Movie Review: Vivah - Page 5

Vivah'Fast Forward Please!'
By Prema K. 2006 Bollyvista.com



Vivah
Director: Sooraj Barjatya
Cast: Shahid Kapur, Amrita Rao, Anupam Kher, Alok Nath, Seema Biswas, Sameer Soni, Lata Sabarwal, Amrita Prakash, Manoj Joshi, Dinesh Lamba, Ameya Pandya, Mohnish Behl
Music: Ravindra Jain
Lyrics: Ravindra Jain


Sooraj Barjatya's 'Vivah' is a cute film but comes a little late in the day. The film would have done well one or two decades ago. The film, is a going back to innocence, after an attempt at modernization by the Barjatyas'. It's very Indian but the slow first half kills the film. The turning point in the second half is the USP of the film, besides some special moments, and may appeal to the female and family audience, in particular.

The story. Prem (Shahid Kapoor) is a gentle and soft-spoken rich Delhi guy. Poonam (Amrita Rao), an orphan, has been brought up in Madhupur, a small town, by her Chacha (Alok Nath). Her chachi (Seema Biswas), is jealous of her beauty.

Prem agrees to meet Poonam for marriage, just to please his dad (Anupam Kher), but falls in love with her at first sight. Soon the two discover that they are soul mates.

The two are engaged and the marriage is scheduled to take place after six months. Just when everything is set for the wedding, there's a crisis in their lives. Will the marriage take place as planned?

The film starts off very well and proceeds at a good pace until Prem and Poonam get engaged. Surprisingly, there's no movement in the story thereafter.

There are only songs and the usual feasting that's so much a part of every Barjatya film. The only saving grace of the film is the twist in the tale in the last half hour that makes the film worth watching again.

Some of the sequences between Shahid and Amrita are good especially their first meeting. These two make a good screen pair. Mohnish Bahl, in a special appearance, delivers a dialogue that's sure to win over the audience in the interiors.


Article Updated 12 November, 2006 12:12:30 AM IST

Vivah
'Fast Forward Please!'
By Prema K. 2006 Bollyvista.com

Vivah

Now for the performances. Shahid is good as the subdued well-behaved guy while Amrita fits the part of the shy and charming bride to be. Amrita Prakash, who plays her cousin makes a brilliant debut in a supporting role. Alok Nath, Seema Biswas, and Anupam Kher are excellent, as usual. The rest of the cast is adequate.

But the downside of the film is Ravindra Jain's music. It's too old-fashioned. Cinematography is okay. Some of the dialogues are wonderful but seem too sugary sweet in places.

The film seems to have good prospects in the interiors and in smaller towns. In the metros, its business seems doubtful. It would also be interesting to see the reaction of the overseas audience.

** (Two Stars)

www.bollyvista.com

Vivah

Angel Rani
Hindi (U) Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Amrita Rao, Aloknath, Anupam Kher, Seema Biswas Director: Sooraj Barjatya

Go with a bib. It is an extremely syrupy tale that the Barjatyas are serving this time. Rajshri Productions is known for its sentimental sagas. But Vivah, the so-called journey from engagement to marriage, is so long and boring that one may even prefer to stay single.

The movie is like a fairytale where all the characters are kindness personified. Everyone runs around with a pair of wings, competing for sainthood. First in the race are Aloknath €" the permanent €œfather figure€ of Barjatya factory €"and Anupam Kher, the rich businessman with a heart of gold.

The only human without a halo is Seema Biswas, the foster mother of Amrita Rao. Biswas is jealous of fair & lovely Amrita because her own child is a shade darker than Amrita. Obviously, Madame Green can€™t stand the brand new blessing for Amrita €" the wealthy and humble groom Shahid Kapoor.


As the domestic war simmers in the background, a love story explodes in full public view.

Amrita Rao blushes for eternity while Shahid enters a bat-no-eyelid contest everytime he sees her. Still, he doesn€™t get to see enough of her. So he asks for a glass of water so that she emerges from behind the curtains.

Approximately two litres of water later, both graduate from the romantic eye-drill to Ravindra Jain€™s music, which, by the way, is below average.

The young hero is totally impressed by the girl€™s €œconcern€ for him. Sample this: She advises him not to take chilled water when he has a cold, and the ignoramus Romeo is floored by the pearls of wisdom he just heard!

The dialogue, the setting, courtship €" everything makes you think you are living in another decade.

You can€™t blame the actors. In fact, Shahid tries to lift the film, but goes thud with a lifeless, moth-eaten script. He is good as the passionate lover boy whereas Amrita Rao finds little scope to act. She is the ideal Indian bahu, either perched on the balcony, watering plants or lighting agarbatis in the pooja room.

