What's Love Got to Do with It? (2013) User Reviews

The more we progress the more we regress!

[navjyotmaan-158-467508 · 10/10 · 13 November 2014]

What's Love Got to Do With it ? Apparently nothing ! I had the good fortune of watching this lovely , topical documentary on the phenomenon that is The Indian Arranged Marriage . What sets this apart is the fact that it is set amongst the populace who actually has a choice in the matter. Namely the well heeled,well educated ,well traveled urbane lot.And what is served is a scary reminder of the mind sets that we deal with and the extremely chauvinistic and parochial world that we live in . This is only surprising coz it appears in a rarefied world where people claim to be above certain trivialities . All my life I have felt like barfing whenever I have heard the terms Indian culture , family values etc as they r most often parroted by people who exemplify neither and r clueless on both the counts. A fact brought out beautifully here where the sum total of culture and values is the ability to live in a joint family and abide by rules and regulations . Coz that is what good girls do. The movie also brings into light a certain kind of an Indian man : has typically studied abroad ( mostly graduation not post grad which would require actual work and not possible only on daddy s money ),born into wealth ( so doesn't need to work /start from scratch/think of a career),has not cut the umbilical cord from mummy or vice versa ( and never will ).And not surprisingly it is often this kind of a man who while giving the illusion of sharing a world view often opts for an arranged match all the while eschewing tradition . This dichotomy is captured brilliantly in the film. So underneath the fancy car and the house archaic conventions govern be in in the outmoded expectations that the men have from women or that mother in laws have from their bahus. It's no wonder that we see couples living lives of quite desperation while maintaining a facade of normalcy.And it is interesting to watch how quickly a woman's mindset changes if the man on the other side has the all important quality -being affluent .Equal parts hilarious , sad and thought provoking this is a must watch to realize how much things remain the same the more they change .As a single woman this movie struck a particular chord as it makes u realize how being single is still viewed as a liability across all stratas.

My kind of movie!

[bricepoisson · 10/10 · 10 April 2014]

I really appreciate watching a movie that changes me, and more so when it is done with humor. Very often documentaries do not get to be good if they don't address the saddest issues on this planet, I really recommend this one. It won't talk about the most brutal part of India but and what is interesting is addresses the subtle pressures of the society on people and that is for me a violent act that can have dramatic consequence on the said society. I found all the interviews very candid and i was impressed by the way people opened up and how much they said on camera. You normally do not get the access and it is nice to be the fly on the wall.