Mira Nair, the award winning director behind films such as Mississippi Masala, Kama Sutra: A Tale Of Love and The Namesake, will be honored with a Criterion release of her film Monsoon Wedding on October 13, 2009. As with all Criterion releases, this special release of the film will include an array of extras.
– Audio Commentary featuring director Mira Nair
– 3 Bonus Documentary Shorts: So Far from India (1983), India Cabaret (1985), The Laughing Club of India (2001)
– 4 Bonus Fiction Shorts directed by Mira Nair: The Day the Mercedes Became a Hat (1993), 11-09-01 – September 11 (2002), Migration (2007), How Can It Be? (2008)
– A New Interview with actor Naseeruddin Shah, who plays Lalit Verma, the father of the bride in the film
– A New Interview with cinematographer Declan Quinn and Production Designer Stephanie Carroll
– the Trailer
– an Essay by Critic Pico Lyer
Synopsis:
Following up on her controversial erotic drama Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love, Mira Nair directs this charming family drama about a very chaotic Indian wedding. Lalit Verma (Naseeruddin Shah) is a wealthy father who is trying to see that his daughter Aditi’s wedding goes off without a hitch. Though familiar with Western ways, he has little patience with them and is dead set on seeing the nuptials done properly and traditionally. Disillusioned with her long time relationship with Vikram — a man who is almost twice her age — Aditi (Vasundhara Das) suddenly agrees to submit to an arranged marriage with Hemant, an engineer from Houston. Yet as the ceremony nears, she gets cold feet and returns to see her former lover — even though it could spell disaster for everyone involved. Meanwhile, Aditi’s comely 17-year-old cousin Ayesha is coming to terms with her blossoming sexuality and has her sights set on Rahul, another relative who is a college student in Australia. Then there is Rai — also Aditi’s cousin — who has a shocking revelation to make. This film was screened at the 2001 Toronto and Venice Film Festivals. At Venice, Monsoon Wedding won the prestigious Golden Lion award. Source: All Movie Guide
Source: Criterion