Vivah

This review is in response to several postings here criticizing the movie. Firstly, I would like to create the right expectation here. This is not for Everybody. This movie will be loved by Indians to whom romance appeals. A typical Sooraj Bharjatya film centered on Family- Arranged marriages. And He very well succeeds in pleasing the audience at the same time giving a message of True Love. With several filmmakers targeting the Teenagers, Sooraj has made a bold attempt in making a Genuine Indian film. Music by Ravindra Jain is a Highlight of the Film. The flow of the movie is great & engaging. First-half of the film is very entertaining. In the later-half, the movie takes a serious turn as expected in old-fashioned Indian films. I would regard this as one of Sooraj's best films & hoping to see more from him. While I thoroughly enjoyed this family-drama, I feel this movie will appeal mainly to the older audience. Hope this Review Helps! :)

My Comments for VIVAH :- Its a charming, idealistic love story starring Shahid Kapoor and Amrita Rao. The film takes us back to small pleasures like the bride and bridegroom's families sleeping on the floor, playing games together, their friendly banter and mutual respect. 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-in romantic moments between the to-be-married couple and their stubborn resistance to modern courtship games makes you crave for the idealism. The film predictably concludes with the marriage and the groom, on the wedding night, tells his new bride who suffers from burn injuries: "Come let me do your dressing"

V I V A H - showcases a lot of good things - beauty of arranged marriage, beauty of Indian culture, beauty of Indian woman, last but not least a nice IDEALISM of the about-to-be-couple waiting to get married .... playing by the rules ! Simple yet Beautiful; Such a Simple story .... no plot ... no villain - as is the case with most of Sooraj Barjatya films. Sooraj sir is back to what he does BEST. He has made the movie with FULL CONVICTION. Its a very sweet film - which teaches the current generation a lot of good things bout Arranged Marriage & the Union of 2 Families. I think AMRITA RAO - looks very good & she has acted very well. She has most of the good scenes - although i thought the last half hour was completely to Shahid Kapur - who for a change gives an awesomely restrained performance. I also liked the acting of all others for ex. the Choti i.e. Amrita Prakash, Alok Nath, Anupam Kher, Shahid's bro & sis-in-law. It almost seemed as real and recognizable as it could. Sooraj sir has got another nice family film to his credit after Maine Pyar Kiya, HAHK & Hum Saath Saath Hain. The chemistry between Shahid & Amrita is AWESOME.

Stuff like Sanctity in a Marriage/Relationship, Avoiding Courtship, Mutual Respect, Care & Space, Waiting for getting Married "officially", Praying/Sacrficing for Ur Beloved - all these and more get SHOWCASED in Vivah. There's still some good audience who r going & enjoying this film. Some of the folks/audience are already excited after seeing, that they r thinking bout Arranged-Marriage :) Thats Success if you ask me. it seems AMRITA RAO - our actress-from-Vivah {Result for a nice performance} has been bestowed the prestigious DADSAHEB PHALKE award for 2006 !! Hats off to her for this achievement Chalo, even though Vivah , Shahid or Amrita didn't get any of the film-fare & other awards; @ least this is news to CHEER about !! Congrats to AMRITA RAO- for showing us a visual of Indian Bride-to-be in the purest form and Of Course to Sooraj Barjatya for portraying her the best way :) Shudn't forget Shahid Kapur and all others who make VIVAH as sweet and legendary as it is today !! Imagine, to share the same pedestal as the legendary Dilip Kumar .......... Its no mean achievement !! Congrats to Amrita Rao - for taking her Career to another level with this award .... I personally feel - she should keep doing movies only with Shahid Kapur !! They make a cute couple and their on-screen chemistry reminds me of {SRK-Kajol} or {Aamir Khan & Juhi Chawla} .................

Some points that I observed,few of the elements :- #1 If u notice carefully, Amrita Rao looks so good because shes always wearing traditional dresses. She gives every bit of the Indian Woman essence - in this film !! Perfect Fit #2 Shahid Kapur is like most of us - not exactly ready for marriage or early-marriage .... but PREM listens carefully to the step-wise talk given by his DAD - having full faith in Anupam Kher. Eventually "Honesty" & "Trust" are the keywords that he reflects in his first talk with Amrita. Most people would think such a first meeting with a total stranger plus for a limited time is never enough to judge a person. But according to what I saw in this film, I have a feeling - that Two people who are made for each other can connect within a 1st meet also, Its possible !!! #3 In the entire movie - there are basically 4 or 5 sequences where Shahid & Amrita are together - or shown to be together. Its unlike most other romantic/wedding-based movies where Hero & Heroine are always singing/dancing or nowadays - doing cheap stuff. But the beauty of each of these 5 sequences :- Characterized by restraint, innocence & respect for the other ! #4 I really liked the relationship shown between Chacha ALOK NATH & Amrita Rao. These kinda movies should highlight the indifference shown to daughters/girl-kids in some parts of India. #5 Romantic scenes between lead couple are shot very nicely - no cheap scenes,songs are beautifully pictured !! Words like "Jal","praarthana" e.t.c. are going to be buzzwords for all girls who liked this film :) Personally, I really am fond of many dialogs in this film. #6 Last but not the least - The entire Hospital Scene where Shahid puts "sindhoor" to Amrita when shes struggling for Life - is terrific. Those dialogs between the couple are so touching and U feel the LOVE/I-cant-do-without-U ; Its a Hats-Off feeling !!!

