Monsoon Wedding

Year:	2001
Running Time:	114 minutes
Aspect Ratio:	1.85:1 (XWide)
Certificate:	– Not suitable for under 15s
Subtitles:	The level of subtitling in this film is unknown to WSC
Directed by	Unknown
Starring:	Unknown

Review: "Monsoon Wedding" is the story of a marriage in modern upper middle class India. Aditi Verma (Vasundhara Das) is the daughter in a family being stretched to the limit by the financial burden of putting on a huge event for their guests. Her ongoing affair with a TV producer and the unwelcome return of h er uncle combine to ensure that the path to the wedding day is anything but smooth.

Vijay Raaz is the hapless P K Dubey employed to oversee the arrangements for the wedding and his constant misfortunes, agitated manner and fledgling romance with the family's servant Alice provide much of the bathetic humour in this truly hilarious light comedy. There are also gems of performances from the Verma's highly westernised son, in frequent conflict with the more traditionalist members of his family; including the head of the family himself, trying in vain to control the proceedings.

Nair's direction is inspired in its exploration of the arranged marriage, not delving into the legitimacy of parental influence, but concentrating on the strain of conflicting loyalties. This is further explored in the exposure of Aditi's abusive uncle, following years of silence from a fear of alienating such a wealthy member of the wider family. The result is a gently moving film, interspersed by scenes of comic farce. Based in India, the film manages to portray universal themes of family division and reconciliation, the strains between conflicting cultures and generations, and their farcical results. It's a film that is as colourful and vibrant as its subject matter and above all it is great fun.

Two things strike you about "Monsoon Wedding". One is that in Western cinema there are hardly any movies like this. The other thing is that there should be.

Stuart Jarvis