Monsoon Wedding | Rotten Tomatoes

Monsoon Wedding

R

Released Feb 22, 2002

1h 40m

Comedy

Drama

TRAILER

for Monsoon Wedding: Trailer 1

List

95%

133 Reviews

Tomatometer

87%

25,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

The exuberant ensemble comedy unites a Punjabi family for the wedding of a family member. Relatives from all over the world descend on Delhi for the wedding ceremony. Universal in theme, the film explores the bonds that unite families in touching, dramatic, and comedic ways.

Read More

Read Less

Critics Consensus

An insightful, energetic blend of Hollywood and Bollywood styles, Monsoon Wedding is a colorful, exuberant celebration of modern-day India, family, love, and life.

Read Critics Reviews

Shubhra Gupta

The Indian Express

It gave the Hindi film industry an alternative way of portraying the Big Fat Indian Wedding, and all its non-stop accompanying tamasha....

Jun 28, 2021

Full Review

Anthony Lane

New Yorker

This drama by Mira Nair has been hailed as a feel-good spree, but it's better than that-a barely stable compound of the wounding, the confusing, and the appealing.

Jul 13, 2020

Full Review

Anupama Chopra

Film Companion

There is the madness of a family wedding, there's a disturbing secret and there is also a snapshot of India at that moment in time. This is a film that doesn't date.

May 18, 2020

Full Review

Dave Giannini

InSession Film

There is a deep abiding passion, a willingness to delve into human darkness, all while exploring the gentleness of human love, that endears itself to the viewer in an unforgettable fashion.

Feb 21, 2024

Full Review

Carolyn Hinds

JoySauce.com

Filled with as much drama and emotion as there are characters and colors, Monsoon Wedding is a classic where there’s something for everyone to enjoy.

Feb 17, 2023

Full Review

Katherine Singh

Refinery29

This comedy may not seem like your typical Bollywood movie for the time, but that’s exactly why you should watch it.

Oct 4, 2022

Full Review

Read all reviews

elana k

I mean, yeah, sure. The structure was a bit all over the show, there was a lot of detail crammed in and I couldn't quite settle in and fully commit. Maybe I wasn't strapped into my "get ready for a jam packed chaotic monsoon wedding in India" seat, so I just did not quite have sufficient vinegar to keep my spirits up- as magnetic as the viewing experience may have been.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/28/24

Full Review

Yuvraj C

Colorful drama and comedy. Stand out performance by Vijay Raaj as decorator.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/20/23

Full Review

isla s

This film seemed a little dull at the start but I enjoyed the end and some of the dance scenes. Its more understated than most typical Bollywood films, with some nice characters. I can't say I fully followed all the plots but I enjoyed it enough to say its an ok film. I wouldn't expressly recommend it as such, no.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

jordan m

I was pretty underwhelmed by this one, solely because I took the title too literally. I kept hoping and expecting their house to be blown away by a gigantic storm at any moment and for them to have the wedding in like a storm shelter or on a boat or something. Instead nothing really went wrong the entire movie, they prepared for the weather (which ended up just being some rain, perhaps the most disappointing monsoon in the history of cinema) and the actions that could've derailed the plot laid out at the start of the movie ultimately didn't at all. They did a good job of capturing chaos in a way that didn't feel messy or breathless and the performances were good, but I thought the plot itself was a little mundane with the tired trope of cold feet before a wedding coupled with excisable family drama. Mira is clearly a competent director and I look forward to seeing a movie of hers where the plot is more compelling!

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

samuel l

A mixed bag. Somewhat enjoyable but unoriginal in many ways and definitely not a comedy. It provides a good representation of the differences between India and the US through things like the costumes, singing/dancing, and colours. However, the plot was riddled with silly subplots for drama, from an affair to sexual abuse from a paedophile, the boy perhaps being gay, a romance between the maid and wedding decorator, and a romance between the Australian idiot and the woman with the tattoo. The affair was never properly explained, the wedding decorator didn't even come across as a good guy to the maid, so it makes little sense how they got together, the sexual abuse and concerns about it repeating were kept quiet as long as possible, and there was minimal focus on the actual wedding. Whilst there was a good mix of characters, some side characters got more attention than the 'main' character. This, the subplots, and all the singing/dancing meant the pacing was a bit rough. However, the acting was decent, the sets/props/costumes were well done and believable, the cinematography and visual effects were fine, and the soundtrack fit.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

William L

First 75% of Monsoon Wedding: Ha ha, the conservative father is quarreling with his son because he has a love for baking and dance! Last 25% of Monsoon Wedding: Okay, so the pedophile joke was not just a bit of dark humor... The best way to describe this film is that it somehow combines an Indian take on a family wedding melodrama (in all its silliness, exasperation, and fun) with Thomas Vinterberg's The Celebration. There are multiple serious subplots that are contrasted against the backdrop of a brightly colored celebration, but they come, they go, and the next scene is a father fretting over expenses; it's very Bollywood in that manner, the neatly tied up conclusions. The more somber moments are crafted with the intent to shine a light on the changing nature of Indian society, but they are essentially just that, moments; one second the bride is engaging in an affair with an ex that immediately disappears, then has an immediate crisis of consciousness before coming clean, sparking a row over honesty, fidelity, and tradition ... before it is resolved a few minutes later. The film's darkest territory, where (spoiler) it turns out that the family head is not only attempting to sexually assault his niece but has a historical pattern of sexual abuse that has been glossed over, is rectified by the father figure bravely ... asking him to leave. This all happens in about 15 minutes. It's a surprisingly sombre twist and has commentary about the dangerous level of control in India's historically patriarchal society, but the subplot comes and goes shockingly fast compared to the weight of the boom it lowers. Indian films are notorious for tone shifts and stories that feel like pastiches, and while many seem to navigate these balancing acts between exuberant comedy and poignant drama surprisingly well, this doesn't seem to be one of them. (2.5/5)

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/08/22

Full Review

Read all reviews

Post a rating

Mira Nair

Director

Naseeruddin Shah

Lalit Verma

Lillete Dubey

Pimmi Verma

Sabrina Dhawan

Writer

Caroline Baron

Producer

Mira Nair

Producer

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

87%

58%

Lawless Heart

90%

85%

Adaptation

TRAILER

for Adaptation

95%

85%

Lost in Translation

48%

61%

Human Nature

86%

64%

Lovely & Amazing

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

2022 Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month TV & Streaming Calendar

Box Office Guru Preview: "300" Prepares to Conquer Multiplexes

Jack Ryan Series Stalled at Paramount

Monsoon Wedding: Trailer 1

1:25

View more videos

View more photos

Synopsis

The exuberant ensemble comedy unites a Punjabi family for the wedding of a family member. Relatives from all over the world descend on Delhi for the wedding ceremony. Universal in theme, the film explores the bonds that unite families in touching, dramatic, and comedic ways.

Director: Mira Nair
Producer: Caroline Kaplan, Jonathan Sehring
Screenwriter: Sabrina Dhawan
Distributor: USA Films
Production Co: Delhi Dot Com, Mirabai Films
Rating: R (Some Sex Related Dialogue|Language)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Feb 22, 2002, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 12, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA): $13.9M
Runtime: 1h 40m
Sound Mix: Dolby Stereo, Dolby Digital, Dolby A, Surround, Dolby SR
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)