Vivah (2006)

"Vivaah" feels more like a 70s/ 80s film from Rajshree Productions filled with family values and culture. Unlike Rajshree's "Hum Aapke Hai Kaun", the film is slow and the songs and music are comparatively weak. But the film has a simplicity and is away from the modern treatment. Perhaps the very simplicity of this film made it a big hit of its time. Personally, I liked the film; and Rajshree movies should be commended to keep alive the family values through its movies; and "Vivaah" too joins this league. The simplicity and the spontaneity the film carries through its characters and settings get equally complemented with good performances from Shahid Kapoor, Amrita Rao, Anupam Kher, and Aloknath. In the stream of boisterous and noisy movies, this film kind of gives an inspiration for commitments and family values.Rating: 2 stars out of 4

I watched the film because I have grown up with the Sooraj Barjatya films & was keen to see what they would offer after the disastrous Main Prem Ki Deewani Hoon..The story of the film is incredibly simple & I feel that the simplest stories make the best love stories, as they revolve around the emotions of the characters. So, this is definitely not a movie for someone who likes to sit at the edge of their seat when watching a film.The performances of the movie are good.. Shahid & Amrita do justice to their role.. The support cast is wonderful. The standout performance is Seema Biswas - excellent in her role. Mohnish Behl is great in his bit part. I love the writing in the Shahid-Amrita scenes especially in the second half.I don't want to debate whether the film is realistic or not.. Its a film, so a certain amount of exaggeration & fiction to heighten the drama is understandable. But, I appreciate the message at the end of the film - importance of love & trust over physical appearance and accepting daughters & not daughter-in-laws into families.

Long time ago in one of the movie awards function Sooraj Barjatya stood amongst "Bollywood Merchants" for his contribution to film industry. That was post Maine Pyaar Kiya and Hum Aapke Hain Kaun. And subsequently it was all downhill. Hum Saath Saath Hain survived owing to track record of Sooraj however sadly Main Prem Ki Diwaani Hoon failed miserably. In my opinion, Maine Pyaar Kiya stands tall when ti comes to the finest works of Sooraj. HAHK was overstretched and over-mushy. The lesser said about HSSH and MPKDH, the better.But with Vivaah the master storyteller returns back to where he truly belongs. Interesting plot, tight screenplay, well-written dialogues and fantastic execution. In Vivaah you can see the same soul which pervaded all through Maine Pyar Kiya. Its apparent that Sooraj has done a lot of self-introspection and learnt from his mistakes - the corrections are visible in Vivaah. For instance, the penchant for 14-songs is reduced to a couple of lines and the 3 1/2 hour is confined to 2 1/2. On the same note, there is no scope for PETA violation too.------------------------Performance:: 01. Shahid:: Fits the role to the T 02. Amrita Rao:: Restrained performance, immensely likable 03. Anupam Kher, Alok Nath & Manoj Joshi:: Just what you expect 04. Seema Biswas:: Under-utilised for the amount of talent this actress possesses. Even Himani Shivpuri could have pulled off this role with equal effectiveness. 05. Lata Sabharwal:: A new Bhabhi on the block 06. Amruta Prakash:: The makeup department failed to keep the consistent complexion that was required for the role especially when the actress is naturally fair complexioned------------------------The only fly in the ointment is the music which is completely out of place in contemporary times (sounds more like retro music).

What can i say, i have grown up watching Hum Saath Saath Hain, Hum Aapke Hain Koun and Maine Pyar Kiya. Soraj have always been different. Movies are part of our lives in evolutionary times Soraj creates something thats hard to find. Love and joint family that loving and great. Vivah is journey for a couple that are getting arrange marriage that turns on arrange and love marriage. Shahid has done fine work. Anupamji as always brilliant. Amrita Rao quit different even though I felt that someway the other to me she doesn't suit in that role. We've seen her in Ishk Vishk and Ab ke baras, and Main ho on Na. So quit different role that she isn't in to. She is been excellent in Main ho on Na and ishk vishk but may be she could've put little more in the role. Anyways great going work by Barjatya. This movie rejuvenates the values that we forgot. Sweet film of the year. Great music and lyrics. I am not sure if its a remake but anyways brilliant story that is original. Soraj's movies have been brilliant all the way so we always expect something different from him. Great work by all the cast the crew and everybody. Lovely family film to enjoy with your parents, siblings, friends and love ones. I give it 10 out of 10.