Movie Review: Vivah - Page 3

am hearin really gud stuff bout dis movie 😛

Subhash K Jha's take on Vivah
By Subhash K. Jha, November 11, 2006 - 12:24 IST

Starring: Shahid Kapoor, Amrita Rao, Anupam Kher, Alok Nath, Seema Biswas, Samir Soni
Written and Directed: Sooraj Barjatya

He made history with his first and second film. The third and fourth were badly received. Now Barjatya rectifies all the mistakes in his first two historical hits Maine Pyar Kiya and Hum Aapke Hain Koun . The sweet, cloying coyness and almost-unbearable bonhomie of those two films and also Barjatya's Hum Saath Saath Hain is here replaced by a far more fluent and fertile imaginative impulse which irrigates nourishes and nurtures Barjatya's idealistic , almost Utopian view of a joint family . Gone is the amateurish home-video feel to Barjatya's earlier familial epics. Yes, there's plenty of singing (and not of a very high caliber, I'm afraid) but blessedly little dancing in the long but fulfilling and fluent drama of domesticated courtship. The simple charm of the boy-meets-girl story is laced with untold moments of absolute enchantment.

In his typical fashion Sooraj Barjatya weaves together moments between the couple as they move in and out of the domestic flock. Blessedly the joint family is kept at a far more manageable level here than in Barjatya's other films. No irksome broods of Mamajis and Buas to fill up the space in the fringes, so that the couple in love gets ample breathing-space to let their mutual feelings grow in leisurely grace.

The old-world charm of a yarn that weaves in and out of amorous arrangements within an arranged marriage, is tremendously aggrandized by the lead pair who go through the mellow motions of falling in love, in a spirit of artless adventure in an unexplored journey.

The external detailing of a small dusty town near Delhi is exquisitely canny. ….the crowded gullies, the urchins running after Shahid's posh car when he visits his in-laws-to-be, the halvai ki dukaan and the night-time bustle compounded by distant sounds of old Hindi film songs….Sanjay Dhabade's art work is among the best I've seen in recent times.

The director's sincerity of purpose shines through in every shot of the crowded dingy but genial mohallah and every warm smile that the perennial Babuji Alok Nath throws towards his surrogate -daughter Poonam(Amrita Rao ) as the sullen lady of the house(Seema Biswas, bang-on doing the balancing act between shrewish step-mom and practical mother) shuns the orphan girl.

The enchanting axis among the above characters, with a chirpy little sister(newcomer Amrita Prakash ) thrown in for sisterly solidarity, echoes in shrill delight, the delicate balance between beti and parayi beti in Bimal Roy's Sujata.

But there's more here. Much more. Sooraj takes hold of all the strands of bustling emotions from his characteristic vision and harnesses it into a narrative that is polished and absorbing.

Considering that a majority of screen space is occupied in watching the rich boy from Delhi woo the middle-class girl from the small town, there was every chance of the storytelling careening over with the weight of its insubstantiality.

Every component in Sooraj's delicate vision holds together with remarkable fluency. The dialogues(Aash Karan Atal) talk in fluent but accessible Hindi about values that seem to have been lost in the melee of ruthless ambitions that drive families out of small towns .

Here's a film that takes us back to that almost-lost feeling of unadorned pleasures in a shaded crowded small town .. the bride and bridegroom's families sleeping on the floor together sharing games, banter and mutual respect as though dowry deaths were demons invented on another planet….the small town girl refusing to wear her fiance's expensive necklace as it would look out of place in her home…

Ironically an unholy fire precipitates a crisis in the last half-hour. That's when Sooraj Barjatya shows effectually how much he has matured and mellowed as a creative artise. The sequences where Prem marries Poonam as she struggles between life and death in her hospital bed are among the purest form of romance seen in our recent films. The drama at the end is handled with tremendous care.

Finally Vivah is about the sanctity of marriage and the importance of commitment between two individuals. Yes, the central romance is naively visualized. But the sneaked tender moments between the engaged couple on the terrace and their stubborn resistance to 'modern' courtship games(no physical intimacy beyond a touch, no email or mobile connectivity) just makes you crave for an idealism that we've forfeited in the pursuit of concrete dreams.

