Abstract:

"Westerners have always been averse to the idea of arranged marriages, holding up the "love match" as the ideal. In this film, a young, divorced European explores attitudes among the educated Indian couples of her acquaintance, asking them how they met and married their spouses. What emerges is an engaging portrait of young marrieds who have striven for personal happiness within a social system which would seem to negate these considerations. In India marriages are a family matter; the best interests of the family often govern the arrangements. Romance is not usually a consideration, nor are the feelings of the couple. We are taken to a marriage bureau, where earnest parents look over the qualifications of potential mates for their children; education, caste, religion, profession, physical attributes all figure in the equation. Marriages can be used to improve the social standing of the family. A rich, but low caste father has found a high-borne groom of shady reputation for his daughter and showers him with jewels. The bride accepts her fate and sadly drives off with her new husband after an opulent wedding. In our society where so many marriages fail and so many young people find it challenging to find a suitable mate, a glimpse into another world is both fascinating and ironic."