*** In many ways, VIVAH reminded me of Maine Pyar Kiya, DDLJ, Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam - for the freshness/on-screen-chemistry of the LEAD pair :) :) *** IF U ASK ME :- Along with films like Rang De Basanti, Lage Raho Munnabhai, DOR, CORPORATE and Kabul Express, V I V A H ranks among the best films made in 2006. IN FACT - i think Vivah does deserve better viewing/business than Dhoom2 or Fanaa or Golmaal or all those time-pass/fuzzy/style/crap movies !!

Vivah is by no means a classic. However in the days of hardcore action, path-breaking special effects & complex plots (none of which Bollywood has mastered yet), its quite refreshing to see a simple film like Vivah. The story as we all know is a journey from a couple's first meeting to their eventual wedding after some coy moments and testing times. Nothing more, nothing less. The music isn't quite in the same league as MPK or HAHK but doesn't jar your senses either. Two songs stood out for me - Mujhe Haq Hai & Do Anjaane. While Milan abhi aadha & Hamaari shaadi were hummable. Shahid performs sincerely & shows a lot of potential. Its good to see him play something else but the "cool dude" he normally does. Amrita is very sweet and plays the role of a docile small-town girl to perfection. Alok Nath, Anupam Kher & Seema Biswas are terrific supports and the rest of the cast does a reasonable job. Suraj's direction is simple but effective. The movie's prime flaw is the slow pace which might test the patience of a lot of young viewers. But all in all a good, clean, decent family movie.

I'm new to Bollywood films, however I judge this movie not as a foreign film but as one of the most beautifully made films I've ever seen. Vivah is so simplistically romantic. I've seen it three times and I plan on watch it many more times. I recommend this movie for the true lovers at heart. The characters light up the screen and you can almost feel what the director was trying to convey. I'm unmarried but I can understand the courtship from the engagement to the wedding. I also loved the relationship between uncle and niece. It truly shows the love the uncle must have had for his brother to love his niece so much. I also love the message of sisterhood, it was very clear that they adored each other. One of my favorite lines, were when in the house before the fire, the uncle said to Rama: "you will cry the most"; I believe when you do wrong to others it always comes back to you. Moreover, the music was absolutely superb, all the songs were so touching.

I always love Rajshree Productions as they are always family bound and take family movies which have become huge blockbusters. Vivah is one of them. I have seen this movie multiple times on TV , YouTube and recently on Netflix during the current pandemic. I also do not mind watching it again and again as it gives me a family feeling inside me.

The main protagonists ie Shahid Kapoor and Amrita Rao played the perfect couple on screen starting from strangers till they get married. I have become a great fan of them since their Ishq Vishk days. Now, I shall give the review in detail below:

* The Cast: Amrita Rao has proved that she is the real girl that anyone would have wanted as their life partner. Her spotless beauty, traditional looks and superb acting lit the movie to great heights. She just rocks the screen. Shahid Kapoor played his role so perfectly that he has become the nation's favorite. His handsome looks, zest acting has made all the girls weak. Alok Nath did an awesome job as the uncle cum father figure of Amrita Rao. His expressions, smile, acting proved that he is the real sanskari babuji of India. Amrita Prakash who played Amrita's cousin sister did a good job but could not act naturally (That's a flaw). Seema Biswas who played the aunt did a great job. Anupam Kher was just superb as the kindhearted, successful down-to-earth businessman. Other cast like Sameer Soni, Lata Sabharwal, Dinesh Lamba, Manoj Joshi did a great job too.

* The plot: In no way there was any sub-plot in the movie. Kudos to the director for having concentrated on the main plot. This is how in real life ; arranged marriages work out.

* Music: Ravindra Jain's music was so uplifting that it brought tears in my eyes. Do Anjaane Ajnabee is the perfect song for a marriage prospect and its used even today in real life. Another song "Mujhe Haq Hai" was so good. The bhajan "Radhe Krishn Ki Jyoti" was so divinely sung by Shreya Ghoshal that I play it everyday. These 3 songs are my favorites. The other songs were also good in their own way too.

* Cinematography: The cinematographer did a brilliant job in capturing wonderful locales like Nainital, Delhi, Uttarakhand.

There are several heart touching scenes in the movie like the father convincing the son to marry at the right age, the boy-girl meeting, the would-be-in-laws taking the prime responsibility of curing their would-be-daughter-in-law for her burn accident with the help of extra burn specialists , Mohnish Behl (special appearance) telling about abandonment of people during burn cases, Sameer Soni-Lata Sabharwal scenes, the Som Sarovar stay with the future family etc. The scenes between Amrita Rao Rao-Alok Nath, Manoj Joshi-Alok Nath was just touching.

I just loved the movie and would recommend people to watch it. I even have the DVD of the movie too. I also thank Netflix for releasing the movie during these tough times.

Watch "Vivah" and find your perfect match.