Not ice-cream, but kulfi, not I-pods but transistors…. Vivah works as a parable of artless values , and also as a delicately structured romance between a couple that decides to fall in love after their marriage is decided by their parents. The supporting cast led by Anupam Kher and Alok Nath as heartwarmingly amicable fathers-in-law eggs on the central romance….or maybe 'eggs' is not on here, considering this filmmaker adheres to a palatable vegeterianism of vision from the dining table to the editing table.

Vivah predictably concludes with the couple's wedding and suhaag raat where the bridegroom tells his burnt wife, "Come let me do your dressing."

Undressing is not what this film is about. Not even on the suhaag raat. '

****

Film review : Ye shaadi nahin ho sakti!
By: Sandipan Dalal
November 11, 2006
*YUCK **WHATEVER ***GOOD ****SUPER *****AWESOME

married to monotony: Shahid Kapoor and Amrita Rao in Vivah

Ye shaadi nahin ho sakti!

Vivah * * * * *
Dir: Sooraj Barjatya
Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Amrita Rao

Sandipan Dalal
sandipan.dalal@mid-day.com

What's it about: Sooraj Barjatya is happily back to his roots; he paints a pretty picture of the demure damsel (Amrita Rao) whispering sweet nothings into her would-be husband's ears (Shahid Kapoor is the latest to join the Prem brigade) on a moonlit night! The setting of this old-world romance is devoid of youngsters strutting around in itsy bitsy nothings, jet setting bikes and monster-like in-laws.

The conflict arises at the fag end of the second half (it has finally dawned upon the director that time is running by) when Poonam (Amrita Rao) suffers serious burns the night before her wedding. Just when you're dying to hear some baritone voice screaming, "Yeh shaadi nahin ho sakti!' the drowned-in-traditions hero prepares to apply soothing balm on his burnt bride.

What's hot: Shahid Kapoor's restrained performance saves the day. Even Amrita Rao (I'm tempted to call her Madhupur ki kali) makes decent efforts. Otherwise the flick, which suffers from the soap opera hangover of the '90s where women would get doused in flames as greedy in-laws haggled over dowry, has nothing new to offer. The fact that the maker manages to inject a social message into the parivarik scheme of things needs a mention.

What's not: It's the great Indian wedding theme that the maker continues to exploit. There is no novelty in the storyline except for the fact that Prem has laid his hands on a camera phone and keeps clicking his sweetheart's pictures. In spite of making efforts to keep marriage prospects at bay, Prem happens to fall for Poonam after one chai session. Incredible, ain't it?

The music also fails to strike a chord and only helps in stretching the length.

What's that: With Poonam readying to undergo a critical surgery, Prem indulges in some pulpit preaching before he smears sindoor on her forehead. Apart from familial melodrama, the protagonist's family members get down decking up the hospital and distributing mithai. The
reason being that their beloved son is now a married man.
What to do: I suggest you buy your grandparents a ticket for this soapy ride.

[mid-day.com]

Review: Vivah

Nikhat Kazmi

[ 11 Nov, 2006 0012hrs ISTTIMES NEWS NETWORK ]

Vivah (romance)

Cast: Shahid Kapur, Amrita Rao, Aloknath, Anupam Kher
Direction : Sooraj Barjatya

There's something about Sooraj Barjatya. Something uncanny. The man ostensibly tries to talk about the beauty of Indian traditions, customs, rituals, morality, chastity, purity, spirituality, virginity, family, clan, nation...Ostensibly, everything's that good and great, needed and wanted. Then why do we end up feeling that all these hallowed words are actually a synonym for 'regressive'.

Sample this. Midway between his murmurings (yes, Shahid Kapur literally murmurs through the entire film, and we'll tell you why later), the groom-to-be realises that he is always talking, oops murmuring, about himself. Why don't you tell me about yourself, about your feelings, your mindset, he asks his betrothed (Amrita Rao). Hm! Good observation. Well, the betrothed opens her eyes (yes, she keeps them closed whenever the guy talks to her), clears her throat and says: "Today, while serving pakodas to chachaji, I felt like crying!" That's the first time she talks about HER feelings. Need we say more.

