Love Marriage Movie Review: A simple, no-frills tale of love, marriage, and a few things in between
Love Marriage(2.5 / 5)
The moment we commodified weddings and started calling it the marriage ‘market’, many brides and grooms became products that came with a selling price, a buying price, and unfortunately, an expiry date too. They are depreciating assets, and it is one such asset that is the protagonist in director Shanmuga Priyan’s debut film, Love Marriage, a rather faithful remake of Vishwak Sen’s Ashoka Vanamlo Arjuna Kalyanam.
Cast: Vikram Prabhu, Sushmitha Bhat, Meenakshi Dinesh, Ramesh Thilak, Aruldoss
Director: Shanmuga Priyan
Ramachandran (Vikram Prabhu) is in his early thirties and is already considered to be past his sell-by date. He is part of a misogynistic and casteist family, which has relaxed its rules since they haven’t found the right suitor within their caste and class. That is the scheme of things in many a family in the arranged marriage setup. And after multiple rejections due to his age, greying hair, rumours of balding, and his profession, Ramachandran’s family decides to travel far away from home and get engaged to Ambika (Sushmitha Bhat), who is from a different caste.
The irony of naming a film about arranged marriage as Love Marriage isn’t lost on the makers, as they have ample fun with the setup. The film is set during the pandemic, and it is a reminder that the lockdown isn’t something that happened too long ago. Ramachandran is reticent, and Ambika is shy, yet they are not a match made in heaven, and as we spend more time with them, it is clear that the concept of arranged marriage is the biggest gamble in a couple’s life. However, the film doesn’t dwell a lot on all these aspects of marriage, and takes up the low-hanging fruits of nosy relatives who exist only to wreak havoc in the lives of the protagonist. Here, too, we have Ramachandran’s uncle (Aruldoss), who gives it his all in an unlikeable one-note character. We know he is present in the narrative only for the protagonist to finally give him a dressing down, and that’s what happens, not once, but twice.
We also have Ambika’s younger sister Radha (Meenakshi Dinesh), who is the polar opposite of her elder sibling, and talks dime a dozen, just like her uncle (Muruganandam). While the hat-tip to the legacy of Ambika and Radha doesn’t go unnoticed, the film is crammed with too many dialogues and too many actors that such nifty touches run the risk of being overlooked. There is the outlandish premise of the groom’s family being forced to stay in the bride’s place because of a vehicular breakdown and the nationwide lockdown. There is another detour that was expected, but it could have still been fleshed out more convincingly. It is a pity that these scenes are not milked enough for humour or sentiment, despite the possibilities being aplenty. It oscillates between sudden spurts of energy and long bouts of nothingness.
Love Marriage tries to make multiple pertinent points about the institution of marriage, and is moderately successful at the same time. Take, for instance, Ramachandran losing his cool about caste pride, especially since none of his brethren wanted to get him married into their family due to various reasons, including financial status. Or the way he has a meltdown regarding the dismissive attitude towards the birth of a girl child. Both of these scenes are strong in content, but falter in execution simply because they come out of nowhere. We understand the idea behind the scene, but don’t feel the emotion. There are other moments in the film where sentiments are found wanting.
Love Marriage is held together by likeable and earnest performances, especially from the leads — Vikram Prabhu, Sushmitha, and Meenakshi — who make do with the superficial nature of their roles. Once again, Love Marriage isn’t trying too hard or pushing an agenda down our throats. Probably why we can look past that odd ‘drunk out of love’ song or sidestep the overwhelming archaic nature of incidents that make Ramachandran fall in love, or even forget the fact that Love Marriage feels much longer than the 126-minute runtime. And if the narrative still feels familiar and the nothingness makes you feel uneasy, there is Sean Roldan who fills those silences and predictability with a wonderful soundtrack.
Love Marriage isn’t a great advertisement for marriage or love or love marriage, but the best part is that it doesn’t try to be one either. Even when making a case for the institution of marriage, the film also manages to say a lot of other things about financial independence and breaking out of the shackles of being a commodity. But more than anything, Love Marriage is a throwback to the times when people came to the theatres to watch a ‘family padam’ and stayed in their seats till the word ‘Subham’ appeared on the screen with all the characters looking at the camera with a big smile on their faces. And Love Marriage manages to just about deliver it with all its conveniences, contrivances, and chaos… Just like your average marriage.