Monsoon Wedding
Screening: 30 September 2002
India 2002 (subtitles)
119 minutes
Directed by Mira Nair
Leading players - Naseeruddin Shah, Lillete Dubey and Shefali Shetty.
Synopsis
A charming family drama about a very chaotic Indian wedding, with five love stories played out across the generations. As the wedding, and the monsoon season, approaches, cultures clash (family members fly in from the U.S.A. and Australia) and family secrets are revealed. The bride's father is determined to have a traditional wedding for his daughter, but will he succeed?* * * * * *
The debut of screenwriter Sabrina Dhawan, the script was developed further during intensive rehearsals with cast and crew. The story is simply, but encompasses issues of class, child abuse and cultural difference. It is a great balance of drama and frenetic comedy. A strong group of actors, which includes personal friends and family, has greatly assisted Mira Nair to create a film of intimate detail, a love poem to a city, and showing a culture in transition."Monsoon Wedding" is full of colour and music: there is the pageantry of a Punjabi ceremony; the Bollywood-style musical numbers; and the vibrant spirit of modern Delhi with its mix of languages (English, Hindi and Punjabi), blend of traditional culture and modern technology, the upper and lower classes' relationship, and the influence of Bollywood movies on everyday life. A film full of life.
Mira Nair had directed several award-winning documentaries before embarking on feature films with the wonderful "Salaam Bombay". Her feature films have varied greatly, but usually carry the trademarks of strong supporting characters, and a good ear for how people speak and interact. "Monsoon Wedding" has added to her successes, winning the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival.
Although a happy filming experience, disaster struck when 300 minutes of footage were lost due to airport x-ray damage. According to Nair "We restored the big dance number digitally, and we re-shot three other scenes. And this time we had enough money to buy rain in every sequence. You buy it by the tanker, along with a couple of extra bodies to hold hoses!".
