''Monsoon Wedding'' is a 2001 Indian

comedy-drama film Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

directed by

Mira Nair Mira Nair (born 15 October 1957) is an Indian-American filmmaker based in New York City. Her production company, Mirabai Films, specializes in films for international audiences on Indian society, whether in the economic, social or cultural spher ...

and written by

Sabrina Dhawan Sabrina Dhawan is an Indian screenwriter and producer, born in England and raised in Delhi, India. Dhawan is an associate professor and the area head of screenwriting at the Tisch School of the Arts, New York University. She has been commissi ...

. The film stars

Naseeruddin Shah Naseeruddin Shah (born 20 July 1950) is an Indian actor. He is notable in Indian parallel cinema. He has also starred in international productions. He has won numerous awards in his career, including three National Film Awards, three Filmfare ...

Lillete Dubey Lillete Dubey (born 7 September 1953) is an Indian actress and theatre director. She has worked in Indian and international theatre, television and films in Hindi and English languages. Dubey began her career with Barry John in Delhi and was the ...

Shefali Shah Shefali Shah (born Shefali Shetty on 22 May 1973) is an Indian actress of film, television and theatre. Respected for her acting prowess, she works primarily in independent Hindi films and has received local and foreign accolades for her perf ...

and

Vasundhara Das Vasundhara Das (born 18 August 1977) is an Indian singer, musician and actress. Vasundhara's films include ''Hey Ram'' (Tamil/Hindi), ''Monsoon Wedding'' (English), ''Citizen (film), Citizen'' (Tamil), ''Ravana Prabhu'' (Malayalam), ''Lankesh ...

. The story depicts romantic entanglements during a traditional

Punjabi Hindu Punjabi Hindus are adherents of Hinduism who identify linguistically, culturally, and genealogically as Punjabis. While Punjabi Hindus are mostly found in the Indian state of Punjab today, many have ancestry from the greater Punjab regio ...

wedding in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

. Dhawan wrote the first draft of the screenplay in a week while she was at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

's MFA film program. Although it is set entirely in New Delhi, the film was an

international co-production A co-production is a joint venture between two or more different production companies for the purpose of film production, television production, video game development, and so on. In the case of an international co-production, production companie ...

between companies in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

, the United States, Italy, France, and Germany. ''Monsoon Wedding'' premiered in the

Marché du Film The ''Marché du Film'' (french for "Film Market") is one of the largest film markets in the world.Marc ...

section of the

2001 Cannes Film Festival The 54th Cannes Film Festival started on 14 May and ran until 20 May 2001. Norwegian actress and director Liv Ullmann was the Jury President. The Palme d'Or went to the Italian film '' The Son's Room'' by Nanni Moretti. The festival opened with ...

and went on to win the

Golden Lion The Golden Lion ( it, Leone d'oro) is the highest prize given to a film at the Venice Film Festival. The prize was introduced in 1949 by the organizing committee and is now regarded as one of the film industry's most prestigious and distinguis ...

award at the

Venice International Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival h ...

and receive a

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of ...

nomination while grossing over $30 million internationally at the box office. A musical based on the film premiered on Broadway in April 2014. In 2017,

IndieWire IndieWire (sometimes stylized as indieWIRE or Indiewire) is a film industry and review website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "to include all aspects of Holl ...

named it the best romance of the 21st century.

Plot

The film's central story deals with the organisation of an enormous, chaotic, and expensive wedding that is due to take place in a modern Indian family. Lalit Verma (

) and his wife Pimmi (

) have arranged a marriage for their daughter Aditi (

) to Hemant Rai (

Parvin Dabas Parvin Dabas (born 12 July 1974) is an Indian actor, director and model, who works predominantly in Hindi and English language films. Early life Parvin Dabas was born on 12 July 1974. His family is from Kanjhawala, Outer Delhi. He studied in M ...

). Hemant is the son of a family friend who lives in Texas, and Aditi has only known him for a few weeks. As so often happens in Indian culture, such a wedding means that, for one of the few times in each generation, the extended family comes together from all corners of the globe, bringing its emotional baggage along. Lalit and Pimmi are helped with the main planning by Pimmi's sister Shashi and her husband C.L ( Kulbhushan Kharbanda), who have arrived earlier from Oman. A few days before the engagement, Tej Puri (

Rajat Kapoor Rajat Kapoor (born 11 February 1961) is an Indian actor, filmmaker and playwright who works in Hindi cinema. Kapoor was born in Delhi, India. He mainly focused on acting at first. In 2013 he joined the theatre group Chingari in Delhi, later mov ...

