User Reviews

I just finished watching this beautiful film for the third time. The first time I saw it, I really liked it. The second time I got more out of it and I liked it even more. I just finished watching it with the director's commentary and I can honestly say I had no idea how good this film actually was! It was shot entirely on location, in just 30 days on a very low budget with a cast of 68 and only a handful of them were real actors! (A great deal of actors who were originally cast in this movie pulled out at the last minute or didn't even bother to show up) I guess that is the beauty of this movie though. Nair wanted to capture the essence of the Punjabi people in a true setting. She didn't want to go for the big elaborate sets where people spontaneously break out into a big song and dance number like you see in a lot of Bollywood movies. Nair wanted her characters to start singing because that is what they do. One of her comments compared Indians to the Irish as two cultures who love to use song. Throughout the whole movie, you get such a feeling of reality as if you are a voyeur who is really looking into these people's lives. They are lying naked and vulnerable before us. The character of Alice really stood out for me. Tilotama Shome's talent radiated from her and I found myself wondering what other films she had done. In Nair's commentary, the answer was revealed: ZERO. Shome was an English Literature student in Delhi University. The scene wear Alice is pretending to be a bride (like a child playing dress up) is so simple yet so powerful and beautiful. I have a few reviews stating that Tilotama was miscast as the maid. That she was to "elegant" and self aware to play such a character, however, that is exactly what Nair wanted in the character of Alice. Nair wanted to make a statement about people. Our beauty and presence comes from within our soul, not from our lot in life. Tilotama Shome can have a brilliant career ahead of her if she wants it. It is also worthwile to mention two more exceptionally powerful performances by Vijay Raaz (who was a struggling actor before this movie) as Dubey (Alice's love interest) and Shefali Shetty, as Ria (who has a dark secret that can ruin the binds of family) These three performances were outstanding, but the entire cast was incredible. This movie is definitely worth seeing, but I really have to recommend you watch it like I did - more than once. It really is worth it.

I was skeptical at first about seeing this movie. I'm not into Bollywood movies at all. I saw this film with a high school senior class in Newark, New Jersey and they were captivated by the film as well as myself. Mira Nair is becoming one of the world's best known film directors as I write this review with Namesake on it's way to release. The characters were fully fleshed out rather than just caricatures. Who didn't love the wedding planner who curses like a sailor and the servant who succumbed to his charm and spell? Who didn't love the actual couple based on arrangement between families? The bride has a secret that could have destroyed or stopped the marriage. My sister's friend is probably going to be married in New Delhi herself. I wonder how similar and different the wedding and reception will be. From what I know about Indian weddings, I can invite you which means you, your family, friends, and neighbors. They appear to have a really good time at weddings in India. There was a serious topic that could have dampened or ruined the movie but it was well-orchestrated by the director.

This movie is full of joy. Happy, cheerful, with so many characters, and most of them good, interesting ones. It is the story of a wedding in upper class Delhi. A large family spread all over the world reunites for the big event and all the ties and feelings between siblings, cousins, parents, friends are shown and expressed in a light but touching way. Love, friendship, envy, pain, sorrow, loneliness, passion and hope in a nearly perfect mix. This movie is full of colours and music, and it is an accurate portrait of modern India (the wealthier part of it at least). All actors are good, and some of them are gorgeous too. Very refreshing as there are no super stars, no blood, no perfect special effects, no sex. Mira Nair you are great ! Hope you'll give us many other movies this good.

I went to to see this film almost by chance and I was rewarded by a gem. A truly sublime mix of musical, social comment and romantic movie-making at its best. Unlike many others I was not familiar with Mira Nair's work at all, but after having seen how she delicately handles child-abuse, pre-arranged-marital-infidelity, growing old and trying to be different as an upper middle class Indian boy, being a flirtatious, bored but basically settled non-resident Indian housewife, or being a too well-doing for your own class "wedding-parties producer" desperately seeking for love - I have surrendered!