So, as we pointed out, Sooraj Barjatya actually has noble intentions. He wants to make a film about the sanctity of arranged marriages in an age when marriage — of all kinds — is becoming an endangered institution. But we, the poor janata end brainwhacked with endless hosannas to the 'ideal' jodi: a guy who mumbles because his bride-to-be might faint if he spoke in normal tones (can you imagine what she'd do if he behaved like a normal new millennium dude?) and a girl who doesn't think it's right to communicate with her fiancee neither through SMS nor e-mail. The rest, let's just leave unsaid. Specially since, her most intelligent statement is about how one should not drink iced water during a cold. Like his earlier films, the film serenades the small town girl once again as the epitome of virtues as opposed to the contrasexual cosmo gal. But unlike his earlier films, which somehow managed to ride on the charisma of Madhuri and Salman, Vivah almost suffocates you with it's holier-than-thou attitude.

More importantly, the film has no story whatsoever and is just a plain and simple documentation of something as banal as an engagement to a vivah , interspersed with the usual picnics and clandestine rooftop trips. All this unfolds against a 'divya vatavaran', (spiritual environment) as the hero puts it, with the heroine serving umpteen glasses of 'jal' to the sundry chahchaji , chahchijis , bhabhijis ...

For those who still like their cinema smelling of Savlon, Vivah is a one-call stop.


timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Vivah

Sooraj Barjatya made several super hit films like 'Maine Pyar Kiya' and 'Hum Aapke Hai Kaun' which touched a cord with the masses. These films were based on loads of Indian traditions, customs, lavish wedding ceremonies, plenty of song dance and drama and mostly touching relationships and emotions. Sooraj's latest film 'Vivah' once again is replete with all these frills and tries to recapture a lost genre of films. Sooraj genuinely wants to revert back to making films that are clean, traditional and high on emotions. Well to an extent Sooraj does manage to recapture the lost glory of a simple pure love story. Firstly because even though audiences are now open to more different urban centric themes, they will always love a well told love story. Moreover Sooraj's effort does come across as sincere and genuine in the film. However if there is anything that does go against Vivah, it's the lethargic pace, and its characters who are definitely too good to be true. Overall Vivah does emerge as an average film that manages to do what it has set out to do which is make you laugh, cry and then finally emerge with a happily ever after good feeling.

Vivah belongs to the genre of traditional love stories and has been directed and written by Sooraj Barjatya. The lead characters portray young stars like Shahid Kapur as Prem and Amrita Rao as Poonam. The other actors include Anupam Kher, Alok Nath, Seema Biswas, Sameer Soni, Manoj Joshi, Jatin Siyal, Dinesh Lamba, Shreya Sharma, Amrita Prakash, Mohnish Behl in a special appearance and others. It has the tagline of 'A Journey from engagement to marriage'.

Vivah depicts Prem (Shahid Kapur) as a young eligible city boy who loves and respects his family and their wishes. He is the son of a rich Delhi businessman Harishchandra (Anupam Kher). Prem is not interested in getting married so soon in life, but nonetheless agrees to meet a girl who his family has chosen. Poonam a young girl from Madhupur is the girl whom he will soon meet. Poonam is a small town girl who is an orphan and has been brought up by her uncle (Alok Nath) who dotes on her. Both the families arrange a meeting between the two young people. Prem and Poonam meet and immediately connect with each other. Prem is smitten with the simplicity and traditional ideals of Poonam while she too is enamored by his down to earth nature. The young couple much to the delight of their family agrees to get married and the wedding date is fixed for six months down the line.

Now the young couple finds that they have six months to get to know, understand and love each other. These magical six months are supposed to be every couple's dream where they get to know their soon to be partner and understand them. Prem and Poonam begin to spend time with each other and gradually become each others strength and their liking gradually changes into young love and maturity. Unfortunately just when things are going great and the couple are about to wed, tragedy strikes. A tragic event takes place in Poonam's life, so will Prem stand by her side and support her through this crisis? And will their love manage to survive this tragedy?

