters. Fortunately, the actors convey a lot with their gestures.
Rating: 
Summary: monsoon wedding
Review: Fantastic. Reminded me of my own Punjabi wedding in Delhi (minus the child abuse). The dialogs, dancing, and interactions captured the essence of Indian life for most middle-upper class Indians.
The movie exudes the importance of rituals, something we so casually dismiss in the US.
Rating:
Summary: Bolywood Delight
Review: Monsoon Wedding was a wonderful film. The main characters in this film were very complex and interesting.. There were five interweaving stories in this film. all of these were centrifugal to the wedding. As a Panjabi, I beleive they captured the culture very well. Mira Nair should win an oscar for directing this production. if you are a big fan of Indian music you'll love this film. It mixes old bollywood style with a new flavour. Ultimately I give this film THREE thumbs up.
Rating: 
Summary: Hilariously Funny! Mira Nair At Her Best!
Review: Without a doubt, this is one of the funniest movies I've ever seen. This was the first time in my life that I had to pause a movie while I was watching it because I was laughing so hard that I almost urinated in my pants. I happen to be Indian, so I found added humor in all the hilariously foul words spoken in Hindi throughout the movie. The movie itself consists of two very compelling plots, one a major while the other a minor plot. The major plot concerns the wedding of Aditi, an Indian girl, to a "NRI" (Non-resident Indian) boy from the United States. Amidst the logistical chaos of marrying this boy, Aditi faces the added task of breaking off her relationship with a married man whom she had hoped would leave his wife for her. On top of that, she must break the news of her affair with this man to her husband-to-be. It's a moving story about loyalty, betrayal, and putting someone's past into perspective. Equally compelling is the sub-plot dealing with P.K. Dubey, the high-strung wedding planner who secretly laments the fact that he has successfully organized dozens of weddings but still hasn't found a bride to call his own. This character provides most of the funny parts of the movie, and some of the most touching ones as well. You'll fall in love with Dubey, and you'll cheer for him as he attempts to win the heart of a peasant girl. The only reason why I didn't give this movie a 5 star rating is because of the controversy that it stirred up in the Indian community; some of it which I consider to be legitimate. Indians are proud people who think themselves to be morally elevated, and many were upset to see a movie featuring Indians who freely blurt vulgarities, consume alcohol to the point of intense intoxication, and partake in pre-marital sex and extra-marital affairs. Mira Nair might make movies about Indian people, but she doesn't necessarily represent their values and beliefs, and she deserves a little discredit for selling-out. Regardless, you'll certainly get your money's worth after watching this movie. Monsoon Wedding is worthy of strong recommendation.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful slant on an Indian world
Review: If you don't count the hour I spent watching Lagaan (I tried to rent that one first, but it was out), Monsoon Wedding serves as my first introduction to the illimitable products of Bollywood, Bombay's equivalent for the American film scene. Put plainly, the movie is a gorgeous, light-hearted piece of visual fluff, proving a wonderful introduction into Indian life but possibly a bit over-the-top for the more critically minded viewer. Take the plot, for instance. It hinges upon the wedding of the only daughter of the father (whose name, I don't believe, was ever mentioned in a conspicuous manner). As many weddings are even in present day India, the couple is arranged, and the first, inevitably awkward meeting is at the engagement party, set only a week or so before the wedding. Yet the couple's whirlwind courtship proves only the backdrop: the real drama plays out in the various inter-personal relationships within the family unit. Who loves whom seems to be a popular topic. The wedding organizer takes one look at the comely servant and cannot forget her, nor does any of the resulting entanglements changes his heart. The sparks flying off the exchange student and the bride's lovely cousin are measurable in the rise of temperature. Who is seducing whom? Who has previously been seduced? With such a tangled web the watcher cannot be sure. What is certain, however, is that we are entranced by the telling even as we realize its unreality. The beautiful scene New Dehli presents to the Occidental viewer enhances this sense of otherworldliness. The director often chooses to add slices of every-day Indian city life throughout the picture: glorious colors continually overwhelm, as do the hordes of people and traffic that run through the narrow and crowded city streets. Though the pieces themselves are obviously shot from real life, the color and tableau-like quality make India seem like paradise, one which those of us in the West may wistfully enjoy, but never fully comprehend. The ritual of the wedding and its preceding ceremonies creates this same feeling: the entire party knows what words follow each other in succession, and they can all sing the tune as well. When the entire group gets up and begins to dance, their spontaneous gaiety is natural and carefree, born out of knowing that no matter what they do, they belong. Though there is a difference in classes, as shown clearly by the wedding scene, it is beyond this movie to do any explorations of any topic other than the superficial. The story almost has too many threads as it is, and so to remain light-hearted, it is fitting that it gloss over such problematic details. Other, more problematic details (abuse, infidelity) aren't glossed over, but instead are dealt with in such a quick manner as to show the movie's true emphasis. And that? That is to resolve a couple of problems, to have fun, and most of all, to make us feel good about the world, ourselves, and India in particular. Arranged marriages really aren't all that bad, are they? Indian families are all large and boisterous and happy. And the caste system prevents no one from finding his or her true happiness. But in the end, (and despite my griping) I had a wonderful time watching it, and in that respect, Monsoon Wedding is a complete success.
