'Vivah' - another take on marriage by Barjatya

New Delhi, Nov 8 (IANS) After two consecutive flops, director Sooraj R. Barjatya returns to the marquee this Friday with "Vivah", another colourful entertainer about the sanctity of marital bonding.

There was a lull in the Barjatya camp post the phenomenal success of "Hum Aapke Hain Koun...!" with "Hum Saath Saath Hain" (1999) and "Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon" (2003) bombing at the box office.

But Rajshri Productions are hoping to restore the fame and popularity of their banner with their latest offering that stars Shahid Kapur and Amrita Rao.

Touted as a heart-warming tale of unconditional love, the film revolves around Poonam (Amrita Rao), a middle class girl who lives in the small town of Madhupur with her uncle (Aloknath) and aunt (Seema Biswas).

Poonam's parents passed away when she was very young and since then her uncle has been looking after her. However, her aunt has never liked her.

Poonam grows up into a graceful and beautiful young woman and touches the heart of matchmaker Bhagatji (Manoj Joshi) with her simplicity and warmth.

Bhagatji is so impressed with Poonam that he takes her marriage proposal for Prem (Shahid Kapur), son of a Delhi-based businessman Harishchandra (Anupam Kher).

Prem, a soft-spoken boy rooted to the ground, is hesitant about getting married so early. However, respecting his father's wishes, he agrees to meet Poonam.

What follows is a meeting arranged by the two families and this formal meeting turns into an engagement. Prem and Poonam get engaged and it is decided that they will tie the knot after six months.

The six months become the most beautiful and romantic period of their lives. Coming from different sensibilities, both want their relationship to be very "right" for each other.

After six months when everything is set for Prem and Poonam's wedding, something happens to put their love on trial.

Rajshri Productions has decided to release the film in only 200 screens nationwide and 100 prints in the overseas market because they feel that the film will gain popularity only by word of mouth.

This limited release strategy helped "Hum Aapke Hai Koun...!", along very similar lines. One hopes they reap rich dividends this time too.

Click the Movie button below for more info:
Vivah