Vivah is very desi, very Indian at heart, seeped in Hindustani emotions. It talks of familial bonding. Prem [Shahid Kapoor] may be an eligible bachelor, but he is not yet ready for marriage. He agrees to meet Poonam [Amrita Rao] just to please his dad [Anupam Kher] and finds her to be a woman he can really grow to love. An awkward, formal exchange of words grows into a deep, meaningful conversation as Prem and Poonam soon discover that they are soulmates.
Poonam, an orphan, has grown up in a small town, where her Chacha [Alok Nath] has brought her up. Chachi [Seema Biswas], however, is jealous of Poonam’s beauty, simplicity and charm, as her own daughter Chothi [Amrita Prakash] is overshadowed. Gentle, soft-spoken Prem, the scion of one of Delhi’s most prosperous business houses, may have studied abroad, but retains his respect for family traditions and values. Prem and Poonam are engaged and the marriage is scheduled to take place after six months.
Prem and Poonam now enter the most magical and romantic time of their lives. Just when everything is set for the wedding, a crisis puts their love through a trial by fire. Sure, starts off very well and the bonding between Alok Nath and the baby [Amrita Rao’s childhood] is indeed emotional. Everything is fine till Shahid and Amrita get engaged. Shahid Kapoor performs like never before. If he was super-cool in Ishq Vishk and showed flashes of brilliance in Fida, you’ve to watch him in Vivah to see his growth as a tremendous actor. He is exceptional in emotional sequences.
Amrita Rao also gets a new lease of life with Vivah. She looks the character and is splendid all through. Vivah has a host of characters, but the ones that stand out are Alok Nath [terrific], Seema Biswas [excellent], Anupam Kher [very good], Amrita Prakash [confident] and Master Ameya Pandya [first-rate]. Sameer Soni, Lataa Saberwal, Manoj Joshi and Dinesh Lamba are adequate. Mohnish Bahl [special appearance] does well.
On the whole, Vivah has an ordinary/routine first half, but the post-interval portions, notably the climax, compensate for the shortcomings. At the box-office, the rich emotional quotient [last 40 minutes] should appeal to ladies / families and help the film gather momentum slowly, but surely. The film may start on a slow note, but a strong word of mouth should help it consolidate its status in the traditional markets. Business may not be strong at multiplexes as much as in single screens, where the weekly run will compensate for the number of shows at multiplexes.
Courtesy: IndiaFM
