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| Monsoon Wedding | 
 enlarge | Director: Mira Nair
Actors: Naseeruddin Shah, Lillete Dubey, Shefali Shetty, Vijay Raaz, Tillotama Shome
Studio: Universal Studios
Category: DVD
List Price: $9.99
Buy New: $4.11
You Save: $5.88 (59%)
New (42) Used (28) from $3.96
Avg. Customer Rating:  212 reviews
Sales Rank: 2683
Format: Color, Dvd-video, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), Hindi (Original Language), Punjabi (Original Language), Urdu (Original Language), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), French (Subtitled)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 114
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5.3 x 0.6
MPN: MCAD22284D
ISBN: 0783271301
UPC: 025192228421
EAN: 9780783271309
ASIN: B00006AW0I
Theatrical Release Date: 2001
Release Date: September 24, 2002
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: BRAND NEW, Factory Sealed items direct from the Studios. 30 Day Satisfaction Guarantee. Quick International Airmail!
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| Customer Reviews:
 Prompt Delivery August 9, 2006
0 out of 7 found this review helpful
The delivery was amazingly quick - I bought this for a friend because she could not find VHS anywhere - however neither she nor I have opened it even though she suggested I watch it. I'm sure it's fine - I like doing business with you - everything I purchased was great. Thank you.
 Visually Beautiful but Thematically Flawed. July 26, 2006
4 out of 12 found this review helpful
"Monsoon Wedding" is a movie which deeply flatters current sensibilities, and it was a big success with US independent film loving audiences. I saw it in the theatre back in 2002, and it concerns a successful Indian-American man who returns to his homeland for an arranged marriage with a "virgin." The production is visually stunning, but a single absurd moment in the plot kept me from enjoying it. We discover that the pure bride-to-be is decidedly not a virgin, but, in fact, a woman in the midst of an illicit affair with a married television producer. Their relationship continues until the night before the wedding. Out of guilt, she confesses this to the groom who is predictably appalled. He responds with outrage and barks (something to the effect of), "Well, now at least we know you'll fit in just fine in America!" I howled and clapped frenetically, but nobody in the audience, including my date, joined in my appreciation of his retort, however.
Yet, from here we descend into fantasy as modern movies about the sexes are forbidden to end with plots in keeping with the edicts of logic or evolutionary psychology. The young man--rich, good looking, undoubtedly prized by 50 million Indian women who would kill to line up for his passported persona--decides to go ahead and get married anyway. He thereby becomes the "perfect feminist groom." It was such an improbable turn that I could suspend my disbelief no longer and mentally shut down on the images before me. For nearly every man, regardless of quirks or preference, a minimal requirement for potential spouses is that they do not sleep with another man the night before. That a filmmaker so brazenly pretends otherwise, and that an audience so lustily approves such an irrational outcome, illustrates just how much western women prefer fantasies of male alteration to the act of studying how men actually are.
Nicely done July 5, 2006
Director Mira Nair did an incredible job of completing this film with 30 days of actual shooting time, and having so many people perform who had never acted before, yet who handled their roles with great aplomb--often requiring only one take. The only thing confusing at all about the multi-tiered subplots, at least for English-speaking audiences outside of India, may be the constant switching back and forth between three languages: English, Punjabi, and Hindi.
At times, the changes happen so quickly that the viewer is in the process of trying to read the English subtitles, just as English is spoken again (and slurred), and then it is gone. While such changes are apparently part of the Punjabi culture, they can be confusing, especially when watching the film on DVD where the subtitles are sometimes difficult to read, much less quickly.
Nair set out to capture the life and vitality of an upper-middle-class Punjabi family living in Delhi, and an arranged wedding of a daughter, and she has done so exquisitely. The movie demonstrates what a talented director with severe time and budgetary constraints can do, and it ought to be shown in film schools around the world to convey the art of the possible. Nair brought out the best from skilled actors as well as those who had never acted before, and blended their performances into a whole that does not convey amateurism at all, which is quite an accomplishment unto itself.
The loving subplot involving "Dubey" and "Alice" is the highlight of an enjoyable film; and Nair also handles the issue of familial incest many years before with great taste and sensitivity, yet firmly and definitively.
It is a delightful film, with multiple messages and lots of fun, and Nair and her cast are to be congratulated. Nicely done.
Not your typical all american flik June 11, 2006
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
This film is so sweet and whimsical. The cultural aspects depicted in the film are what amused me the most. The two love stories intertwined into one main plot is very well put together. This has been my favorite film for several years now and just watching it again made me remember just how much I love it. I highly recommend this international film for those who like to venture into other cultures for entertainment. This is a must see! Love some of the music as well!!
A good recipe of Indian food is neither bland nor too spicy like Mulangtany Soup, a perfect blend June 7, 2006
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Monsoon Wedding was perhaps one of the most brilliant films I have ever seen. I had seen this film number of times and I really love it. As the movie progressed I quickly formed a bond with the characters and felt they were all my close friends and I was somehow involved in the story. I truly got caught up in the emotion and the evolution of the story. Although the wedding was the climax of the film, it was not what the film is about.
The colors are exquisite, the music and dancing delightful and the people gorgeous. The acting was superb. If there was anything negative to say, I did have some trouble understanding some of the dialogue but I pick it up it really fast during the first part of the film. I was amazed how easy it was to keep tabs on no less than 5 separate subplots without getting the characters mixed up or losing interest.
Mira Nair is brilliant director I mean who makes a film 30 days!! Couldn't believe it. Fantastic production values, mind, not like many other Indian movies I've seen. And down-to-earth realistic, not like Bollywood. Yes, there is singing and dancing, but in context, not every five minutes! I have nothing against Bollywood, but I'm glad to see that there is a higher standard of Indian film-making out there.
Having seen most of her films, I await eagerly for more of her view of her home land. I would recommend this movie to anyone who is interested in customs and traditions of cultures other than one's own. This movie addresses marriage, family, falling in love and the hurts and joys which make it all worth while.
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