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MONSOON WEDDING Send This Review to a Friend
A triumph with a strong ethnic character is Mira Nair's "Monsoon Wedding," which is exhilaratingly entertaining while steeped in the ritual of a Punjabi wedding in New Delhi and replete with the intricacies of family life and conflict. Director Nair, bending some of the so-called Bollywood film traditions to her own vision, depicts a situation in which Aditi (Vasundhara Das) is about to enter an arranged marriage with a young man she barely knows but she is still winding up an affair with her older, married former boss. She believes her marriage should start out with honesty and that she should tell her finance about the affair and her latest tryst. How will he react?
The film thrives on assorted portraits of family members, the inevitable crises, the different levels of coping, the longings of Aditi's parents and the colorfulness of the wedding itself, which takes place in the midst of heavy rain. Rich in a musical score, the film oozes warmth and even contains dance sequences, but the dancing and music are entwined with the story according to Nair's concept, not dragged in as they are in so many typical Bollywood films.
The bride's parents, Latit Verma (Naseeruddin Shah) and Pimmi (Lillete Dubey), are a traditional couple who are eager for all to go well with the big event and are looking after the myriad details. There is also a subplot involving Ria Verma (Shefali Shetty), who is nursing a secret grievance that leads to a major emotional upheaval and moral choice for Latit. Meanwhile, the bride's parents are increasingly perplexed about what to do concerning their son, who adores cooking, which his father regards as too effeminate.
There is also a sort of upstairs/downstairs romance brewing in the screenplay by Sabrina Dhawan. The intense, manipulative but amusing hired caterer P. K. Dube (Vijay Raaz) is falling in love with the family maid Alice (Tilotama Shome), and the relationship is handled with touching tenderness.
It is amazing how much spirit and humor Nair pumps into "Monsoon Wedding." The film, which was a hit at the 2001 Toronto International Film Festival, is a merry whirl that keeps spinning with enchantment. We get to know the characters well and it is as if we were at a huge party peeking behind doors to learn about private feelings and emotions. Declan Quinn's photography is nothing short of sumptuous, and Nair paces her film with a crescendo that leads to the wedding itself and the celebration by participants who refuse to let a family crisis or a symbolic downpour dampen the occasion.
It is also enjoyable to attend an Indian movie wedding for a change instead of the by-now-cliched Italian and Jewish movie weddings that have become so familiar. "Monsoon Wedding," a further coup by the maker of "Salaam Bombay!", has all the ingredients for a popular film that could be enjoyed just about everywhere in the world. A USA Films release.
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