Sooraj Barjatya takes three hours to tell the tale and concludes that love is not skin-deep, which is the moral of the story. That is, if you are still awake and watching.

Vivah **

One of the most memorable Hindi films from my childhood has to be Sooraj Barjatya€™s Maine Pyar Kiya. Along with Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak and later a horde of films from the stables of Yash Raj banners, it breathed new life into the dying genre of romantic movies in India. It reintroduced the younger generation to an elusive charm that was the mainstay of films produced by Barjatya's father and grandfather under their Rajshri Productions (our parents and grandparents still rave about Nadiya Ke Paar).

Here was a young director who had his hand firmly placed on the pulse of the nation. He broke new ground with Hum Aapke Hain Koun, a movie that will keep his name alive in the annals of the Indian film industry for the rest of eternity. He followed it up with a few average and a few below-average movies. And now after a brief hiatus he has a new offering €" Vivah.

Vivah €" A journey from engagement to marriage: the tagline says it all.

Poonam (Amrita Rao) is an orphan who is brought up by her uncle (Alok Nath) and aunt (Seema Biswas) after her parents€™ death. The uncle showers her with love and affection, and treats her like his own daughter. The aunt, however, cannot bring herself to love Poonam since she is fairer and more beautiful than her own daughter. Poonam on the other hand would win first prize in a hypothetical best daughter contest.

Prem (yes, the hero is called Prem again €" Shahid Kapoor) is the younger son of a successful but down-to-earth industrialist (Anupam Kher). His elder brother and Bhabhi have a son, and the five of them together are one humble happy family.

Prem and Poonam get engaged and what follows is the sublime journey most betrothed couples in India go through in the period between their engagement and marriage €" in this case six months devoted to falling in love and discovering one another.

The film is an ode to the sanctity of marriage €" how it not only joins a man and a woman, but also two families. It talks about how the mere act of exchanging rings, brings two people together and gives them an indescribable right on each other.

The film is definitely not lacking in that elusive charm the Barjatyas are known for. Both Shahid Kapoor and Amrita Rao play their parts to perfection. Especially Shahid Kapoor, whose hesitant first-time-in-love Prem would be very endearing to the female audiences.

Alok Nath and Anupam Kher have performed some memorable characters in family sagas over the years and here again they don€™t fail to deliver. The character of the jealous aunt is a walk in the park for the National Award winning actress Seema Biswas.

The characters are well-defined, though their self-effacing, sacrificing nature and excessive sweetness (something one can see in all Rajshri films) might give some viewers diabetes.

But what this movie really suffers from is an inherent inertia in the script which keeps it bogged down and only lets it gather some pace towards the end (which has an unexpected twist and also a cameo by Mohnish Behl, but ends in a predictable yet appealing manner).

Sooraj Barjatya€™s movies are known for their high quality music, but the veteran Ravindra Jain has failed this time to deliver catchy lyrics and foot-tapping music. Too many songs slow down the narrative further.

You walk out of the film feeling a little confused €" this isn€™t a bad movie, it just isn€™t good enough. Good word-of-mouth from family audiences and women might end up making this film an average hit.

The charm lingers on still, and that€™s where the faith of this reviewer lies - that one day Sooraj Barjatya will deliver something in the league of Maine Pyar Kiya and Hum Aapke Hain Koun.

www.fullhyderabad.com

Subhash K Jha

Blink-and-you'll-miss-her: Amrita Rao

Amrita Rao has teamed up with Farah Khan for a song for Sajid Khan's next film Hey Baby.

Amrita says, "It seems just the other day when Farah and I had loads of fun doing Main Hoon Na. When her brother Sajid Khan called me I was so happy. I share a special relationship with Sajid and Farah. Sajid wanted all the heroines who are his friends to be part of Hey Baby's song."

The song is filmed in a pub. "We all have our own little scenes as our few seconds of fame with Akshay Kumar, Fardeen Khan and Ritesh Deshmukh. I've about 10 seconds each with Fardeen and Ritesh," he says.

Amrita is also excited about her forthcoming film My Name Is Anthony Gonzalves. "I want to do good films with good filmmakers. My next release is E Niwas' My Name Is Anthony Gonzalves. I play a Catholic girl named Karen who is an assistant director. I'm impressed by Niwas' clarity of thought. That's my only assignment at the moment," she says.

Isn't Amrita keen on taking up more films? "I know I've a responsibility towards myself and my audience. I'll have to respect that responsibility," says Amrita.

mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com

Fan frenzy for Shahid
By: Upala KBR
November 18, 2006

Scary 'prem'onitions: Shahid Kapoor and Amrita Rao in Vivah
Shahid Kapoor had to undergo an unnerving experience while promoting his latest release, Vivah.