Rating:
Summary: Blissful Wedding in Rain with Shower of Marigold Flowers
Review: India is the country where more than 600 movies are produced every year. You might know the name of acclaimed directors like Satyajit Ray, but most of these films are in fact pure entertainment, dealing with very romantic love, and they are all full of dancing and songs, each film often running as long as 3 hours. Mira Nair's latest film goes (partly) back to her roots, and though "Monsoon Wedding" is not a musical, it gives good love stories and many beautiful songs, just old Hollywood romances did in the 1950s. If you have seen any Indian films -- particularly so-called Bollywood films (though not all Indian films are made in Bombay), "Monsoon Wedding" might be the best starting point for you. The film has two love stories: one about the bride Aditi Verma, who is living in New Delhi, and going to marry Hemant Rai, a computer expert in America. They will be married four days later in a traditional fashion, and their father Lalit Verma is really worried about the delayed preparation of the wedding. And the father of the bride has to welcome all the relatives coming from all over the world, as the chief of the family. But the bride Aditi is not as happy as she should be, because, as you will see, she cannot still forget the memories of her old love. The other love story goes alongside with the first one, describing the budding love between the wedding planner of this ceremony P.K. Dubey, and a timid girl Alice, maid working at the Verma family. Fast-talking Dubey falls for this innocent girl immediately, and shy Alice too for him, and as they are working for the preparation of the rich Vermas, they are going to know that the day of happiness is coming for them, too. Of these two loves in "Monsoon Wedding," the former one traces a rather old-fashioned way, maybe looking too soap-opera-ish to some people. Actually, many Bollywood films have similar stories, but as this film is much shorter than them, it is regrettable that the first story about the Verma family's wedding goes too fast. However, it is the second love story that makes up for any inadequate development of the other. The wedding planner, who complans that he has never planned his own wedding, finally finds his love, and when he proposes before his girl, with a charming token of love made from flowers of marigold, the scene will stay with you forever, making many of you choked with tears. Director Mira Nair, thus coupling two loves among each class of society -- high class and working class -- implies the existence of problems in India, using skillfully the emsemble cast surrounding the rich Verma family. The characters are all well-drawn with balanced view from the director, and though she never loudly accuses anything, Nair never fails to remind us that even the father of the bride, apparently all-powerful status of the family, has many things to worry about, making him a very humane figure. She even goes further than we expect, courageously suggesting a horrible sin in the family, something hideous which I ought to leave for you to find. But the most attractive part of "Monsoon Wedding" is the blissful feelings of the wedding ceremony (you can see two), and that feelings are the charm of the film. The film starts with a little bit in "DOGMA" style (the photographer being Declan Quinn, brother of actor Aidan), with a moving handy digital camera shooting the daily life of the Indian family, but wait! it slowly builds up to the happiness of this family. Yes, I can say the film invites you exactly to the "Monsoon Wedding," and you will definitely share the bliss of the moment. And the last song is so bewitching!
Rating:
Summary: A Rainy Wedding!
Review: There is a wedding in four days for the daughter of Lalit Vermat and it is stressing him out both emotionally and economically. Lalit is struggling to keep it together with the event organizer, P.K. Dubay, who is pondering over life more than working. Meanwhile, the daughter is trying to see her lover before the marriage, and the mother is on Lalit's case about their dreaming son. On top of this the older daughter, who is still unmarried, is hiding something from the family and a cousin is falling in love during the situation. When a woman says, "only brave warriors fall from their horses in battle, how can a kneeling coward know what a fall is?", she sums up the film's lesson.
