Baraat

to which NRIs could relate.

Speaking of NRIs, there have been filmmakers like Gurinder Chadha and Mira Nair who have made films in English about the big fat Indian wedding. I would rate Mira Nair’s Monsoon Wedding as the best film made about Indian weddings in recent times. It is essentially about a wedding that happens in an upper middle class household in Delhi, and there have been moments in the film that I could directly relate to and identify with.

Gurinder Chadha’s film Bride & Prejudice was loosely based on Jane Austen’s classic Pride and Prejudice, and was an interesting adaptation. It brought together Indian actors from the UK and the USA, as well as Bollywood’s A-list. Some well-known Hollywood actors were also a part of this very ambitious film. However, the plot was all over the place and was one of the main reasons why it did not receive a very warm response in India and abroad. But it did benefit Aishwarya Rai a lot as she appeared on The David Letterman Show in the year it released and promoted the film at several international film festivals.

Small budget films, like Bazaar made in the ‘80s were really not about the celebrations; they were in fact about exploitation of women through marriages. Whilst these films dealt with issues related to marriage, films like Hyderabad Blues by Nagesh Kukunoor look at weddings with a completely different perspective, akin to Woody Allen-like treatment to relationships. Nagesh’s Hyderabad Blues adds a comic twist to this subject. He then made Hyderabad Blues 2, which was about infidelity and the business of arranged marriages, and this time again he managed to steer clear from all the histrionics and victimization of the characters involved. I’d say that his films in general are largely ‘feel good’ movies that talk about very important and serious issues. It’s probably how a mature person would deal with his/ her life.

engaged to Ayesha Takkia; however Abhay is in love with a Christian girl. He goes against the family and somehow manages to get engaged to this girl he loves, only to find out that, in time, he’s actually fallen in love with Ayesha Takkia! His family is left baffled! Not your conventional shaadi story for sure. Imitiaz also made box office blockbusters such as Jab We Met and Love Aaj Kal, which were also about weddings and marriages.

When it comes to conventional stories about weddings in Bollywood, one thinks of Sooraj Barjatya’s multi-starrers which are usually about weddings and joint families. It started with Maine Pyaar Kiya with a stylish Salaam Khan and a coy Bhagyashree in the late ‘80s, followed by Hum Aapke Hain Kaun with a soundtrack that featured 14 songs! Then he went on to make Hum Saath Saath Hain and more recently Vivaah. Typically these were big budget films with an A-listed star cast, the story would be about a wedding or several weddings, and lots of family drama. This was a trend that became hugely popular with Indian audiences. The so-called

“family entertainers” were belted out one after the other. Many songs from these films are still played at sangeet functions, baraats, and receptions at weddings across the Indian diaspora.

While this trend was on, Karan Johar made an entry into the Bollywood scene with films like Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Kal Ho Na Ho and Kabhie Khushie Kabhie Ghum that ruled the late 90s. It was like as if Sooraj Barjatya’s films had been given a facelift and a fashion makeover. While we saw a lot of Salman Khan aka Prem with Bharjatya’s films, we had an overdose of Shahrukh Khan aka Rahul with Karan’s films. These movies influenced what people wore at their weddings from designer ghagras and sherwanis, to DJs at weddings. And some even had Shahrukh perform at their weddings!

I would like to think that Karan’s films also drew a lot of inspiration from the Chopras, Aditya and Yash. Yash Chopra’s films have wowed audiences since the ‘70s. Enchanting melodies, beautifully written love stories and gorgeous actors, films like

Silsila, Kabhie Kabhie are etched into the minds of the Indian film audience. They were also quite popular amongst film buffs across the globe. Lamhe, Chandini, Dil Toh Paagal Hai and more recently Veer Zaara are love stories that also talk about weddings, and some go beyond the clichéd formula of family entertainers. For example Silsila is a film about an extramarital affair which did not go down well with the conservative society that existed at that time, and with Lamhe, Yash Chopra reveals a relationship between an older man and a young woman in the second half, and between an older woman and a younger man in the first half. His films treat relationships with a lot of respect and grace. The narration is usually poetic, almost like a fairytale. These were movies that made us think and delve deeper into the concept of marriage beyond just the wedding celebration.

There were a many formulae-driven films like Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge and Dil Toh Paagal Hai that became cult hits not only within the country, but had an appeal

There are many big budget films that have dealt with similar issues in a different manner, like Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s Parineeta and Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Devdas and Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam These films are characterized by intense drama, pathos and grief. They present a rather romanticized view about tragic love stories, the underlying theme being marriage for love as against arranged marriages. The age-old debate about which one’s better usually crops up between my friends at the end of it!

If I’d have to pick one film from the recent times that is about a wedding or weddings, it would most certainly be Band Baaja Baarat. It was about the business of wedding planners and hence the entire film was like a massive party. It’s one of those films that inspires you to not only go after your dreams, but also believe in the concept of a functional marriage which seems to be getting unpopular in India. At a time when divorces are at an all time high, this films reminds us about what weddings are all about - togetherness, family, fun and most importantly, love!