There are a lot of words that could be used to describe "Monsoon Wedding," but the one that seems best is "colorful." After all, that applies to both the beautiful locales this ensemble comedy-drama features and its many characters.

On the surface, this import — which features dialogue in English, as well as the Indian dialects Hindi and Punjabi — appears to be a simple but charming romance piece. But just when you think you've got it all figured out, the movie becomes something better, something decidedly more insightful, with a lot to say about family ties and loyalty.

Not that "Monsoon Wedding" isn't a romantic movie. In fact, at times it seems more like a classy, well-acted soap opera, with instantly lovable characters.

The film also shows off the skills of filmmaker Mira Nair (best-known to U.S. audiences for the 1991 Denzel Washington vehicle "Mississippi Masala"), who can make already decent material even better.

The title "Monsoon Wedding" refers to the upcoming nuptials of Aditi (Vasundhara Das), the only daughter of the Vermas, an upper-middle class New Delhi family. And there's a great deal of anxiety for everyone involved.

Her father, Lalit (Naseeruddin Shah), is fretting about where he's going to get money to pay for it all. Her close cousin, unmarried Ria (Shefali Shetty), has concerns about at least one wedding guest. And P.K. Dubey (Vijay Raaz), the price-gouging wedding coordinator, is thinking about his singlehood — especially when he catches sight of the Vermas' beautiful young maid (Tilotama Shome).

But just when everything seems to be straightened out, the bride starts to get cold feet. After all, it's an arranged marriage — to a Houston engineer — and Aditi is still carrying a torch for her older, married boss.

At first, the film seems to be almost too hectic and busy for its own good. However, the on-screen chaos effectively introduces numerous characters and conveys just how stressful the whole marriage event is — especially in a country as tradition-heavy as India.

And soon the film settles into a more deliberate, low-key pace through its second half, which is when the plot takes some unexpected zigs and zags.

The cast is as top-to-bottom solid as the film itself. Standouts are veteran Indian actor Shah, Shetty and the scene-stealing Raaz, whose character has possibly the most interesting arc. (Refreshingly, he's nothing like the Martin Short caricature from the "Father of the Bride" movies.)

"Monsoon Wedding" is rated R for occasional use of strong, sexually related profanity, some crude sexual talk and brief sex (a pornographic movie, overheard). Running time: 113 minutes.

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