Any film with the word wedding in the title should be approached with caution, especially if the story is about a bride who loves someone else and rushes off to see him the night before her wedding. Fortunately, Mira Nair’s Monsoon Wedding is not that film. Instead, it offers a deeper look into issues facing an upper middle-class Indian family preparing for a traditional arranged marriage ceremony. The tone and focus of the film is made clear early in a scene between Lalit Verma (Naseeruddin Shah), the father of the bride, and P.K. Dubey (Vijay Raaz), the wedding planner. The father calls Dubey to find out what is going on with the elaborate but unfinished decorations. Dubey lies, telling him that he is on his way, stuck in a traffic jam, when he is actually on another job.

Once Dubey arrives at the house, along with a constant stream of relatives, he takes control, not only of the wedding preparations but also of the film. The father barks the orders but Dubey has been through these rituals too often and knows how to play uptight fathers to his advantage. As more and more relatives arrive (don’t try to keep them organized), Lalit clearly makes you aware of their importance. Particularly, his niece Ria holds a special place in his heart since her father (his brother) passed away.

Ria, however, is troubled by a older male guest at the wedding, a generous family friend who helped the Vermas during tough times and who is held in high esteem by Lalit. It doesn’t take long to understand why Ria is uncomfortable being near this guest nor why she pays particular attention to a young girl who receives the affections of him. It provides ongoing tension as the wedding draws near. A few other relationships develop but not much time is available to develop them. A relationship between two of the younger people does allow the set up of a missed opportunity and a woman who advises the young man that it is better to be a fallen warrior than to be a coward.

Make no mistake, however, this is primarily a love story. Dubey is all business until he is struck (literally) by Alice, the family’s servant. The scenes between Alice and Dubey comprise the essence of the film, even though they might have initially been conceived as a sub-plot or side story. No. They are the main story. They are the reason you want to keep watching the film and are happy at the end of the film. If the film wasn’t conceived with the Dubey/Alice story as its spine, then it was a mistake on the part of the filmmaker. Almost all the promotional material uses photos of the bride and groom, but marketing is usually in their own world.

While Dubey is initially a comical character, he provides the most depth as he grapples with his feelings for Alice, his responsibilities, and his need to satisfy his mother. Due to a misunderstanding with his workers accusing Alice of being a thief, she turns away from Dubey, thinking he is responsible. From that moment on, Dubey’s smile disappears and his animated nature is replaced by despair. His character goes through the most change. And while I didn’t log the screen time of each main character, he seems to occupy the most.

Ria, meanwhile, reaches a boiling point. She sees too much going on with her former abuser to let him continue his exploits. She confronts him and Lalit comes to mediate but is unable to help as Ria leaves. He looks for her the next day, telling her that the wedding cannot proceed without her. She is visibly angry and uncomfortable, however, when she has to sit in front of her male abuser during the wedding photos. Lalit notices but still does nothing.

While there are scenes of kissing/groping, first between the bride and her married lover and then between the bride and her hand-picked groom, the real passion exists between Dubey and Alice, whose only scene of affection is Dubey lightly kissing the forehead of Alice during their own makeshift wedding outside of the real wedding ceremony. The scenes of them together are the ones that stick with you after the film is over. The editing of the climatic (not in a sexual way) scene between Dubey and Alice, however, is a bit funky and out of sync. Every time the camera cuts back to Dubey, he seems to be looking down and then up again. It took away from an otherwise beautiful moment.

Did I forget to mention that there is a sub-plot about a bride who is in love with a married man, whom she goes to see on the night before her wedding? Not to worry. By the time of her wedding ceremony in the pouring rain, the Bollywood-style scenes of music and dancing will help you forget about them. You’ll be happy for Dubey and Alice and relieved that Lalit finally did the right thing, taking the risk to become a fallen warrior instead of a coward.

This review is part of Film for the Soul‘s Counting Down the Zeroes.