Narrating his ordeal, the actor says, "A few days ago, Soorajji (Barjatya), Amrita (Rao) and I were promoting Vivah post its release in Lucknow, Kanpur, Delhi and Faridabad. We were at a theatre in Faridabad to promote the film when our security people got left behind in the ensuing rush. We had gone about 10 kilometres ahead of them when we realised that nearly 20 bikers were chasing us.

They formed a line and halted in front of our car. Then they started banging on the car's windows and asked us to come out. They were fans who had watched Vivah in that same theatre and wanted autographs and pictures. We didn't know what to do, but thankfully the security guards turned up just before they could forcefully open the doors or do anything stupid.

Finally, they went away peacefully when the guards asked them to do so."

First of its kind
Shahid is known to be a teen icon, so he must be used to this kind of fan frenzy. "I have never been on outside promotional work for my earlier films, so this is the first time that something like this has happened to me," says an amused Shahid.

Was he scared? "Not really, but we were apprehensive for Amrita as she was a girl and it was a secluded place. Also, Faridabad isn't a place we have been to before, so it was alien to us. We didn't know which way the situation would turn. Fortunately, nothing happened."

Vivah has been panned by critics, but Shahid isn't disappointed. "It's a hit all over India and even the trade papers have declared it a success.

Everybody has the right to an opinion, but ultimately it's what the audience wants. Today, different genres of films have different types of audiences. Soorajji makes his films keeping in mind a particular audience who is loyal to him and love his sort of films. He makes it for them, keeping their sensibilities in mind. It's important to know who your target audience is."

Being of today's generation, did he feel Vivah was regressive? "Not at all. It has a very positive attitude about marriage and everybody loved the climax. Eighty per cent of Indians go for arranged marriages, so why not make a film on that?"

Nana ke saath
After Vivah, the actor begins working on Rohit Shetty's next film with Nana Patekar. "It's a romantic comedy and I am looking forward to working with Nana. This is the first time I will be acting with him." Isn't he apprehensive of Nana's eccentric behaviour? "Not at all," he laughs. "In fact, I am sure that it will be a learning experience for me," signs off the actor.


mid-day.com

Rajshri markets 'Vivah' differently Click here to add this article to My Clips
By Taran Adarsh, November 18, 2006 - 08:59 IST

* Ladies are patronizing the film in a major way. The attendance of ladies in the 12 noon and 3 pm shows is as high as 70 to 80% in many of the cinemas.


* Special dcor was put up at METRO ADLABS in Mumbai. A prominent spot inside the multiplex sported the VIVAH look. As a special part of the setup, the real 'Doli' from the film was set up there.


* At Tarakarama 70mm, Hyderabad, a stage was put up in the cinema compound and 4 persons were hired to play live shehnai. Both cinema gates were decorated with Banana trees, flowers and lighting. Even few small banners inside the cinema lobby were decorated with flowers. On the 1st day 1st show each and every viewer was given a packet containing sweets, farsan (chewda) and at interval, tea was served to all free of cost. Special colourful tickets of VIVAH were printed by S. Sharma Jewellers, who have incurred all the expense of the above.


* Lokmat Sakhi Manch, connected with Lokmat Group of Newspapers in Maharashtra, is an organization consisting of over 25,000 ladies as members. They organized ladies shows for the film on 10th November in 12 noon shows at the following centers in Marathwada region:- Sadia – Aurangabad, Yashoda – Latur, Talreja – Parbhani, Majestic – Jalna, Shyam – Nanded, Asha – Beed. To create the atmosphere of celebration of VIVAH, the exhibitors showered rose petals over each and every lady while entering the hall and during the interval, the canteen people of the cinema arranged a cup of tea to the audience, free of charge. These ladies shows have resulted in lot of popularity and hype for the film, especially amongst the ladies and family audiences. Now ladies shows on similar lines are being organized at Nagpur, Amravati, Akola, Jalgaon in the coming weeks.


* Lokmat Yuva Manch, connected with Lokmat Group of Newspapers, having college students as members, organized a show at Sadia talkies, Aurangabad at 12 noon on 14th November only for college students.


* In Bihar, the following cinemas have made attractive decoration at the entry gate with flowers to give the look as if a wedding is taking place: Regent – Patna, Amar – Muzaffarpur, Craze – Darbhanga, Nutan – Sitamarhi, Sujata – Ranchi, Deshbandhu – Jharia. All these cinemas are playing shehnai cassette in their foyers to create the atmosphere of wedding. Craze cinema, Darbhanga went one step ahead and hired two persons to play Shehnai (live) throughout the day in the first week.


* At Raj cinema, Gorakhpur, both the cinema gates at the compound entrance were decorated with cloth and flowers.


* At Vasant talkies, Akola, the cinema gate was decorated with flowers and lights, so also the main entrance of the cinema.


