Hey,
I am not sure you are still expecting a reply for this, but here it goes anyway.
The film I think, is an attempt to shine a light on the joys and sorrows of the traditional Indian way of arranging marriages to bring together 2 families rather than 2 people. This is a system that has "least-worst" status in India, because here, when you marry your wife or husband, you are also marrying your in-laws. Now, as you can imagine, this is also a system that is ripe for heartache and drama, as individual desires are invariably subsumed under the majority vote. What do you do if you hate the guy your parents like? You marry him. What do you do if you're gay, in love with someone else or would rather continue your studies? You go ahead and marry the guy. The director brings out all these nuances supremely well and in a non-judgmental way.
I do not believe that the author takes a stance against modernisation or Western influence here. "Americanisation" is often used as a war cry by conservative talking heads here as the root of all evil, but none of them can stop modernisation from happening, however slow it is. I think as an audience, we are expected to come out of the movie reflecting on the humaneness and relevance of a system that is all about keeping families together, even if that one little girl had to do things to her uncle that we, as a respectable Indian family, are not supposed to discuss.
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