This is a Great Film by a Great Director and you might not want to miss it...

It's only March, but I already nominate "Monsoon Wedding" as one of the best movies of the year.

Yeah, we've seen ethnic weddings/family gatherings before ("Lovers and Other Strangers," "Wedding Banquet," "The Godfather," "Avalon," "What's Cooking," "Tortilla Soup," among others), but this is still an original.

Not just because it takes place in India, not just because the characters come in from the Indian diaspora of IT jobs in the U.S., Australia, and the Middle East to the old homestead, and switch between Hindi and English mid-sentence, and switch comfortably between tradition and modernity.

But because these are completely wholly-formed, original characters and a sophisticated story. Yeah I was confused sometimes about who's related to whom, but from the rebellious teen-age boy dreaming of being a chef, to the bride with a secret lover, to the Houston engineer come home for an arranged marriage, to the complicated intra-family obligations and past positive and negative interactions, to cousins, aunts and uncles who genuinely love each other -- all are fully realized and completely believable, being both very individual and very universal.

Only a smidgen of a coincidence in the last moments of a too neat happy ending for a very sympathetic character mars the story, but understandably the audience cheers at the end.

A bonus is the wonderful use of Indian music -- I have zero idea if it's folk or Bollywood music they're singing but the soundtrack is exotic and exuberant as the characters use it to liberate thoughts and feelings within the structure of wedding rituals, with dancing as well. Stay through the credits as the ritual continues.

I'm ready to go see it again any time I'm feeling down.

(originally written 3/11/2002)

Watching this movie was, for someone such as me, who had fallen in love with Delhi and NSD(National School of Drama, New Delhi), almost simultaneously (no, I was not a student there; I just went to watch their plays) more than a decade ago, a journey down memory lane. And not just me! Many of my friends, who spent a considerable time in Delhi at some or other point of their life, agreed with me on this point. In the words of one of my friends,"Monsoon Wedding is a documentary about Delhi.". For me, it was thrilling to view the places near Jama Masjid, where once I spent many afternoons at my friend's home, (and surely, nor far from where Dubey's residence would be!) after so many years.

But then what can I do? "We are like that only."

This movie has some of the best Indian actors, such as Naseeruddin Shah, Khulbhushan Kharbanda and Rajat Kapoor in it. But the guy who beats all of them and steals the show is our Dubeyji, Vijay Raaz. I had noticed him first in the movie "Jungle", where his portrayal of an almost silent (had he taken Omerta, by any chance?) bandit-gang member was excellent; but in Monsoon Wedding, his portrayal of Dubeyji beat all these first-rate actors. I've been a great fan of Naseeruddin Shah for quarter of a century now; but in this movie, my vote goes to Raaz.

The most striking feature of this movie is Mira Nair's ultimate attention to detail. (I think this is also a major factor that adds such authenticity to the character of Dubey!). From the Hindu ritualistic red-thread worn by Shah on his wrist (it must be put for the movie, Shah being a Muslim in real life, or was it that his real-life Hindu wife made him wear that!), to the pair of shorts worn by Raaz, Nair & Co. has painstakingly paid enough amount of attention to details. A Dubey would surely dress, talk and carry himself the way depicted in this movie. His choice of profanities are the most authentic that one would hear on the streets of Delhi. Alice and Ria also put very powerful performances!

This movie took me back to Delhi, and to the corridors of the Univ. I (and Nair, much before I, for that matter!) once walked on. Anyone who loves, or plans to fall in love with, Delhi should watch this movie, because as Mauz once said, "Who would go away, Mauz, leaving the labyrinths of Delhi behind?" (Kaun jaye, Mauz, Dilli ki galiyan chhod kar?).

Notes: The following is in response to some of the comments by Western reviewers.