Vivah is no doubt a fair family entertainer, it has a simple script but there is a twist towards the end which catches your attention. The screenplay too has been executed in a fair manner with lots of girl meets boy moments, family traditions and bonding. There are plenty of songs which tend to interrupt the narrative at times. There are several moments throughout the film which definitely touch the audiences. The film has a good dose of sentimentality and emotions. The climax is worthy and interesting. Director Barjatya's story and execution exude sincerity, compassion and innocence. His style retains the old world charm and gives you a fairly warm and compassionate love tale.

However this love story does have blemishes like the extremely slow pace of the film. Actually right through the film there are just two events, firstly the meeting of the young couple and second their courtship and the only third aspect which is gripping is brought in towards the end of the film. In an almost three hour film there certainly could have been more sub plots introduced. Also the characters are too good to be true and tend to have just one dimension to their personalities. Also the attempt at humour in places could have been better.

Being a love story that relies heavily on song and dance, the music is lackluster. Ravindra Jain's music is too boring and none of the songs really leave a mark after the film is over. Even during the film, the songs are too many and simply intrude on the narrative. Cinematography by Harish Joshi is disappointing too. Dialogues have sincerity and are high on emotional content. Performances are mediocre. Shahid Kapur as Prem is adept at handling his character and handles the emotional content very well. A fairly decent performance by Shahid after a long time. Amrita Rao is the quintessential girl next door and performs her role with extreme ease and finesse. Shahid and Amrita share a very relaxed and comfortable chemistry with each other. Although her role demanded that she look the sweet, traditional and innocent type, Amrita's styling could have been less stern and archaic. Anupam Kher and Alok Nath are extremely good in their roles. Seema Biswas is extremely capable; Amrita Prakash is average in her performance. The rest of the cast is fair.

Vivah has a young and fresh cast who although competent still don't enjoy the popularity of big stars. Moreover the film's promos were extremely lackluster which may lead to a poor start for the film. The conventional story may also go against it. However the film does come across as an average entertainer which does have an average potential. At the box-office hopefully the slow start may give way to at least an average score. Sooraj Barjatya along with his two leads Shahid and Amrita still manage to stay in the running.


Reviewer: Rachel Fernandes
Score: 2/5

Director: Sooraj Barjatya
Producer/s: Kamal Kumar Barjatya, Rajkumar Barjatya, Ajit Kumar Barjatya

Poonam (Amrita Rao) is a beautiful and simple girl from an upper middle class family. She is an orphan, who has been brought up by her uncle (Alok Nath). He has given her as much love a father would give his daughter. Poonam is a happy go lucky girl. However, her happiness is unaccepted by her foster mother (Seema Biswas), who despises her because she is more beautiful than her own daughter Rajni (Amrita Prakash).

Poonam's simple state on life affairs is what touches the heart of Bhagat ji (Manoj Joshi), who valiantly tries to find a husband for her. Bhagat ji meets Harish Chandra (Anupam Kher), a powerful businessman, and proposes a match for his son Prem (Shahid Kapur).

Prem feels that he is not old enough to get married and would like to concentrate on his career first and foremost. But after some words from his father, he agrees to meet Poonam. Prem hesitantly agrees to marry Poonam in six months time.

The two begin to talk in person, interact over the phone, and send each other letters. They also meet at celebrations and begin to grow to each other. Six months pass and the wedding of both comes near. Poonam's foster mother is not happy with the marriage arrangements, and believes that too much money is being spent. She is also angry that her own daughter is still un-married and decides not to take part in Poonam's marriage altogether. However, this is only part of the problem about to face Poonam. Poonam's house catches fire and Poonam is severely burnt.

What follows is the test of Poonam and Prem's love. Have they fallen in love? Will Prem take a disfigured bride? That is the premise of this film.

The film has a very good story, very Barjatya like. But it is not the story that makes this film bad; it is the believability of the romance between the two main leads. The world has changed, the cinema-goer now wants more than mushy-mushy scenes. It is here that this film is the worst.

Many scenes are not believable, and that includes the one where Poonam saves her sister from the fire. A prominent film-maker like Sooraj could have done much better with these pivotal scenes. Sooraj has tried to make this film different than his previous films and has made a mess of it. When you try to make something different than first and foremost you have to use different actors, apart from the main two leads, all other actors are same and is similar roles as previous films.

