View source for My Bollywood Wedding by Rekha Waheed

{{infobox1
|title=My Bollywood Wedding
|author=Rekha Waheed
|reviewer=Sue Magee
|genre=Women's Fiction
|summary=Maya Malik wants a glamorous wedding but as things go wrong will there be any wedding at all? An entertaining and enlightening read.
|rating=3.5
|buy=Yes
|borrow=Yes
|pages=352
|publisher=Little Black Dress
|date=December 2010
|isbn=978-0755356140
|cover=0755356144
|aznuk=0755356144
|aznus=0755356144
}}

Maya Malik set her heart on a big, glamorous wedding to Jhanghir Khan but organising it was difficult as the groom-to-be was working as a doctor in New York and Maya was arranging the wedding in London.  Maya's family are rich, but Jhanghir's family are – seriously so – and this is only part of the tensions which looked to be on track to derail the wedding.  There's a sister-in-law who's determined to take over all the arrangements – without disguising her dislike of Maya – and a George-Clooney-lookalike cousin whom Maya finds far too attractive for her own good.  And Jhanghir?  Well, he's a man.  He's busy and he's not that good at communicating.  Is there any wonder that Maya begins to wonder if she's doing the right thing?

When I began this book I was concerned that I wasn't going to enjoy it.  I'm never that impressed by stories based on misunderstandings but the joy of this story is that Maya and Jhanghir are from a traditional Bengali community and it's brilliant to see the effect that this has on their actions and way of thinking.  When she has a problem Maya goes to the mosque to think it through. The book's sexy but there's no sex – if that doesn't sound like a contradiction in terms – and Maya's emphasis is always on doing the right thing by her family and her beliefs.  I've read several books about Moslems – but this is the one that really pointed up to me what it's like to live the life.

That might make the book sound very virtuous and unexciting.  Yes – there is virtue there but there's also a plot which simply wouldn't let me put the book down until I found out what happened.  The cover might lead you to think you're buying chick-lit – and if that's what you're after you'll get a good story – but there's also an intelligent and thoughtful story in there.  I was particularly interested in the racism within the Bengali community – the upset which is caused when one of the women decides to marry a ''coloured'' man.  The shame of it.  He's from the West Indies.

I read the book in a couple of sittings and thoroughly enjoyed it.  I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to the Bookbag.

Bengali weddings, we're told, are about food. If you'd like to know more about the food we can recommend [[India with Passion by Manju Malhi]].  We're sure that you'll also enjoy [[Saris and the City by Rekha Waheed|Saris and the City]] also by Rekha Waheed.

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