A humorous take on arranged marriages, society

The humorous tale of a taxi-driver from a small town who sees his wife only for a split-second, before his marriage, courting her all the while over phone, is set to open in theatres next week in Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore and Delhi.
The documentary, "When Hari got Married," aims to provide an insight into age-old traditions and customs in India, says the husband-wife filmmaker duo-Ritu Sarin and Tenzing Sonam.
"This movie is a combination of light and humorous characters with a heavy and serious topic like marriage in times of technology", says Ritu.
She points out that things are changing gradually in the villages where mobile phones, television, Internet have made their place along with time old customs and traditions.

"This film would definitely be interesting for urban audience, reason being that most of them still have their roots in rural villages...And this co-existence between the modern and the traditional is an interesting facet," the director adds.
The Dharamshala-based director duo has previously made politically and socially significant movies like "The Shadow Circus: The CIA in Tibet", which unveiled popular impression that non-violent Tibetans allowed the Chinese to stroll into Lhasa.

Their documentary, "The Sun Behind the Clouds' which portrays China's occupation of Tibet and spiritual leader Dalai Lama's reaction towards it, has been screened in the US.
Now they are trying their hand in humour and as Ritu says, "Sometimes humour is the hardest thing to convey to the audience."

Ritu says the film is "a fine balance to embrace the old with the arrival of the new, and Raju (the lead character) has done it rather nicely and creatively in his journey of knowing and loving his wife and finally marrying her."
Today, when any kind of association, personal or otherwise begins with exchange of numbers, Raju had to wait over an year to get his wife-to-be Suman's number. Right up till the wedding day, it is through mobile phone that they interact, share and express love for each other.
"Hello...Yes?...Namaste...Namaste...Good morning...Good morning...I love you...(after a pause)...Same to you", this conversation like countless others they had, depicts the sheer innocence and beauty of a village wedding, explains Ritu.