The film moves very slow and never once picks up pace. However, the songs come at times when the film is at a stand still, and help to revitalise it. Talking about the music, Ravindra Jain has composed tunes that fit the script, but these tunes are not listenable elsewhere. The soundtrack has not done that well in sales, and as the music is core to the film's promotion, has in-the-end affected the film's stature.

Sooraj has gone with Shahid Kapur, instead of his favoured Salman Khan. Sooraj should have learnt from his mistake of not using Salman Khan in Mein Prem Ki Diwani Hoon, and should have written a part in the film for him. One can't imagine any other actor apart from Shahid in the role of Prem, but Shahid is still very young and his acting abilities lack, meaning he is unable to carry a film on his own.

Amrita Rao's role is one that had to be played to perfection, which hasn't been done here. Amrita again lacks that star appeal and extra acting skills. She performs well in the first half of the film, as this half doesn't require much character acting from her, but she is a complete let-down in the second half. Playing an injured girl with the world falling down on her, she is unable to do that, another flaw of the film. An actress like Kareena Kapoor would have been better suited for this part. I have nothing against Amrita; I believe she is vastly talented; it is just that she has yet to be natured. A few years down the road and this kind of role would have suited her to the tee.

Alok Nath's comeback to the big screen is emotionally powerful. He has surely been missed and one longs to see him in more of these roles, which are especially written with him in mind. I would have preferred if Sooraj had used someone else in this role, bearing in mind that I was hoping to watch a different film than his previous ones, but that was not the case. As the film is similar genre as before, then Alok Nath is apt for the part.

Another one of Sooraj's favourite, the greatly talented Mohnish Behl, also features in a special appearance. And his performance has to be noted. His role maybe small but he performs to the gallery and without a doubt has the best part in the film. Earlier in the review, I talked about a part being written for Salman Khan, this role would have been ideal for him. A special appearance by Rajshri favourite would have given this film that extra edge that it needs.

This film has nothing to draw the audiences. It has no big name stars. It has no relevant hard hitting storyline. It has a lacklustre music score. Those are the negative points of the film. But it is a Rajshri film, with a warm storyline that will appeal to certain people, meaning it may do well in the long run.

RS RATING: 6/10

www.radiosargam.com

Vivah - Movie Review

(1,168 words posted by Devesh, and filed under Reviews)



You are viewer number 189 of Vivah - Movie Review.
Vivaah. The name itself says it all. In today's age of using English titles and titles like Shaadi no. 1, Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai, there is a film with the title Vivaah, which is as chaste as you can get. The name symbolizes a chaste Indian film, but does it work? That's a question you will have to answer yourself after reading this humble piece.

There are two ways you can look at Vivaah. The first is the obvious cynical way, wherein this movie would be like a pseudo-real Indian traditions movie with no negative characters, and everyone as good as you can get (rather, such good people don't exist today). The second way would be two look at it from the inherent goodness present in us, which makes us feel the world can be so simple yet so good, a feeling similar to Lage Raho Munnabhai. I chose the... ... second view.

Welcome back Soorajji! Vivaah should have been made instead of the "trendy" MPKDH. But then, I guess MPKDH works to Vivaah's advantage by lowering our expectations from the film. Let me make it clear, this movie is not a patch on MPK or HAHK, two of Soorajji's classics. But then, that's why the two previous ones are classics in the first place, you just cant have such movies again!

The story is simple. Two Indian families, one based in Delhi (rich, but very humble and down to earth), and the second based in Madhupur (not so rich, but honest and good); boy (Shahid Kapoor) from the rich family, girl (Amrita Rao) from Madhupur; their marriage is fixed in the arranged marriage way, where a third person known to both families gets the ball rolling; boy first sees the picture of the girl, then meets and "sees" the girl, they talk for a while, and after those 10-15 minutes, they decide whether they can be life partners or not. As unbelievable as it may sound to some, this is very true for most Indian middle class families. The marriage date is then fixed after 6 months (in this case) and Vivaah shows the development of a relation within those 6 months, right till the Suhaagraat! It also tells the tale of acceptance of a child by her mother. And how beautifully it does so!