1) Just because he addresses his nephew as "idiot", the bride's father is not mean and abusive; this is just a term of endearment. I guess, this is just a matter of cultural difference; things that are accepted in the Orient may be completely offensive in the Occident, and vice versa. This reminds me of the autobiographical note by the Egyptian born Nobel laureate, Prof. Ahmed Zewail, whose (toally accepted and used in the Arab world) figure of speech "I will kill you" terrified a classmate at Caltech (or was it Berkeley?).

2) Some people thought that the two guys sharing a bed (when the young girl offers a kind of striptease show to the Australian guy) was a hint at homosexuality; it was not! I don't mean that homosexuality does not exist in India; but it's quite common in India for people to share a bed when there's a shortage of beds (especially when a number of relatives and guests come down for, say, a wedding, to stay overnight, and then mostly younger members of the family are pushed to share beds.).

Note: Robert de Niro and Hervey Keital slept on the same bed in "Mean Streets", but they were not gay either!

3) Would the maid and the wedding planner be allowed to dance with the upper-class family? My Answer is: I think, yes! Most of the Punjabi weddings include Whiskey/alcohol in the menu (at least, for the important guests), and once you have alcohol in your veins, Universal Brotherhood (Bhai-chara in Hindi) prevails. I, in spite of not being a Punjabi or a Native Delhiite, took part in such wedding dances myself at times, and had seen with my own eyes such situations.

Here's a movie which is not made for arty cinema lovers per se. It captures the craziness surrounding a typical North Indian wedding. I liked the lead characters since they were credible and interesting. They were so normal people unlike mainstream Indian cinema from Bollywood. It made me chuckle at times. -gg

I really liked this film. As the movie progressed I quickly formed a bond with the characters and felt they were all my close friends and I was somehow involved in the story. I truly got caught up in the emotion and the evolution of the story and frequently laughed and cried. Although the wedding was the climax of the film, it was not what the film is about. The colors were exquisite, the music and dancing delightful and the people gorgeous. The acting was superb. If there was anything negative to say, I did have some trouble understanding some of the dialogue because of the accents and fast talking. But I intend to see it several times more. Thanks for a great film.

In Delhi, the wealthy father of the bride (Lalit, played by N. Shah) prepares an elaborate wedding. We meet his extended family, arriving from as far as America for the wedding, beginning with a formal engagement party 4 days before. Several subplots are followed: Additi, the bride, has chosen an arranged marriage instead of waiting for her married lover to leave his wife. Ria, her cousin, has never married and is being pestered by all concerned. We learn that Ria's father, Lalit's big brother, has passed away and so Lalit is her father-figure as well. Dubey, the wedding organizer, becomes smitten with Alice, Lalit's maid. As the days pass, family joys and family secrets are revealed.

I cannot praise this movie enough. First of all, kudos to N. Shah for a sensitive, complex portrayal that never, for a moment, feels like acting. Without hand-held camera pretensions, Monsoon Wedding nonetheless feels more like meeting a family at a big affair than watching a movie. It is real and intimate, yet magical. All the performances are good; Rajat Kapoor as an uncle with a secret is particularly powerful, and bears a striking resemblance to a younger Donald Sutherland.

We see Indian society as India sees it. My coworker, Sreeman, tells me that everyone attends neighborhood weddings; that an average wedding has 800–900 guests, and his had 1200. Traditionalism matters, but modernity matters as well. At one point, Lalit and Dubey argue over the wedding tent; should it be white, the modern (Western) way, or should it be colorful? Lalit demands color and Dubey orders "the old kind." The struggle between modern and traditional ways is one of the primary undercurrents of the film, embodied by Additi's choice, in fact, we meet her married lover as the host of a TV talk show discussing traditional versus modern ways.

Another undercurrent is finding love, impediments to love, and choices about love. Additi, Dubey, Ria, and another cousin, Rahul, all have barriers to overcome before they have a chance at happiness.