* At Rajkamal talkies, Jalgaon, where the film has been released on 17th November, the cinema gate as well as the entrance of the cinema has been decorated with flowers and lighting. There is a red carpet welcome for all the audience and they are presenting a rose to each lady audience as also sweet and supari packets.


* 15 prints are added from 2nd week (17th November 2006).

indiafm.com

VIVAH The only important thing missing from Sooraj Barjatya's Vivah (Wedding) is a major cathartic dance number, like the ones that were so exhilarating in his all-time Bollywood classic Hum Aapke Hain Koun . . . ! (What Am I to You). In many ways, Vivah marks a return to form for the director after a couple of films that were overblown to the point of kitsch, but it also overcompensates by playing everything in minor key. As usual with Barjatya, there's almost no plot in the conventional sense. A beautiful and devout small-town girl named Poonam (Amrita Rao) and a go-getting Delhi businessman's son named Prem (Shahid Kapoor) meet for the first time and fall in love when they are brought together by their doting parents as arranged-marriage prospects. The film then follows along on a series of family outings and meals and games as the young lovers' affection deepens in the months leading up to their wedding. The central romantic storyline is only a vehicle for a lovingly detailed depiction of an idealized way of life. Everything in Vivah hinges on the obligations and rewards of living in a hierarchical "joint family" — obligations that are seen as liberating rather than confining. From the moment he gets engaged, Prem accepts total responsibility for Poonam's well-being, which in turn gives meaning to his life. (Calling this point of view old-fashioned doesn't begin to cover it: It's so defiantly retrograde that it becomes a critique of narcissistic "modernity.") But one of the secrets of Barjatya's past success was his effortless mastery of Bollywood's aesthetic of excess. A restrained and tasteful Barjatya movie — one that doesn't uncork a single up-tempo dance number — is only half alive. (Fallbrook 7; Naz 8; Laguna Hills 3) (David Chute)

www.laweekly.com

Breaking Away...

Roshmila Bhattacharya

He's never stuck to type. From love to hate, from fantasy to fear, from laughter to tears, he's always open to doing something new. Perhaps that's why he accepted the challenge of coming back full circle with Sooraj Barjatya, to a sweet, simple love story rooted in the family. Vivah is a trail by fire for Shahid Kapoor who after a promising beginning has failed to nudge his way into the big league. With this film he could turn a corner or slip back another few notches down the ladder. It's trying times for the 25-year-old but there are no signs of stress as he sits across from you. Looking relaxed after a three-week holiday in Europe with his family and Kareena, Shahid openly admits that he hasn't signed a film in two years... And is enjoying the break... Excerpts:

Which is the most memorable wedding you've attended?
(After a long smiling pause) I guess it is my cousin's, from my father's side. She is the youngest of three sisters and we had spent a lot of our childhood together so there was this feeling of warm nostalgia. I was around 18 then and as I watched her turn a corner in her life, it suddenly struck me that I was all grown up too.

Was it a typical Punjabi seven-day shaadi with all the rituals and shor-sharaba?
No, it was a very simple wedding.

Unlike Vivah?
The title gives you the impression that Sooraj Barjatya's new film has a lot to do with all the rituals sacred to a wedding. Actually, it deals more with the institution of marriage. It's the first Hindi film on an arranged match.

Is that an asset given the fact that arranged marriages are an alien concept today?
That's a misconception that people in the media and the entertainment industry harbour. Ninety percent Indians are still in favour of a match that has been approved by the family. And statistics support the fact that such shaadis are as common in the cities as they are in smaller towns and villages. You and me comprise the marginal 1-2 per cent whose sensibilities on the subject differ.

You don't endorse such a rishta, do you?
Well, I haven't ever gone to see a girl with the intention of spending the rest of my life with her, but I have family and friends who have gone through an arranged marraige and are happily settled. Vivah was also an eye-opener of sorts. I understood how different it is when two young people meet as strangers and the relationship develops after they've decided to get married. For most of us the pattern usually follows the reverse trend. A girl and boy meet, fall in love and then decide to get married. It's this new twist that makes Prem and Poonam's reel-life love story different.

i want to see this movie.. i heard it g8..
too sweet
must watch

Thanks Fashion_2005 for compliling all the reviews at one place 👏
I read almost all the reviews, most of them very bad. But look what happened the movie is BIG HIT, these reviewers should loose their jobs, certainly they rae not very good at it.
May be I am too old at 35 or may be out fashioned. But I think this movie is what average indian is. Girls in middle class are still very shy and for my kids sake I hope they get to see cleaner and pure india in future too.

Even here is US people are getting conservative, All my friends at work talk about protecting their kids from tv, violence and sex. And they are americans, russian, chienese etc.But I am not sure where we are going in India...