The first half is a breeze, and you don't realize that interval is just round the corner. Sugar coated scenes and dialogues, extremely honest and simple characters, and very nice songs. There is a constant smile on your face throughout the first half, with occasional bursts of laughter. None of it seems forced, it all flows smoothly. There is the engagement scene, the family holiday, nice songs, good locales, but all presented in a simplistic and believable manner. Nothing is over the top, the treatment is most realistic. The only complain is such characters are hard to find in today's times. But then again, this is acceptable, since we all desire, in some corner of our heart, to be perfectly good, to have such a great family.

The first 20-30 minutes of the second half looks a bit contrived, but from there on the movie really catches you by surprise. The real "twist" in the smooth story starts during the last 40 minutes or so, and from there on its an emotional ride. I wont divulge any plot details so that you enjoy the movie completely.

There are just about 10 main characters in the movie, which helps the flow of the movie. There is not a single negative character, though one of them shows some human traits of jealousy and insecurity. There are no pets aka Tuffy or Parrots or whatever, and there are no extended family members and friends.

Coming on to the performances, Amrita does very well as the simple and shy Indian girl from a small town. Her expressions, her getup, her nuances, her dialogue delivery are just perfect. The only grudge is she looks too thin in the movie. A little weight would have made her more authentic. Shahid as the city bred traditional family guy is awesome. This is indeed his best performance so far. His eyes speak more than his words, which is to his credit, and an achievement for Soorajji's. Shahid is sure to be nominated this year in the awards. Aloknath as Amirta's uncle-cum-father is like he usually is in all Rajshri movies. Another nice endearing portrayal from him! Anupam Kher as Shahid's father does well too, as a rich business man who is humble to the core. Samir Soni as the elder brother of Shahid does not have much to do, but his newspaper antiques are genuinely funny! Shahid's bhabhi's part is well enacted by the actress (sorry for not knowing her name!). Seema Biswaas as the insecure chachi of Amrita is the only not so good character in the movie, and she does complete justice to the role. Shahid's nephew, the small kid, looks cute and delivers some funny lines very well. Manoj Joshi does well as the jeweler who brings together the two families for the Rishta. Amrita's sister is good too.

The real winner is Soorajji's Barjatya, who writes a simple story and then portrays it in the most honest way. Dialogues by Aash Karan Atal are very real and good natured, and they propel the movie in a big way. Cinematography could have been better, comparing it with the current trend, but then again, it suits the movie overall. Music surprises you when you watch the movie, because it is so well integrated with the movie! The songs are pleasing to the ears, and Mujhe Haq Hai stands out. The tunes are melodious and Indian, and work with the movie on the whole. At 2.45 hours, the movie just about manages to be not long. I don't believe editing could have been crisper. Costumes too, are straight out of real life, and suit the characters. Credit must be given to Soorajji's for choosing his locations. The locations are seeped in Indian traditions.

Honesty, sincerity, trust, sacrifice, jealousy and insecurity are portrayed in true traditional manner by Soorajji's. There are trademark one liners: "Main tumse shaadi ke mauke par ek tohfa mangtaa hoon. Mujhe apna dard de do!" Simple yet amazing. This is where the movie succeeds. It connects with your heart, your inherent but buried nobility. It reinforces your belief in all the morals and values you have grown upon, without being preachy. It makes you trust the human nature in general, without being dramatic. Soorajji's reinstates our faith in him with Vivaah. The Rajshri house can proudly claim Vivaah as their comeback.

Overall, Vivaah is a perfect family film, which makes you feel good about yourself, about people around you, and about the world in general. It is not a classic, but it is close. There are some flaws, but you can overlook them easily for the noble purpose of the film overall. Above all, it makes you believe in an arranged Vivaah yet again!

rating-4.5/5

naachgaana.com

Mayank Shekhar

VIVAH
DIRECTOR: Sooraj Barjatya
ACTORShaahid Kapoor, Amrita Rao
Mirror Rating - *

It was only a decade ago, you may recall, that the Rajshri's, especially its leading scion Sooraj Barjatya, were rightly regarded a movie house with the gentle Midas touch the Indian middle-class could instantly connect with. After Barjatya's Hum Saath Saath Hain, the nth, unbearable rehash of the Hindu epic Ramayana was considered a commercial success, there may have been many curious enough to understand a common theory the Rajshri's applied to seamlessly appeal to supposedly diverse masses. There sure was one.

