Sooraj Barjatya's Bollywood film 'Vivah' upholds the sanctity of marital bonding. "Vivah" means marriage - an institution that binds two individuals into a bond that is sacred, pure and eternal - a commitment for life. The film starts with engagement and ends with marriage and gauges "the heights of love and the depths of relationship." It is a heart warming tale of unconditional love...

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The Sacred Bond
Unlike his earlier films, 'Vivah' is not so much about the celebrations surrounding a wedding, but more about the definitions and dynamics of a marriage. The filmmaker who produced such big romantic hits like 'Maine Pyar Kiya' and 'Hum Aapke Hain Koun' in the 1990s is now approaching middle-age, and in a position to treat the man-woman relationship with a certain detachment. As he himself expressed in an interview, "Once that engagement ring is exchanged, you suddenly become so important to someone else. I feel today's youngsters are losing touch with the beauty and relevance of such a relationship."

Synopsis
Poonam (Amrita Rao) is a middle class girl who lives in the small town of Madhupur. After the demise of her parents, when she was very young, her Chacha (Aloknath) fulfilled the void of a father in her life. But her Chachi (Seema Biswas) was unable to accept Poonam as her own child as Poonam was more beautiful than her Chachi's own daughter Rajni (Amrita Prakash).

Poonam was blossoming into a graceful and lovely young lady with all the charming virtues winning every heart.

Her simple and affectionate demeanor touches the heart of Bhagatji (Manoj Joshi) who plays our matchmaker. Bhagatji takes Poonam's marriage proposal for Prem (Shahid Kapoor), son of Mr. Harishchandra (Anupam Kher), a renowned businessman, from New Delhi.

Prem is the soft spoken, charming and well-educated young scion of one of New Delhi's most prominent business families. In spite of being bought up in the fast city life of New Delhi, Prem is rooted to the ground and has retained his family's traditional values and upbringing. It is these qualities that make him stand out in today's day and age. When his father takes his opinion on the proposition, Prem is initially hesitant and feels he is too young for marriage and needs to focus on his career first. Respecting his father's wishes, Prem agrees to meet Poonam, get to know better and then take a decision.

What follows is a "meeting" arranged by the two families. Prem and Poonam are suddenly in the midst of a situation they have never been in before. What starts off as a formal exchange of words, grows into a deeper, meaningful conversation. Prem and Poonam discover their soul mates in each other. They are engaged - to be married in six months.

Prem and Poonam go through the most magical and romantic period of their lives. Both realize the importance of the engagement rings that they have given to each other and the special right that they have got on each other in return. Coming from different sensibilities, both want their relationship to be very "right" for each other. Six months fly by and just when everything was set for Prem and Poonam to get married... a crisis puts the love of Prem and Poonam through a trial by fire.

Cast
Language: Hindi
Genre: Drama, Family, Romance
Director: Sooraj R. Barjatya
Producer: Kamal Kumar Barjatya,
Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Amrita Rao, Anupam Kher, Aloknath, Seema Biswas, Sameer Soni, Lataa Saberwal, Manoj Joshi, Amrita Prakash, Dinesh Lamba, Master Ameya Pandya, Mahnish Bahl
Music: Ravindra Jain
Cinematography: Harish Joshi
Screenplay: Aash Karan Atal
Story/Writer: Sooraj R. Barjatya
Art Direction: Sanjay Dhabade
Action: Kaushal-Moses