Rating: 
Summary: Fabulous movie ruined by crass commercialism
Review: Let me begin by saying that Monsoon Wedding is an utterly fantastic film. Everything everybody else said to praise the film in their reviews is absolutely correct. Why am I giving such a terse review and such a low rating, then? Well, as some of you know, DVDs have a mode where they can disable most of the user controls -- you can't fast forward or search backward, you can't skip to a different chapter, you can't even enter the DVD menu. Most movies use this strictly for the copyright notice. This doesn't bother me at all. The Monsoon Wedding DVD, which I just purchased and brought home and sat down with a friend who had never seen the film to watch, uses this mode to force you, each and every time you want to watch your copy of Monsoon Wedding, to watch a trailer for another movie and a commercial for the Monsoon Wedding soundtrack. Even if you've seen these commercials a thousand times, still, you have to pay your dues and sit through the advertisements before you'll be allowed to watch your movie. Not only can you not skip them, you can't even fast forward through them. You'll know every word of these commercials as well as you know the movie. In fact, one could say that they've been more or less integrated into the movie by tying the two inextricably, except that at least with the movie you can skip to chapters you like or watch only parts, whereas theres no way around these if you wish to watch the film. ...
Rating:
Summary: ALL IN THE FAMILY
Review: This is another outstanding film by director Mira Nair, who has previously directed such wonderful films as Academy Award nominee "Salaam Bombay", the lush and erotic "Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love", and "Mississippi Masala". This is a director whose very touch turns all her films to gold. She is truly an artist, and her films are palpable with feeling and emotion that move the storyline. Though a low budget film, it features high budget, quality acting, as well as an absorbing story and world class direction. It focuses on the arranged marriage of a young, upper class, Punjabi woman in Delhi, India, which is a mecca for Punjabis. It offers a birdseye view at a family in transition, one that is ringing in new values, while maintianing the old ones. Moreover, as in all families, there are many joyous moments, as well as troubling ones. While the focus is on the wedding celebration and all the preparation and rituals surrounding it, there are five subplots in the film, all of which are interesting, but it is the acting by the ensemble cast that makes the film so memorable. Naseeruddin Shah gives an award calibre performance as Lalit Verma, the financially strapped patriarch who wants all to go right with the wedding, but who, at the eleventh hour, is forced to confront a secret tragedy from the past and make a decision that shows his sensitivity and love for his family. His is truly a magnificent performance. Shefali Shetty, with her large, expressive eyes, is superb as Ria Verma, Lalit's dead brother's daughter, who is forced to reveal a terrible secret from her past in order to prevent a tragedy from taking place in the present. She gives a performance so soulful that the viewer cannot fail to be moved. Aditi, the daughter who is to be married, is a walking paradox, agreeing to an arranged marriage, while simultaneously having an affair with a married man. The role is beautifully played by relative newcomer, Vasundhara Das, who in real life is an Indian pop star. Her prospective bridegroom, Hemant Rai, is played with modern sensiblility, by the very attractive Parvin Dabas, a real life, male fashion model, in his first silver screen role.
Vijay Raaz, in a breakout performance as P. K. Dubey, the wedding events coordinator, adds a deft comedic touch. It is his poignant wooing of the Verma family's maid, Alice, that nearly steals the show. Look for the nightime marigold scene in which Dubey puts Shakespeare's Romeo to shame. Tilotama Shome, in her first silver screen role, brings a subtle, sensual shyness to the part of Alice that is touching. Theirs is an interesting coupling, as P. K. Dubey personifies the new India, with his cell phone, his entreperneurial flair, and his email address, while Alice, the shy servant girl who is always dressed in a sari, seems to symbolize a more traditional India. The film is a polyglot of languages, with English, Hindi, and Punjabi spoken at different times by various family members. I confess that I found it a little confusing to have the subtitles crop up, on and off, and I also found the English spoken a little difficult to understand, at times. So, thanks to DVD technology, I was able to watch the film with English subtitles on the entire time, so as not to miss a thing. The cinematography is beautiful in this film, with lush, vibrant colors throughout. The occasional use of handheld cameras throughout the film gives it the feel of a docudrama, at times, which is very effective, as the film is a voyeuristic look into a family. Moreover, this filming technique adds to the cacaphony of feeling and emotion that abounds in this film. The DVD offers a limited number of features, the most interesting one being the director's commentary, which is an insightful look into the making of the film, as well as the backround and reasons for each scene. It is clear that for the director, who is herself Punjabi, this film was a labor of love. Bravo!
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