Weddings have always been a quintessential part of Hindi cinema – on screen and off it. Be it a family drama or a romantic tale, weddings form that essential ingredient that can spice up a Hindi movie. A wedding sequence helps create the drama, masti, naach gaana, emotion and even action. It’s a theme that seldom fails and involves the audience at a truly personal level, soon you feel part of the on screen band baaja, often dancing with the baaraat and crying during the bidaai.

Having visited the bloggers meet at Taj Salon organized by the Wedding Vows Magazine that caters to all things wedding, we decided to take a look at some of the best wedding movies made in Hindi cinema.

Hum Aapke Hain Kaun

1280x720-ltW

If you’re looking for the big fat ideal – dream Indian wedding, this is the movie for you. The Barjatyas are the pioneers of the wedding genre in Hindi films. Hum Aapke Hain Kaun is a landmark for wedding films, an opulent wedding story complete with all the ceremonies, drama, romance, naughtiness and fun. This movie has given us a song for every function, after all no marriage is complete without dance and music! A well directed story where both families bonded like a dream and every character was beautifully sketched and enacted to perfection. And a special mention to Madhuri Dixit’s lovely costumes which sparked a new fashion trend for brides to be.

Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge

large_5661323705_Dilwale_Dulhania_Le_Jayenge_950x400

Aditya Chopra’s directorial debut gave us two iconic characters – Raj and Simran whose chemistry took the nation by storm and continues to rule certain theaters even today. A wedding pre – fixed by the families, unexpected romance between two strangers, parental resistance and the fight for true love formed the dramatic Indian wedding plot. Add to this traditional Punjabi wedding ceremonies, memorable naach gaana, lovable characters, a nail biting action climax and finally a happy ending with the dilwala and his dulhania.

Monsoon Wedding

MONSOON WEDDING, (standing), Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Kamini Khanna, Lillete Dubey, Naseeruddin Shah, Natasha Rastogi, Rahul Vohra, (in chairs), Ira Pandey, Rajat Kapoor, Vasundhara Das, Vimla Bhushan, (seated), Randeep Hooda, Shefali Shetty, Kemaya Kidwai, Neha Dubey, Ishaan Nair, 2001

MONSOON WEDDING, (standing), Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Kamini Khanna, Lillete Dubey, Naseeruddin Shah, Natasha Rastogi, Rahul Vohra, (in chairs), Ira Pandey, Rajat Kapoor, Vasundhara Das, Vimla Bhushan, (seated), Randeep Hooda, Shefali Shetty, Kemaya Kidwai, Neha Dubey, Ishaan Nair, 2001

No one does weddings like the Punjabis! Mira Nair’s film beautifully captured the modern day arranged marriage scenario set in an upper class Punjabi family – the parties, the chaos, drama, lots of laughter and foot tapping music. Visually fantastic, the movie entwined a mix of western values and Indian traditions complete with the wacky relatives. Beyond the wedding joy, Monsoon Wedding also showed the darker underbelly of unfortunate families – incest, hidden affairs and more, all that happens behind closed doors. But all’s well that ends well – the happy couple and family dancing in the rain – monsoon weddings can also be fun!

Band Baaja Baaraat

band-baaja-barat-buddhu-box-01

Band Baaja Baaraat was a behind the scenes film, one that showed you what actually goes into the making of the real Indian wedding. Debutante director Maneesh Sharma’s romantic comedy introduced us to the lucrative wedding planning market. From a wedding in the by lanes of a Delhi housing colony to a plush marriage in a Rajasthani palace, this movie showcased every nuance of a wedding and also involved a twisted love story. The brilliant cinematography captured not only the myriad colours of marriages but also plenty of emotions. If you love shaadis, this movie gives you lots of them to rejoice!

Tanu Weds Manu

Weddings need not always go as planned and brides need not always be coy and demure! This isn’t your quintessential boy meets girl, falls in love and they live happily-ever-after story. Anand Rai’s Tanu weds Manu revolves around a seedha saadha boy and a rebellious girl pitted together for an ‘arranged marriage’. Boy likes girl, but girl has plans of her own. Between a best friend’s wedding, thumping dance numbers, some alcohol, two boys with baaraats in the climax and Madhavan’s charming demeanor, the love story does fall into place and you get an unconventional yet fun wedding movie!

Equipped with these films and the Wedding Vows Magazine, you are now ready for any big fat Indian wedding!

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this POV/BLOG are the personal opinions of the author. PANDOLIN is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, suitability, or validity of any information on this blog. All information is provided on an as-is basis. The information, facts or opinions appearing on the POV/BLOG  do not reflect the views of PANDOLIN and PANDOLIN does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.