), Lalit's extremely wealthy brother-in-law, arrives from the U.S.. Tej is married to Lalit's sister and has helped the Verma family regain their financial footing after the

Partition of India The Partition of British India in 1947 was the change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: India and Pakistan. T ...

left them penniless many years ago. Tej offers to pay for Aditi's cousin, Ria Verma (

) to attend university in the U.S., after the family consults him for advice. Ria and her mother live with the Verma family, who took them in after the death of Ria's father. Despite his generous offer, Ria stays away from Tej and is not comfortable in his presence. Lalit begins experiencing difficulty in paying for the final, smaller aspects of the wedding and is embarrassed when he has to borrow money from friends and colleagues. Meanwhile, P.K. Dubey (

Vijay Raaz Vijay Raaz (born 5 June 1963) is an Indian actor, film director and narrator, who predominantly appears in Hindi films. He debuted with ''Bhopal Express'' (1999) and since worked in more than 90 films. His breakthrough came when he played the ...

), the eccentric wedding planner, falls in love with Alice (

Tillotama Shome Tillotama Shome is an Indian actress. She was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the 63rd Filmfare Awards for her role in ''A Death in the Gunj''. In 2021, she won the Filmfare Award for Best Actress (Critics) for portraying a praisewor ...

), the Vermas' maid. Ria grows concerned after she witnesses what appears to be Tej grooming a younger relative, ten-year-old Aliya. Aditi's younger brother Varun (Ishan Nair) plans an elaborate dance for the pre-wedding party with another cousin, Ayesha (

Neha Dubey Neha ( Hindi/ Sanskrit: ''नेहा'') is a popular Hindi/ Sanskrit Indian feminine given name, often found in the Hindu community. It means " love" / "affection", " rain" / " downpour", and is sometimes translated as "beautiful eyes." E ...

), but Lalit worries that his son is becoming too

effeminate Effeminacy is the embodiment of traits and/or expressions in those who are not of the female sex (e.g. boys and men) that are often associated with what is generally perceived to be feminine behaviours, mannerisms, styles, or gender roles, rath ...

and plans to send him to boarding school. Dubey's workers see Alice trying on Aditi's wedding jewellery, and the men accuse her of stealing. The incident causes her to become withdrawn from Dubey and he grows depressed. A few days before the wedding, Aditi sleeps with an old lover, her married boss Vikram; and confesses this to Hemant. The incident only serves as a reminder to Aditi as to why she stopped seeing Vikram. Though he is initially angry, Hemant is glad for her honesty and is confident that they can put it behind them and be happy together. The workers apologize to Alice and she reconciles with Dubey. The night before the ceremony, Varun refuses to dance due to the comments made by his father, and Ayesha performs with the help of Rahul (

Randeep Hooda Randeep Hooda (; born 20 August 1976) is an Indian actor and equestrian known for his work predominantly in Hindi cinema. Hooda made his Hindi film debut with '' Monsoon Wedding''. He had a turning point in his career with the gangster film '' ...

), Pimmi's nephew from Australia. Aditi and Hemant grow closer and they share a few intimate moments, which re-affirms their faith in the marriage. After a night of jokes, drama and dances, Ria catches Tej trying to take Aliya for a drive alone. Ria stops them from driving off and takes Aliya away from him, revealing to Lalit and others that Tej had molested her as a child. Lalit's sister does not believe her, attributing her accusations to her character and unmarried status. Emotionally distraught, Ria leaves. The next day, Lalit pleads with Ria to return to the wedding, admitting that he can't possibly imagine what she has gone through but also saying that he can't disown Tej, since they are family. Ria is not happy but agrees to return for the sake of Aditi. Hours before the wedding, however, Lalit changes his mind and tells his sister and Tej to leave the wedding and the family home. Tej's wife insists that Ria's accusation was a small matter but Lalit stands his ground. The Monsoon rains begin as Aditi and Hemant are married in an elaborate wedding, while Dubey and Alice simultaneously wed in a simple ceremony, and later celebrate with the Vermas. Ria moves on from her past life, and is finally able to freely enjoy the festivities.

