Cast: Naseeruddin Shah, Lillete Dubey, Shefali Shetty, Vijay Raaz, Tilotama Shome, Vasundhara Das, Parvin Dabas, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Kamini Khanna, Rajat Kapoor
Director: Mira Nair
Producers: Mira Nair, Caroline Baron
Screenplay: Sabrina Dhawan
Cinematography: Declan Quinn
Music: Mychael Danna
U.S. Distributor: USA Films
In English, Hindi, and Punjabi with subtitles
Monsoon Wedding, an infectious celebration of life and love, is the latest effort from Indian director Mira Nair (Salaam Bombay!, Mississippi Masala, Kama Sutra). Throwing caution to the wind with an invitation to the hedonist in us all, Nair has constructed this motion picture in such a way that even the most cynical curmudgeon with find himself or herself smiling at one time or another.
The primary story concerns the impending nuptials of Aditi (Vasundhara Das) and Hemant (Parvin Dabas), a couple who are getting to know one another after agreeing to participate in an arranged marriage. Aditi is a lively young woman who is trying to conclude a dead-end relationship with her boss. Hemant is an engineer who lives in Houston, Texas and is interested in finding a bride who shares his roots and heritage. As Aditi and Hemant are forging a fragile bond, Aditi's boss predatorily moves back into the picture and threatens both the marriage and Aditi's future happiness.
Complementing Aditi's story are a pair of other tales - one dark and one light. The wedding coordinator, Dubey (Vijay Raaz),suddenly and unexpectedly falls for the shy and insecure Alice (Tilotama Shome), Aditi's maid. Their gentle, tentative courtship is presented with a mixture of humor and tenderness. Meanwhile, Aditi's cousin, Ria (Shefali Shetty), reveals a malignant secret she has kept for nearly two decades about how she was sexually abused as a child by a family member who may be attempting to repeat the offense with another young girl.
Most of Monsoon Wedding is frothy and enjoyable, with the lush, varied music of Mychael Danna heightening the delicious sense of celebration. (Nair's film borrows from the Bollywood tradition of incorporating vivid musical numbers into the main story.) Visually, the film also tantalizes the senses, with nearly every scene offering a riot of color. Ria's story provides the dramatic glue that keeps the film grounded - the theme of sexual abuse is treated sensitively, but nothing can hold this irrepressible motion picture down for long.
The actors all do fine jobs, especially lovely Vasundhara Das as Aditi. But the real star of this movie is its director, who, in cooperation with screenwriter Sabrina Dhawan, has crafted the kind of motion picture that represents two hours of pure, unfettered joy. Typically, movies that offer this much fun do so because they are mindless and inconsequential. Nothing could be further from the truth where Monsoon Wedding is concerned. This film manages to be delightful without insulting the characters or the audience.
© 2002 James Berardinelli