Every Good Marriage Begins With Tears

This intense and captivating film tells the story of Sahanara and Hushnara, two Bangladeshi girls who have lived in London their entire life and have both agreed to an arranged marriage set up by their parents. Simon Chambers, a neighborhood friend, is interested in the reason why these apparently Western girls conform to the traditional wishes of their family. The documentary starts when Saharana’s new husband arrives from Bangladesh. Sahanara, the rebellious daughter of the family, agreed to marry this village boy after being banished as a teenager for insubordinate behavior from her parental home for five years. Her sister Hushnara is more submissive and a devout Muslim. However, she also shows mixed feelings about the arrangement at the dawn of her own wedding. Simon follows this family through the trials and tribulations of marriage, hybridity and Bangladeshi traditions creating a contemporary image.

Social-Cultural Interest

Bangladeshi are one of the biggest immigrant groups in the United Kingdom. It is also one of the fastest growing communities in Britain. Bangladeshi are custom to marry within their own community and still regard Bangladesh as their ancestral home. They are very traditional although this community also has strong feelings that they belong to British society. Their culture is very family-orientated and Bangladeshi weddings play a great part in developing and maintaining social ties. Bengali and Muslim traditions are combined with the common arranged marriages. Although love marriages exist as well, marriage is mostly seen as a way to increase relationships between families and to increase the prosperity of a community. Many marriages are between the British and Bangladesh-born.