But the main theme is family, and this huge, chaotic family is a wonder to behold. You can't always tell who's related to whom, but you get the sense that they can't either, and coming from a large, extended family myself, I know that's how it is. Family is everything to Lalit, yet he communicates harshly with a son he doesn't understand, and calls nephew Rahul "idiot." Yet his love and devotion are clear, and he is the real hero of this film, coming through for everyone and stretching himself to the limit.

ok first id like to say im not to familiar with the customs from that region, but i saw the movie anyway and i liked it. the different story lines, the colorful characters, the music. i was really pleased with the ending.i might go so far as to i was moved, by the entire movie. i think it was done very well, enough so that id like to see more.

I really loved this movie. It was the first DVD I bought when I got a player. The story is rich and full of meaning, the actors are wonderful and the music is awesome. As another reviewer mentioned, I am trying to pass the word about this movie to everyone I can. PLEASE just don't compare it to My Big Fat Greek Wedding! That movie was cute and maybe more people could relate to it, but that is because it lacked any real substance. I didn't hate it, but it doesn't begin to touch Monsoon Wedding's issues: family, trust, abuse, love, grief, joy, tradition and oh so much more. When you are done seeing this movie, you want to see it again. And my first time I did just that. I watched it one evening and got up and watched it again the next day. Now, I consider this a really substantial movie, but I have to be petty for just one moment and say... hot Indian guys! I mean HOT! All right,I digress. This is the best movie I have seen in a LONG time.

I have to admit that I don't really know much about East Indian weddings, so what I saw in "Monsoon Wedding" was totally new. Focusing on the various events and revelations surrounding a wedding in India (no, this isn't a South Asian version of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding"), the movie is really something. I will say that as for director Mira Nair, I liked her "Mississippi Masala" better, but this one is still interesting. We may think of Indian movies as over-the-top musicals, but this shows that there are other kinds of cinema coming from the subcontinent. The only cast member whom I recognized was Roshan Seth (you may remember him from "Gandhi" and "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom").

All in all, a pretty neat movie.

If you're expecting an "exotic India" kind of movie, you'd be better off not seeing it. This is a contemporary film, and it's made with love. Acting is terrific, and it becomes obvious that actors had so much synergy while working on the movie. Only a very cynical person wouldn't be emotionally touched by the story and the characters. A great film to see with your significant other on a weekend. Warm fuzzy feelings all the way!

This is a truly beautiful, thoughtful, humorous and wonderful film about the human spirit, the importance of family and the healing power of unconditonal love. The acting was strong, the script was great, and the men were FOYNE! I loved especially Parvin Dabas who played Hemit (the romantic interest/fiancee of Aditi).

This is Mira Nair's strongest work to date. I am glad to see other people enjoyed it, too.

I first saw this film in Mumbai, where though I missed the sub-titles that made my appreciation of its humour clearer, I was surrounded by the atmosphere of a large Indian crowd, the plaintive cinema advertising (Please do not spit or urinate in the street!)and the positive expectation created by friends who had already seen it back home and enjoyed it.

The characters are wonderful and the film is well scripted to make maximum money by appealing to an international audience, making it easy for Americans, Australians, Dubai residents and more to identify with people in the movie.

The focus is on the family coping with each other and each member of the family facing him/herself as the wedding draws near. Though they are well off superficially, they are feeling the pressure of impending change. There is a great deal of interest in each person's circumstances. The film-maker withholds moral judgment of the main characters, but occasionally puts their "problems" into proportion by incorporating powerfully atmospheric street scenes where the masses of the city population, handkerchiefs over mouths as an optimistic prophylactic as fight for survival in the city of 20 million.

The wedding broker's sub-plot is both comic and touching. What he achieves on a personal level gives us more satisfaction that the outcome of the real couple.

I disagree with another reviewer who describes this film as cheerful throughout. I have already indicated two aspects which make viewers less than comfortable (the predicament of the general population, the pathos of the parallel story); there is also the sinister amorality of two of the main characters which are dark elements until they are exposed and partially resolved as the film proceeds.

