The movie revolves around Prem (Shahid Kapoor) whose father feels it’s about time he got married. A family friend (Manoj Joshi) comes forward with an offer for a girl in a small town called Madhupur. The girl Poonam (Amrita Rao) is an orphan who has been raised by her uncle (Aloknath) with all the love and caring any child could ever want and treats her just like she is his own daughter. However her aunty (Seema Biswas) is jealous of Poonams beauty and charm as she feels that her own daughter Chhoti (Amrita Prakash) is being overshadowed.
Prem may have studied abroad and is from a wealthy family, however he has all the traditional values, manners, respect and morals that any good Indian boy should have. Prem and Poonam meet and Prem takes an instant liking for her-the engagement too takes place shortly after and the marriage date is set in a few months time. Prem and Poonam now enter into one of the most magical and romantic times in their life, however just as all seems to be going well a tragedy strikes…one that will challenge Perms loyalty to Poonam. What happens next? VIVAH provides the answers.
The story itself is no great shakes; however it’s the treatment which makes all the difference. Sooraj has structured the screenplay of the movie similar to his earlier hits MAINE PYAAR KIYA and HUM AAPKE HAI KOUN by merging the whole teen love story concept with happy families all living together and focussing on the light and romantic moments in the first half, and by adding a “twist” in the second half which tests the lovers love for each other as well as the other family members love. The first half maybe relatively slow in terms of pacing, but it does build atmosphere and a bond between the characters and the audiences. The second half takes a twist which is unexpected in a lot of ways though does remind one of the twist in HUM AAPKE HAI KOUN. The sequences that follow completely grip the viewer emotionally right to the concluding reels. As a director Sooraj again reaffirms his faith in the viewer with a near flawless execution of a simple tale. His honesty and sincerity is reflected in his work and his simplicity is what makes the movie work. There has always been criticism that Soorajs vision of family values etc is too “fake” and “cheesy” and to an extent I did find it a problem with some of his earlier works, however with VIVAH it came across as a breath of fresh air. Without being preachy or forceful, the director presents his vision in the most seamless manner and although one may be a cynic about Soorajs vision, it’s definitely hard NOT to appreciate, if not, really love his style and portrayals of family values as well as the love story. I’m sure Sooraj knows that his vision in today’s day and age maybe laughed upon, however it’s simply his conviction and dream of what things should be like. In the area of bikini clad babes dropping their clothes off at the click of a finger, lip locks, item numbers, over-the-top Hollywood studio inspired action films with gimmicky twists and so forth VIVAH comes across as a breath of fresh air by providing us with wholesome, clean family viewing which can be enjoyed by everyone of all ages.
The dialogues by Aash Karan Atal are superbly written, and the Shubdh Hindi gels really well with the movie!
The performances in the movie are delightful.
Shahid Kapoor has always been an actor who has been tremendously hyped by the media. Despite a successful debut with ISHK VISHK and a brilliant performance in FIDAA, the actor has never delivered much since in the way of successes AND performances. No doubt his confidence and enthusiasm as well as youthfulness came across well in films like DIL MAANGE MORE, DEEWANE HUYE PAAGAL, VAAH LIFE HO TO AISI and SHIKHAR-however in all cases either he was overshadowed by others in the movie or the film didn’t provide him ample scope to perform. Of late, he has tasted box-office success with Abbas-Mustaans 36, CHINATOWN and Priyadarshans CHUP CHUP KE, but neither were films he could really call his OWN as majority of the attribution of the success went somewhere else. In that sense, VIVAH is a success that Shahid can count as his own. Sooraj’s portrayal of Prem has always been a youthful boy who is respectful, youthful, vibrant, instilled with family values and morals, modern yet rooted not to forget charming and handsome and in Salman Khan, Sooraj found the perfect Prem with his earlier films. In MAIN PREM KI DEEWANI HOON Sooraj had two Prems. Hrithik Roshan as the “main” Prem just didn’t click due to a poor charactrisation. Yes, all the attributes I mentioned above were in his Prem too but Sooraj wasn’t able to extract the required performance from Hirhtik in order to pull the performance through, and Hrithik himself couldn’t do justice to Soorajs vision either. His other Prem, Abhishek worked better in that sense and spoke volumes with his silence, but that too was a performance that was overlooked as the movie itself was totally muddled. In Shahid, Sooraj has again found a perfect Prem and he manages to strike the right chord with Shahid and extracts sincere and likeable performance from Shahid. Shahid looks great on-screen, performs his part with confidence and is a complete natural throughout. His romantic and light scenes are no doubt top notch, however it’s his emotional and dramatic scenes in the second half which takes the viewer by surprise as Shahid shows marked improvement as an actor.I hope Sooraj continues to make Shahid his “Prem” in the next couple of movies.
