No film has inspired me to write a review for a really long time, simply because they’ve all met my expectations, one way or the other, and my opinion of them wasn’t very different from most others.
Anyway, when I saw the first promos of Vivaah, I started guffawing. “Who’ll watch these kinda sugary sweet movies these days man?” was my reasoning. “It’s the day and age for Don, Dhoom and all that Dhishoom Dhishoom and maybe the one-off Dor. Sooraj Barjatya needs to wake up and smell the coffee.”
That, and the fact that Rajshri’s last film ‘Main Prem Ki Deewani Hoon’ had put me off movies for a really long time, were enough reason for me to avoid this one.
Last night, I found myself in the queue at the local theatre playing Vivaah. Not ‘cos I’d changed my mind about the film, but because we (my husband and I – members of Bollywood Addicts Anonymous) hadn’t seen a Hindi film for a while and were getting withdrawal symptoms.
I’m glad I did.
True…Vivaah is a ‘not so original’ shaadi story of an ‘oh cho chweet’ couple that’s going to be married and it’s sugary sweet most of the time, but here’s what works for the film…
Shahid Kapur, who I felt fits into the shoes of a 21st century Prem perfectly.
Amrita Rao, who’s got a million expressions to give even when she’s being shy and demure.
The chemistry between the lead pair (any wonder why they keep landing up in all those films together?)
The characterization – All the characters have well-rounded personalities, and at no point do their actions deviate from these personalities.
The film’s pace, which doesn’t let you get bored, even when the groan songs are playing.
The fact that it’s real, unlike most other Rajshri ‘la di da’ films that begin with one wedding party and end at another.
Worth a one time watch!