In an understated manner, the film depicts the traditions of the various Hindu marriage ceremonies. There are some beautifully detailed touches (eg the elaborate rangoli of orange and maroon marigolds down each side of the main drive of the family home). Other tiny decisions would touch at the heart of an Indian away from home or caught between two cultures (eg a volume of Rabindranath Tagore poetry contrasting as bedtime reading for one of the girls compared with Cleo for the other).

The Music and Dance make for a great souvenir CD if you can get hold of it. Though they are woven into the story-telling instead of being patched-in as you might expect of a Bollywood production, there is still a loving nod to the Indian seductive movements of body and melody. That funny little nod of the head we associate with India is there too.

Not a lot has been missed to take us to the wedding in our imaginations. We are passive observers, as the characters on screen deal with what life throws them. But as we leave the theatre, we find ourselves thinking about our own challenges, flirtations, foolishness.

See the film. See if you agree with me there's MUCH more than cheerfulness in it.

It's surprising how often the ratings belie the movie or vice versa. This movie is an entertaining collection of love stories which deftly cuts across so many barriers,whether they be cultural, social, class or religion. It is funny in a very real and potent way and the character development has been executed to great details in an effortless fashion. That probably is one of the hallmarks of a really gifted director.

The story revolves around the preparations of an Indian arranged marriage. The main characters are the bride,her father and a marriage arrangement contractor. All dealing with their own constraints and still trying to give their hopes wings. What is remarkable is that this movie has characters who show courage when they have a lot to lose and win higher rewards like love,trust and self-respect in the process.

Kudos to the Monsoon wedding team!

Very well made film from India gives us a contemporary look at a culture that isn't seen very often. The wardrobe is very detailed and interesting as we see how they dress in todays world. Some wear the old style sari's while others have on modern suits and other clothing. Lots of different story angles going on all at the same time and the one I enjoyed most is the wedding planner PK who finds a girl while on the job. Some of the stories are very serious while others are a little humorous and some work better than others but by the time the film ends I had a little smile on my face. Just to remind myself that I did enjoy this film.

Mira Nair has outdone herself in this film by giving us such a glorious look at India's upper classes during a pre-arranged wedding. She has such a sense of color and spectacle, yet she doesn't beat around the bush in presenting us the reality of the situation and treating it with dignity and realism.

The hypocrisy of Bollywood is legendary by not attacking issues in their films, yet they are real and need to be addressed. The mere fact that this bride is not what she's supposed to be on the surface, is an eye-opener. Then there's a relative who is a pedophile and who has hidden behind a benevolent facade only to pry on the little ones of his own people. This is the first time I have seen such frank treatment of a troubled family, who is very happy, on the surface.

The acting is first rate with outstanding performances by Mr. Shah, as the father of the bride and his daughter, Ms. Das. Not only that, but Ms. Das has one of the most beautiful faces in the Indian cinema and certainly deserves to be seen anywhere with those gorgeous eyes of hers.

The weakest part, I thought, was that of the romance of the party planner and the maid. I mean, HELLO, Ms. Nair, do you think for one nanosecond this uppity family would have allowed the maid and her newly found love participate in the wedding party? I don't think so!

The color of Delhi's streets, the magnificent wedding costumes and the glorious background music are used with knowledge and a sure hand by Ms. Nair.

Having seen all her films, we await eagerly for more of her view of her home land. We can even go singing in the rain after seeing the film!

