Monsoon Wedding Review
by Robin Clifford (robin AT reelingreviews DOT com)March 11th, 2002
"Monsoon Wedding"
Latit Verma (Naseeruddin Shah) and his wife Pimmi (Lillete Dubey) are in the final stages of marrying off their daughter Aditi (Vasundhara Das) in a traditional arranged contract even as the girl continues an affair with her married boss. But this is not the only drama that will take place over the next four days as relatives from all over the world descend on Delhi for the wedding ceremony in Mira Nair's "Monsoon Wedding."
Helmer Nair has concocted a kitchen-sink, soap opera kind of film, from the script by Sabrina Dwahan, with many story threads and subjects ranging from pedophilia and child abuse to budding romance, steamy flirtation, an adulterous bride, and elaborate wedding plans that harkens back to the Spencer Tracy version of "Father of the Bride."
As dad fusses over the details of the expensive (and constantly getting more so) wedding, he is continuously on the phone grousing at event manager, P.K. Dube (Vijay Raaz), over one infraction or another in the preparations. Dube is distracted in his efforts by the Verma family's virtuous young maid Alice (Tilotama Shome) and the lifelong bachelor may finally have found true love.
Other intrigues take place as Aditi's unmarried cousin Ria (Shefali Shetty) shows strong hostility toward her uncle's best friend in a story thread that will reveal a deep, dark secret. Another cousin, vivacious teenager Ayesha (Neha Dubey), goes against her traditional upbringing as she makes flirtatious advances toward Rahul Chadha (Randeep Hooda), a Sydney college student returning home after years away. Add to this mix the throng of soon-to-be in-laws that needs to be fed and feted for the duration of the festivities.
With so much going on, so many story threads and so many characters, the film seems rushed at 113 minutes. All the stories - comedy, romance and drama - are given equal weight and time, though some are more complex and needed further examination. The anchor for the film, and one of the best characters, is Latit. He is a true father of the bride and shows that dads the world over want the best for their little girls on that very important occasion. Shah gives complexity to his character as the man not only has to cope with the financial headaches of the event, he must also take a stand in support of his niece, even if it causes a family scandal.
The bride's tale, which should be as important as any story, is shallow and uninvolving, mainly due to the near vacuous performance by Vasundhara Das. The actress is beautiful and exotic looking but does not come across with anything that approaches sympathetic. A more significant story is that between event manager Dube and shy, attentive Alice. Dube's fumblings in his awkward courtship are endearing and bound to tug on even the toughest film buff's heartstrings, with Vijay Raaz giving full development to the character of the ambitious P.K.
The production is bright and colorful, especially the gorgeous costuming by Arjun Bhasin and festive sets - marigolds are a prominent feature - by Stephanie Carroll that give a vivid color palette for cinematographer Declan Quinn to play with.
"Monsoon Wedding" tries to cover too many bases and makes too many statements in its relatively economical runtime, using symbolism in place of character development (with Naseeruddin Shah and Vijay Raaz notable exceptions). Nair does capture the complexity of a big family and its trials and tribulations during such an important occasion. I give it a B.
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