A Suitable Girl

Arranged marriage is a thriving tradition in Hindi circles in India, and filmmakers Sarita Khurana and Smriti Munddra follow three prospective brides over four years during their families' search for a suitable groom. Many questions must be answered about the groom. How much does he make? Where does he live? Does he have degrees? Horoscopes and matchmakers are consulted. Little is said about the grooms' looks but good looks are valued in prospective brides, one of many ways in which women get the short end of this Indian marriage stick. Some of the women in A SUITABLE GIRL are eager to get married. Others would prefer not to, recognizing that modern Indian husbands often require their highly educated wives to give up successful careers for housework and childcare. For this reason, both Ritu and Amriti, educated women working in finance, have turned down many prospective grooms presented by their families. Ritu's mother is a matchmaker who often feels frustrated and inadequate regarding her daughter's continuing single status. Amriti dutifully accepts a husband and, like all Indian brides, must leave her own family behind to move to wherever the groom lives, no matter how far. Moving day is a tearful affair as young women are wrenched from their families. Ritu grudgingly relocates to Dubai, but at least her enlightened husband is offering a chauffeur, servants, and a job at his financial services firm. Amriti is relegated to cooking and housekeeping, and while she professes to like her husband, her disappointment is clear. On the other hand, Dipti, a sweet, far simpler soul, can't wait to marry and is constantly disappointed when arrangements fall through with prospective grooms. Her father, a portly fellow, believes Dipti's weight might be to blame for the lack of suitors. It's understood, as dictated by Indian men, that for wives, "a job is good to have to pass the time," but women who do work outside the home are expected to come directly home after work and never have too many friends or independent lives. One husband's traditional dad forbids the new wife to wear western clothes. The brides wed and then sadly depart, leaving families and the only life they've ever known behind.