Vivah: Mein Herz bleibt dir treu

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.

"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

Though it's been 4 years after the movie released, it's a delight write a review on this movie. In real life, various human relationships are weighed, analyzed and misinterpreted to dishonor its values and discolor its beauty for personal interests. This is an intelligent and collective effort to beautifully feel the ideal Indian mannerisms and relationship values as in a beautiful dream; not only the romantic relationship between a boy and a girl but with families, parents, children, siblings, in-laws etc.

Intelligent and effort-full scripting, excellent scene blended music/songs and profound insights in making those so called 'silly' moments of life beautifully. There were some scenes felt like could have been done better, but none of them stayed on top till the end of the movie. Though this movie has an old fashioned narration, repetitive camera movements, and evident studio backgrounds, altogether it wonderfully delivers a triangular chemistry between three environments; the girl, the boy and the audience. Sooraj, your commendable vision and patience to make 'vivah' points out that this won't be the last and your best of all the time! Eagerly waiting for another wonderful and better cinematic experience! :)

Really not a big fan of indian family dramas , but VIVAH will be always an exception.

Amrita stole the show , everyone else are so good too.

I just hope , hindi cinema will make a movie like this again , just once.

I definitely recommend it.

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 !!