A still from Vivah

Meeting a friend who'd worked with the premier studio then, I realized, there wasn't just a theory.

In fact, almost like tailor shops, the Barjatya's owned an interesting measurement book that every movie of theirs had to fit into. There were several specifications to their cinema. For instance, the necessary absence of violence from their films (If absolutely essential, 14 was the ideal number of punches to have in their film, not more, not less; or so I was told). An equally necessary, but complicated condition was that no emotion portrayed on screen could last longer than 48 hours by the lead-character's real time.

Of the two rules from their book that this film's director graciously confirmed for me in an interview recently, the first stipulates that only circumstances can be villains in their films; not individuals. This is to say, you wouldn't find an evil Gabbar Singh in a Rajshri blockbuster. Here, that would be the harmless antagonist, the aunt (Seema Biswas). She is merely upset because her orphaned niece (Rao) is 'fair and lovely', hence eligible for better male suitors, while her own cute-looking daughter must do with fairness creams forever.

The second rule concerns the hero, who must have no traits or mannerisms that may reveal where he is from, lest that alienate his audience. It's best if he's called Prem 'Kumar', I guess. Why Prem though, would have been a good question to ask Sooraj. He admits that's because his films may bear different titles, his central character remains the same. Why change his name then.

True. It is still the same Prem (Kapoor), a non-smoking teetotaler, born and brought up in Delhi, educated abroad, who's never spoken to a girl in his life, leave aside having dated any. He finds a suitable match in a small-town 'salwar-kameez, shudh-Hindi, sati-savitri' who, it appears, has been fed old videos of a quiet and reticent Meena Kumari or Nutan to fit the new bill.

The two hadn't met until their engagement day. They cannot do without each other right after, as the relationship develops over conversations about cough and cold over letters and land-line telephones.

The repeated spiel concerns the upholding of 'family values' that drive a conservative patriarchy. Arranged marriage by itself, of course, is an accepted, Indian social reality.

But unlike top titles on Barjatya's filmography, Maine Pyar Kiya (rich-boy-poor-girl drama), or Hum Aapke Hain Kaun (sacrifice of personal love for the family), the problem with this film is that it is entirely devoid of a basic conflict: a pre-condition that may seem essential for any story to exist. Everyone in this lot was more or less happy to begin with, and they live happy forever thereafter. The movie itself just remains restricted to its joint-filial setting, which cannot be a plot; it is definitely not a genre. The film's genre so far as I can tell is one of a 'chitrahaar' musical. No song-compilation has probably faltered as much on that front this year.

By the turn of this decade, perhaps inspired by Barjatya's success, the grand premise of gregarious but humourless chachaji's, chachiji's, jijaji's, samdhiji's… lazing around on huge cardboard sets and sofas, had been pretty much taken over money-spinning television soaps, aimed at bored housewives. If those pointless plays have pleased you so far; this one just might.

rating-*

mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com

The comfort zone

Subhash k jha

Sooraj Barjatya has an unlikely supporter in Ram Gopal Varma. No two filmmakers can be more different than these two. While Ramu hates any reference to his family (if you want to annoy him ask him how his mother or daughter are doing) and ignores birthdays of all close friends and family. On the other hand, Sooraj's life and art revolves around family values.

If Sooraj belongs to Venus, Ramu belongs to Mars. And yet, now when Sooraj is being slammed for his wedding dreams, Ramu feels a strange affinity to this filmmaker. "Every time I look at him, soft-spoken and gentle in his interactions on television, my heart reaches out to him. I almost feel guilty for being the kind of human being I am. I can never make Vivah, as I'm sure he will never make a Nishabd. But his sincerity as a director is reflected in every word he says."

