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Monsoon Wedding [DVD] [2002] starring: Naseeruddin Shah, Vasundhara, Parvin Dabas

Publisher: 4dvd
Release date: 1st January, 2008
Media: DVD

Audio Formats

English (Original Language), Hindi (Original Language)

Format

• PAL

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Editorial Review

Mira Nair's Monsoon Wedding is a return to the form of Salaam Bombay!, her 1988 feature. Nair's gift for observation of the everyday and love for her characters makes for a delightful film, with the whole web of family relationships that knit and break during a wedding being spun at a perfect pace.

The excellent performances exceed the often stereotypical roles on offer; the incomparable Nasiruddin Shah as the harassed father, Kulbhushan Kharbanda as the comic uncle, or Shefali Chaya as the orphaned cousin. Nair's sympathetic eye for the unnoticed and the harassed is at its best when showing the tender romance between the servant and Dube (Vijay Raaz), the marigold-munching upwardly-mobile wedding coordinator, who brings pathos and humour to the often unseen servant classes. The handheld camera gives a docu-drama feel to this celebratory look at the upper middle class Hindu Punjabi joint family, while paying tribute to modern Indian public culture of music, television and of course "Bollywood".

On the DVD: The viewer should watch the film once with Dolby Digital 5.1, then again with the director's commentary, with its excellent social analysis and fascinating anecdotal history. The trailer and behind the scenes are much less interesting. It would have been good to have had a full soundtrack of the songs but the viewer will have to buy the CD. --Rachel Dwyer

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Average rating - (more reviews)

Rating: - Bit surprised

When I bought this movie I was expecting bit more because the award it has got, but... it kept me waiting till the very end. So I finished watching it and asked myself -- what it was? A good entertainment? A classical Indian movie with beautiful people and happy end ? A questions without answers and answers without questions?
It seems me this movie has no beginning and no end and it left me surprisingly wonder would I like to watch it once more? Probably yes. To get answers this time.

Rating: - Stunning and Captivating

Wow! This film is wonderfully directed and flows seamlessly. A riot of colour - you can almost smell and taste the marigolds.

The story centres around the wedding of the main couple Adita and Hemant. Adita, though, has been having an affair with her ex boss Vikram, a married man who won't leave his wife. Another storyline involves the bride's sister Ria, who reveals during the celebrations that her Uncle (who is at the wedding) abused her as a child. Now he is eyeing up another child of the family. And then there is the wedding planner, a jokey chap named Parabatlal Kanhaiyalal Dubey ('P.K.' Dubey for short) who it would seem has never thought of marriage even though he has hosted hundreds of weddings himself. Plenty of laughs are provided by PK but when he falls in love with the young servant girl Alice it sets into motion one of the most touching storylines of the whole film.

I have just read that this was filmed on hand held camera. I have to say I am amazed - to me hand held makes for very nauseating viewing like riding on a camel. The cameramen must have had very steady hands! I think that the handheld gave it a very personal feel. I felt like I was a guest, invited in, and made one of the family!

I was totally absorbed in this film throughout and never looked at the clock once!

Rating: - Region Coded

No one seems to have put up a review on THIS product in particular so I guess I'll lead the way. I've seen the film, bought the T-shirt, what-have-you. So I already know this is a British film. What I don't know is why it's region coded. I can't actually watch this film here in Britain because the powers that be don't want me to. I can see it's little thumbnail when I pop it into my PS3, but that's just about it. And I heard this transfer was golden too

GODDAMNIT!!

Rating: - Stunnig performances

There isn't much that needs to be added to what has been said already in these reviews. I think that as a father of three grown up daughters I was powerfully struck by the love the father has for his children. There are stunning performances pretty much throughout this film; it really is something special.

Rating: - Important and lots of fun - great film!

What's middle-class urban India today? Is this a chick-flick, a bit of upmarket Bollywood or cultural examination?
Well, all three and a whole lot more that adds up to lots of fun, lots of colour and plenty to think about which is relevant to the sub-continent and anywhere else in the world.
It begins in the final stages of preparations for a family wedding. The whole extended family has been invited, the marriage is arranged but the bridal couple are modern, westernised and successful.
You'll laugh out loud, you'll sing along, maybe even dance along, your heartstrings will be tugged and you'll be given serious things to think about that have a relevance worldwide.
From the first scene you'll be absorbed into the events, as one of the guests. You're there and sharing in a major family event - in Hindi and and in English. You won't need explanations, you'll feel how it is and know.
Satisfying on so many levels.

Loved it, have given it as a gift many times and can see it over and over.

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