Cast

as Lalit Verma *

as Pimmi Verma *

as Ria Verma *

as Aditi Verma *

as Parabatlal Kanhaiyalal 'P.K.' Dubey *

as Alice *

as Hemant Rai * Kulbhushan Kharbanda as C.L. Chadha * Kamini Khanna as Shashi Chadha *

as Tej Puri *

as Rahul Chadha *

as Ayesha Verma * Ishaan Nair as Varun Verma *

Roshan Seth Roshan Seth (born 2 April 1942) is a British-Indian actor, writer and theatre director who has worked in the United Kingdom, United States and India. He began his acting career in the early 1960s in the UK, but left acting the following decade ...

as Mohan Rai *

Soni Razdan Soni Razdan (born 25 October 1956) is a British actress and film director who works in Hindi films. She is married to film director Mahesh Bhatt and is the mother of Bollywood actress Alia Bhatt. Early life Razdan was born in Small Heath Birmi ...

as Saroj Rai *

Jas Arora Jas Arora (born 21 May 1969) is an Indian model and Bollywood actor, best known for his appearance in the music video "Gur Naalo Ishq Mitha" (1998). He comes from a Punjabi background. Present Jas has collaborated with an Italian brand name ...

as Umang Chadha *

Natasha Rastogi Natasha Rastogi (born Natasha Khanna; 14 May 1962) is an Indian actress and director. She started her acting career by debuting in '' Monsoon Wedding'' as Sona Verma, directed by Mira Nair, that won the Golden Lion award and received a Golde ...

as Sona Verma *

Ram Kapoor Ram Kapoor (; born 1 September 1973) is an Indian actor who works in films and television serials. He gained popularity portraying Jai Walia in the television series ''Kasamh Se'' and the character of Ram Kapoor in ''Bade Achhe Lagte Hain''. He ...

as Shelly *

Dibyendu Bhattacharya Dibyendu Bhattacharya is an Indian actor who works in Hindi cinema and Bengali cinema And web series. He is best known for his role in '' Dev D.'' and as Layak Talukdar in ''Criminal Justice'', 2019 Hotstar Disney+ Hotstar (also known as H ...

as Lottery * Rajiv Gupta as Delhi Cop in Rain Scene

Reception

''Monsoon Wedding'' received positive reviews from critics on release.

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

rated the film 3.5 stars out of 4 and called it “one of those joyous films that leaps over national boundaries and celebrates universal human nature.” Sandi Chaitram of BBC gave a positive review and wrote “she (Mira) successfully creates the opportunity for tense drama, which does not stifle the overall feelgood nature of the film, or impede the finale's (somewhat cheesy) confirmation of family love.”

Soundtrack

The soundtrack includes a

qawwali Qawwali (Punjabi language, Punjabi: (Shahmukhi), (Gurmukhi); Urdu: (Nastaʿlīq, Nasta'liq); Hindi: क़व्वाली (Devanagari); Bengali language, Bengali: কাওয়ালি (Bengali alphabet, Bengali)) is a form of Sufi Isl ...

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan ( pa, ; born Pervez Fateh Ali Khan; 13 October 1948 – 16 August 1997) was a Pakistani singer, songwriter, and music director. He was primarily a singer of qawwali — a form of Sufi devotional music. Sometimes ...

, a

ghazal The ''ghazal'' ( ar, غَزَل, bn, গজল, Hindi-Urdu: /, fa, غزل, az, qəzəl, tr, gazel, tm, gazal, uz, gʻazal, gu, ગઝલ) is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry. A ghazal may be understood as a ...

Farida Khanum Farida Khanum (Urdu: ) is a Pakistani classical singer from the city of Kolkata West Bengal. She is also known by her honorific title ''Malika-e-Ghazal'' (The Queen of Ghazal) in both Pakistan and India. Early life She was born in the fall of ...

, a Punjabi song by

Sukhwinder Singh Sukhwinder Singh (born 18 July 1971) is an internationally acclaimed Indian playback singer who primarily sings Bollywood songs. He is famous internationally for singing " Jai Ho" from the film '' Slumdog Millionaire'' which won an Academy Awa ...

, an old Indian song by Rafi, a folk dance song. The film includes an

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Aaj Jaane Ki Zid Na Karo "Aaj Jaane Ki Zid Na Karo" ( ) is a geet written by Pakistani poet Fayyaz Hashmi. It was composed by Sohail Rana, an eminent Pakistani composer. It was popularized by noted classical vocalist, Habib Wali Mohammad, who also sang it as a film playb ...

