The film Monsoon Wedding shows an accurate depiction of the planning and execution of a Punjabi wedding. Through this movie, the audience witnesses the difficulty of maintaining old traditions in a changing modern society. The main characters in Monsoon Wedding encounter difficulties in maintaining their own identities and societal expectations in a changing Indian culture, which is very true of the struggle they still go through today. Two of the main themes presented in the film are gender and identity, in the divide between the old ways and the new ways.
In Punjabi culture, which is a society ruled by patriarchy, women have little say in their own lives, as in the case of the film’s main character, Aditi. She could not carry out a relationship with her ex-boyfriend whom she was really in love with, because her parents chose for her to marry Hermant, a businessman from India who recently relocated to Texas. Aditi was expected to move to the United States after getting married, as it is custom in India to leave your parents and separate from your family immediately after your wedding day. Her father, a middle class man, was expected to provide his daughter with a lavish wedding because it is Indian tradition for a father to do so. The movie chronicles Aditi’s struggle with finding her own identity in a society that frowns upon feminism and open expression.
Aditi’s younger brother, a free spirit, was encouraged to assume the traditional roles that a conventional Indian man should have.His personality and freedom scare Aditi’s father, who insists that his son go to boarding school to “learn how to be a proper Indian man.” These characters chronicle the challenges of expression and identity in a culture that relies heavily on respecting old traditions. The strict Punjabi traditions have become a difficult reality for many Indian people who struggle in a changing society.
One character who exemplified the struggle between tradition and identity was Aditi’s father. When he discovered that an uncle had molested his niece, whom he raised, Aditi’s father asked the uncle to leave the wedding. Doing so would break family ties, which is a very important aspect of Indian life. However, didn’t matter to him because his love and loyalty he had for his niece was far greater than any family tie or tradition. That single event really caught the true spirit of Punjabi, which relies on an emotional approach to life in a tight knit community.
Perhaps one of the elements that in my belief made the film so successfully executed is that the director was a female of the middle class who grew up in Delhi, India. Because of this, Mira Nair was able to capture the true essence of Indian culture. The specific settings of the film were very authentic of India. In fact, many scenes were actually filmed in Nair’s house, and several of her family members were a part of the cast. Tiny, chaotic and humorous scenes compose the entire movie, which centers on a family Wedding and strong stories of love in between. She grouped people in terms of age, gender, nationality, class and economic status.
Nair used an eclectic blend of color and movement that accompanied traditional Punjabi celebrations and the serious issues tackled within the film.The low budget film was shot on a digital camera, and many of the scenes seem more realistic because of this. The movements of the handheld camera make the audience feel as though they are a part of the Wedding celebrations. There is a rush of tangerine color from the ever-appearing marigold flower, which plays a role as an important symbol in the film. This flower is organic to Indian celebrations. The costumes worn by the characters in the movie were authentic to Indian wear. The vibrant patterns, embellishments and unique pieces of jewelry represented the traditional ensembles worn in the Punjabi community. The director plays with color, light, movement and texture in the film, increasing the feeling of realism presented.
In addition to the success of the visuals in the film, the sound was also wonderfully executed. This film is really dominated by the different vivacious sounds. The audio consists of love songs, traditional Indian music, folk and jazz and compliments the visuals perfectly. The sound really makes the movie, in my opinion. One of the most moving and effective scenes of the movie is when all of the women in the family sat around for traditional Wedding preparations and began to sing an Indian hymn. The heavy beats of the drum soon followed, and everyone was on their feet dancing along. It really made me want to get up and dance with them! The soundtrack for this film is very influential on the overall success of Monsoon Wedding.
Monsoon Wedding really captured the true essence of Punjabi culture and the joining of two families. The fact that it is an independent film only increased the realism presented. The acting and filming of the film is very similar to what really goes on in a Punjabi wedding.
The character’s struggles to find their identities in a changing culture is a big part of what is going on in India right now. The old school traditions and harsh gender roles, where women are treated as less equal than men, are now challenged by a modern and changing world. There were no crazy effects or props that made the acting outlandish or unrealistic. In my opinion, the low budget factor influenced the success of the movie because it exemplified the sacredness of Indian culture, and the importance of following past traditions. The characters in Monsoon Wedding confront the challenges of maintaining traditions in a changing world.
No comments:
Post a Comment