Amrita Rao is an actress who I’ve liked from the very first time I saw her. Gorgeous, simply, pretty yet can be extremely sexy when wanted, she impressed me with her performances in her earlier films however her last few releases didn’t do justice to her talent and Box-office success has eluded her since. VIVAH in that sense comes as a lifesaver for the actress as it taps into her potential in the looks and acting department. She looks her character, and gives a graceful and extremely likeable performance. Her eyes speak VOLUMES in the movie, and her delivery too is spot on!
The chemistry between Shahid and Amrita has always been fantastic since their debut movie ISHK VISHK. The duo have since worked in VAAH! LIFE HO TO AISI and SHIKHAR yet neither of the movies clicked at the box-office. It’s heartening to know that VIVAH has given them yet another success and one hopes to see both Shahid and Amrita together in the future.
The supporting cast all do their parts perfectly.
Aloknath has always got the BEST roles of his career in Rajshri films, and in that sense VIVAH is no different . The actor gets a meaty role as the girl’s father and he plays his role with dignity and honesty which is bound to tug at the heartstrings although it is a re-run of his previous performances in Soorajs films. The portrayal of a doting father has been shown splendidly and one smile or tear from Aloknath does the trick. It’s been a while since one saw Aloknath in a decent role, and I hope he gets some more offers after VIVAH as he shows that there is still a lot of talent in him.
Anupam Kher too is superb in his part as the father of the boy. Kher brings a real earthy element to his character and makes him REAL despite not having much in the way of histrionics. If there is one person who plays the BEST screen-father to actors I’ve always believed its been Anupam Kher and VIVAH is no different.
I was surprised to find Seema Biswas in the cast list of a Rajshri film, however after seeing the movie I could see why. She plays her jealous character to perfection and the supremely talented actress elevates the simplest scenes to something else.
Sameer Soni, Lataa Saberwal, Manoj Joshi, and Dinesh Lambha all play their parts extremely well though the characters are nothing more than a copy of those Sooraj had in his earlier films, just with different faces.
Mohinish Behl in a nostalgic guest appearance makes his presence felt.
Technically a movie like VIVAH doesn’t need any flash action scenes or SFX. The camerawork by Harish Joshi is good and in tune with the movies whole “simple” feel.
Music has always been one of Soorajs main fortes, and as well as the Super Hit tunes it’s been his penchant for picturisations saturated and sugar coated in the “feel good” batter which ensured that they always had repeat value. Ravindras Jains music I simply found atrocious when I listened to it on my IPOD, however after watching the movie, and in the context of the movie I started liking the movie. The songs are definitely old-school and in today’s era they seem like they belong to the 70’s yet while watching the movie I found myself guilty of completely liking them, and have listened to them on my IPOD since as well.
MUJHE HAQ HAI, DO AJNABI, MILAN ABHI AADHA ADHURA HAI, O JIJI and TERE DWAARE PE BAARAT all work and are picturised well.Whats surprising is that Sooraj has for the most tried to incorporate the songs in the narrative of the movie rather than making an “event” of the songs like in his previous films which works really well in the films favour. Those expecting big lavish songs with the entire family dancing will be in for a surprise yet Soorajs touch is evident in the songs.
My favourite song is HUMARI SHAADI MAIN which gets more and more addictive the more you listen to it. Shahids dancing here too is extremely well done.
The CHHOTA SA SAAJAN which plays at the start and establishes the relationship between a father and his daughter too is beautiful.
By now you’re probably thinking VIVAH is completely flawless, but it’s not! The movie does have its fair share of flaws and the film could’ve definitely been chopped by 25 minutes or so. There is about 30 minutes in the movie where the story just doesn’t move ahead at all, and it seemed like Sooraj was “filling in” time until the second half where the story takes a turn.
All up VIVAH is a simple love story which proves to be a wholesome and clean family entertainer. Despite not being too original, movies like this are rarely made nowadays and VIVAH in that sense comes across as a breath of fresh air….give VIVAH a go!
Final Rating: * * * ¾