(Don't Be So Stubborn About Leaving Today)'' sung by Pakistani artist

. The song ''Aaj Mera Ji Karda'' is recreated by Indian musicians

Tanishk Bagchi Tanishk Bagchi (born 23 November 1980) is an Indian music producer, composer, singer and lyricist in Hindi films. He is known for tracks like "Bolna", "Ve Maahi", "Aankh Maarey"(recreated), " Dilbar" (recreated), "Jehda Nasha" (recreated) and "L ...

and Arjunna Harjaie for the film

Lucknow Central ''Lucknow Central'' is a 2017 Indian Hindi-language prison film directed by Ranjit Tiwari, written by Aseem Arrora, and produced by Nikkhil Advani, Monisha Advani and Madhu Bhojwani under Emmay Entertainment with Viacom 18 Motion Pictures. The ...

starring

Farhan Akhtar Farhan Akhtar (born 9 January 1974) is an Indian actor, director, screenwriter, playback singer, producer, and television host who works in Hindi films. Born in Mumbai to screenwriters Javed Akhtar and Honey Irani, he grew up under the influe ...

. * ^(*) Originally featured in the Hindi film '' Loafer'' (1973) * ^(**) Originally featured in the Hindi film '' Biwi No.1'' (1999)

Awards

The movie won the

at the

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival h ...

. Mira Nair was the second

n (after

Satyajit Ray Satyajit Ray (; 2 May 1921 – 23 April 1992) was an Indian director, screenwriter, documentary filmmaker, author, essayist, lyricist, magazine editor, illustrator, calligrapher, and music composer. One of the greatest auteurs of ...

for '' Aparajito'') to receive this honour.

Won

British Independent Film Award The British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) is an organisation that celebrates, supports and promotes British independent cinema and filmmaking talent in United Kingdom. Nominations for the annual awards ceremony are announced in early November, ...

for Best Foreign Language Film *

Canberra International Film Festival The Canberra International Film Festival (CIFF) is an annual film festival held in Canberra, Australia. It is a cinema celebration across an 11-day program in October/November each year. It is a showcase of films from Australia and around the glo ...

- Audience Award (

) *

Independent Spirit Awards The Independent Spirit Awards (abbreviated Spirit Awards and originally known as the FINDIE or Friends of Independents Awards), founded in 1984, are awards dedicated to independent filmmakers. Winners were typically presented with acrylic gla ...

- Producers Award (Caroline Baron) *

(

) *

- Laterna Magica Prize (

)

Nominated

* BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Language Film (Caroline Baron,

) *

Broadcast Film Critics Association Award The Critics' Choice Movie Awards (formerly known as the Broadcast Film Critics Association Award) is an awards show presented annually by the American-Canadian Critics Choice Association (CCA) to honor the finest in cinematic achievement. Writt ...

for Best Foreign Language Film * European Film Award for Best Non-European Film (

) *

Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film The Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film is a Golden Globe Award presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Until 1986, it was known as the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Film, meaning that any non-American film coul ...

Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Foreign Language Film The Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Foreign Language Film (Best Film Not in the English Language) is an annual film award given by the Online Film Critics Society The Online Film Critics Society (OFCS) is an international professional ...

Satellite Award for Best Foreign Language Film The Satellite Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the annual Satellite Awards given by the International Press Academy The International Press Academy (IPA) is an American association of professional entertainment journalists, represe ...

Home media

This film was released on DVD in 2002. In 2009, it was released as part of the

Criterion Collection The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films." Criterion serves film and media scholars, cine ...

References

External links

* * * *
''Monsoon Wedding: A Marigold Tapestry''
an essay by

Pico Iyer Siddharth Pico Raghavan Iyer (born 11 February 1957), known as Pico Iyer, is a British-born essayist and novelist known chiefly for his travel writing. He is the author of numerous books on crossing cultures including ''Video Night in Kathmandu ...

at the

{{The Golden Lion 1990–2009 2001 films English-language Indian films 2001 romantic comedy-drama films Golden Lion winners Indian independent films Films set in Delhi Italian romantic comedy-drama films Indian romantic comedy-drama films Films directed by Mira Nair Films with screenplays by Sabrina Dhawan Films about Indian weddings Films about adultery in India Films shot in Delhi Child sexual abuse in fiction 2000s Hindi-language films Films scored by Mychael Danna 2001 multilingual films American multilingual films French multilingual films German multilingual films Mirabai Films films 2001 comedy films 2001 drama films