Starring Suraj Sharma, Pallavi Sharda, and Rizwan Manji, and directed by Tom Dey, Wedding Season is all about romance in the American Indian community. However, it’s nothing we haven’t seen before. Several stereotypes are still a part of the American Indian experience, according to this film, but they’ve just been packaged in a more pleasing, 21st-century box.
Asha Maurya, a formerly successful banker turned microfinance expert and a regular American desi millennial is sick of her mother trying to find her a husband. To keep the peace in the family for her sister Priya’s wedding, Asha agrees to pretend to oblige her mom. In order to do that, she must go to all the Indian weddings and on an arranged marriage date with Ravishankar Shah, another cynical desi millennial. Ravi, on his end, is obliging his disappointed father by going on arranged marriage dates. Asha and Ravi both realise that their online profiles are absolute lies written by their respective parents, so the first date is cut short. When they meet again at a wedding and are hounded by matchmaking aunties, Asha convinces Ravi to be in a fake relationship with her to survive the Indian wedding season. Soon, it is evident that both Asha and Ravi have a past that their parents want to hide. Soon enough, sparks fly between the fake couple, complicating the situation further.
This film has all the elements of a good desi rom-com. Overly involved parents, a few good-looking American desis, and a very enthusiastic white boy trying his best to blend into a traditional Indian family. About halfway through, however, the fun dies down in Wedding Season. It goes from being a relatable film about young American Indians to an unrealistically romantic story. The predictability of the story from here makes it draggy and far too simplistic to hold your attention completely. When the tears start flowing, you realise the potential that Wedding Season had to be a really good, smart dramedy has been lost. If it was written and edited in a sharper manner, Wedding Season could have been a game-changer.
This film looks great and is aesthetically pleasing even for non-desis, but the story might leave you disappointed. What will not disappoint you, however, are the actors who are quite well suited for their roles and the fashion which, for once, is not unnecessarily loud just to look “traditional”.
Wedding Season is now streaming on Netflix.
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