*This may contain spoilers*

For me it was more like watching a home video than a movie. Indian Punjabi weddings are like that, loud and colorful, people coming in from practically everywhere, weird uncles and aunties who just don't know how to mind their own business, cousins coming in from abroad who have no clue whatsoever, IITian settled abroad. This movie never fails to entertain me, i must have seen it 20 times but every time i find something new in it. The most disturbing part was the issue of incest brought up. A lot of people feel it's uncommon in India but the sad reality is, it's not. It's very common, the thing is people hardly come out, it's under the covers and we have to accept this reality. The wonderful part was, a lot of people got to know about the issue and took notice. My father cries every time he watches the movie, esp. the scenes related to Shefali. I loved Naseer's character, he was like just another father cribbing over money spent on he marriage at the same time, being the happiest man on earth and going to every extent to ensure a great wedding. Every character in the movie was well sketched in terms of having their own unique characters, Dubeyji being this harassed wedding planner in love with the house maid, that aunty from Australia who has her own story to tell, the brother being a little anti social and a bit feminine according to the father (which was really cute, the relationship), the mother who smokes in the loo, the young cousin trying to impress the boy, loud uncle. Shefali's character was beautiful, her past and her present just gets twisted when the uncle enters the household and how she tries to protect her cousin. I have always liked movies which show strong human tendencies & human relationships and this was one of them. This movie was a huge hit abroad as well just because, people could relate to the movie. It is everyone's story, me, ur's, anyone's !

Mira Nair's Monsoon Wedding is about a big upper-middle-class punjabi family who unite for a wedding. The movie is beautifully packaged for a foreign audience... a fact which is well evident in its winning the Golden Lion at Venice earlier this year. On home ground though, the movie almost falls flat on its face.

For those living in India, specially the north, the opulence, the ostentatiousness, the ironical paradoxes and most of all, the boisterous happiness of punjabi culture are nothing new. Its something we live amongst, something we've come to take for granted. This is nothing that'll enchant an Indian audience. So remove the captivating charm of the above, and whats left is a slide-show of tens of ultra familiar characters and their even more familiar relationships.

Sabrina Dhawan's script makes no attempts to go deep into the minds of the characters....though it would make the movie an amazing social documentary for the indian viewer, the international audience would find it too complex a drama. It is full of dry humour and ironical moments. The dialogue is well written, with nobody speaking even a single line out of character.

The actors have performed well. My pick among the hordes of actors has to be Vijay Riyaz as PK Dubey. Though she appears to be on the verge of being typecast, Shefali Shetty comes a close second with a strong dramatic role. Khulbhushan Kharbanda, Rajat Kapoor, Lilette Dubey, Neha Dubey and co. give in satisfactory performances with Naseeruddin Shah displaying his mastery of the art in the last few minutes. Vasundhara Das goes through the film with the same i'm-confused-but-what-dyou-think-you-are expression on her face.

The musical score, both original and non-original, is brilliant. Sukhwinder Singh's amazing bhangra composition translates to music the upbeat, high-voltage, jolly mood of the marriage. Songs from old Hindi movies are used very well to accentuate the emotion prevalent. The background music does a good anough job of making the atmosphere palpable.

Declan Quinn's camera takes you from your viewer's seat into the life of the movie...a feat not many cinematographers can boast of. The hand-held camera floats from one character's life to another's, giving a realistic marriage-video feel.

Despite quality work the cast and crew, not to forget Mira Nair's competent direction skills, what lets down the native viewer is a script exclusively packaged for a foreign audience.

6/10

I really wanted to like this film since so many other serious filmgoers were raving about the quality of the film. I found the story to be lacking. There are far too many characters in this film and little depth dedicated to the development of each individual. There is an element of insincerity in the film. Is this an exploration of modern day India, colliding with modern day manners? or is this just a happy confection dedicated to the idea that all's well that ends well as long as we can celebrate with a party?

The bride to be is in love with a married television producer who will never leave his wife. When she breaks up with him, she decides that she needs to come clean with her husband to be before they can honestly begin their life together. How many men would go for this? She was obviously emotionally entangled with this other man yet will go ahead with this new marriage because it will take her away from India and give her a fresh start.

I was looking for a film that spoke authentically about emotions and love. This wasn't the one.

The search continues.