Monsoon Wedding (2002) Rated: R for language, including some sex related dialogue. Runtime: 114 mins. Director: Mira Nair Writer: Sabrina Dhawan Tagline: The Rain is coming... and so is the Family Cast: Naseeruddin Shah, Lillete Dubey ....complete cast Genre: Comedy / Romance
Most memorable quote: " In 10 minutes exactly and approximately!"
Director Mira Nair (Mississippi Masala) is a master of filling the screen with beautiful and stunning imagery. In Monsoon Wedding, her artist's palette is a traditional wedding arch of marigolds, and richly colored, elegant silk fabrics juxtaposed to the grimy, chaotic and polluted streets of Delhi, India. From the opening scene, she captivates you with the visuals and manipulates your mood with music, ripening it for the coming story.
In Monsoon Wedding, frayed nerves prevail as we meet the Vermas, a respectable, upper-middle class Punjabi family living in Delhi, India. Lalit Vermas (Naseeruddin Shah), barks orders and argues with family members as he prepares for the wedding of his daughter. We get a great understanding of the Punjabi extended family clan as relatives of the Vermas arrive several days before the arranged wedding of their Westernized daughter, Aditi (Vasundhara Das). It is a bit difficult at first to sort out all of the family relationships and discern the cousins from the siblings from the in-laws - and the polysyllabic names offer no help - but all begins to fall in place and the infectious script and dialogue mesmerizes.
Lalit is the patriarch of the Vermas family and also acts as the center-point of the story. Doe-eyed and mild-mannered we watch him self-implode as he dotes over his daughter, deals with the wedding plans, and troubles himself with why his son is more interested in watching cooking shows and dancing than he is with being a typical teenage boy. The cultural barriers come down as you realize that what makes him a father in India is not that much different than here in the US.
The traditional Punjabi wedding begins with a celebration several days before the actual wedding itself. Family members meet to dance, talk, and drink. The bride and groom only meet each other a few days before the wedding. This concept no doubt worked for generations of Punjabis, but somehow we get the feeling that in today's India, with its cell phones, loud western-tinged music, and MTV like television shows this sort of marriage can't possibly succeed. Especially considering that groom Hemant (Parvin Dabas), lives and works in Houston, Texas as a computer programmer and bride Aditi is looking for the marriage to wean her from her affair with a married television show host.
Just when the events appear to be stabilizing, writer Sabrina Dhawan introduces a new twist, usually with just enough conflict or controversy to keep us on our toes. She seamlessly weaves five separate plot threads throughout the main story, including one that involves a deep, dark secret about Lalit's brother.
The main attraction for me throughout the entire movie is that of the brilliant colors and textures of the Indian culture that Nair brings to the screen. The actual wedding celebration takes place during a drenching downpour. But the cheerful exterior of the characters, the rich colors of Indian garb and the brightly hued plastic umbrellas invite you to remove your shoes and join the celebration in song and dance.
Monsoon Wedding is a must see movie, if not for the exciting visuals and entrancing soundtrack, then for the artistic style of storytelling and constantly engaging characters. Monsoon Wedding could very well be a pilot for a Dallas-like television series...a much more beautiful Dallas television series however.
Monsoon Wedding (2002)