"Sooraj Barjatya should end his fascination for marriage videos. Vivah is like one unending boy-meets-girl saga with coy giggly glances determining the drama all the way," says an auteur filmmaker.

That, it is! But if it's that easy to do, please show me a film which is woven around moments between to-be-married couples. I can think of so many filmmakers who can do so many of the talked-about films made in the recent past. But no one can do a Vivah except Sooraj. It requires reserves of resilience to go by your conviction.

You and I might not believe in his vision. But there's no doubt the man believes in what he creates and we must not take that belief away from him just because some of us are too cynical to believe in old-world values.

The worst sin that a filmmaker commits against his creativity is to go against his vision. Sooraj made that mistake in his last film Main Prem Ki Deewani Hoon. He spiced up the Kareena-Hrithik romance with dollops of dude-attitude. It made him look like Konkona Sen jiving to 'Crazy kiyare'.

Laughingly a young director says, "It's fine for every filmmaker to move out of his comfort zone to explore unknown plots and plans. Karan Johar moved away from candy floss in KANK and Raj Kapoor decided to have some teenybopper fun in Bobby after the self-searching Mera Naam Joker. But Sooraj was just confused. Everyone told him his shaadi-sanskar channel was obsolete. So he proceeded to do what he thought was a hot, young and trendy romance."

Wisely Sooraj has moved back into his comfort zone with Vivah. It's in my opinion, a film that harnesses the director's vision into a moving treatise on that sense of commitment that most marriages today have lost.

In many ways Vivah is a superior work to the historical Hum Aapke Hain Kaun. The plethora of peripheral characters has been done away with to focus on the lead couple and their immediate kin who validate the sanctity of the central relationship without making a song-and-dance of it.

Shahid Kapoor and earlier Abhishek and Hrithik told me how listening to Sooraj narrate his script is almost as much fun making the film. He comes to his actors for narration with a tape recorder and plays the entire songs in-between the scenes.

I once visited Sooraj's family home in South Mumbai. It's a beautifully appointed family mansion with various enclaves housing different sections of the family. Yes, the Barjatya lives, eats and celebrates together in that big home. His private world is an exact replica of the world he creates in his cinema.

Two days after the release of Vivah I caught up with Sooraj in Lucknow where he was promoting the film with his lead stars. He sounded confident and unaffected in spite of the scathing reviews.

I share this filmmaker's confidence.

Not often do we meet a man who lives and creates in the same tone. In this era when heartless films are being extolled, Vivah is straight from the heart.

www.mumbaimirror.com

Entertainment

Is Shahid the new 'Prem' ?

EXPRESS FEATURES SERVICE
Posted online: Monday, November 13, 2006 at 1055 hours IST

NOVEMBER 13: How different is your Prem in Vivah from the other Sooraj Barjatya's Prems?
Most of Soorajji's Prems share the same qualities. They are all good guys, the kind of a man a woman would love to have in her life. My character is also like that. But personally, for me as an actor, it was the most underplayed character I've ever performed.

Is Shahid a good guy in real life?

Well, I try to be (laughs)

Is it a crucial release for you?

Every release is crucial. I put in the same amount of hard work in all my films.

But this is a solo film after a long time...

Yeah, that's true. But again, I don't see it like that. Even in an ensemble film like 36 China Town, I put in the same effort as I did in Vivah.

Why aren't you dancing in Vivah?

My character doesn't require dancing. Maybe my fans will be disappointed. But actors have to fit into the role that has been given to them.

Is it true that you haven't signed any new films in the last two years?

Yes, since the three years post Ishq Vishq, I've just been completing all my pending assignments. Now finally I have time to listen to fresh scripts. As an actor, I think it's very important to sit back and analyse the kind of work I want to be associated with. This time is giving me the much-needed perspective in the choice of scripts since everything boils down to that.

Did girlfriend Kareena Kapoor give you any tips about working in the Rajshri set-up since she worked in Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon?

Kareena and I don't give tips to each other. Actors are individualists and both Kareena and I are confident that we can handle stuff on our own. But yes, she does share a great relationship with Rajshri. She really liked the film and was crying in the second half. I hope they were tears of happiness (laughs).

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