"The pictures are out" said the messages. Bollywood makes even the most hardened curious, and like countless Indians, what I thought looked like a Sanjay Leela Bhansali reboot initially turned out to be the real deal. Mainly because the stars bizarrely (over) dressed the part. Deepika is a natural beauty and her Konkani wedding pictures did justice to the famed South Indian simplicity. What the Twitterati couldn't digest though was Ranveer looking so sober, triggering off some hilarious memes!
The less-is-more creed was not repeated for the second set of rituals or maybe it's just the North Indian vibe taking over. The red and the gold was overwhelming, the matching jodi look seemed a bit over the top, even cringe-worthy. Sabyasachi Mukerjee is one of our finest designers today, no one comes close to his talent of recreating the traditional Indian magic without the hideous, fusion look that many other top designers have fallen prey to. Yet, even masters who design for the prettiest can get jaded. Sometimes, inspiration needs something off the beaten glamorous track, it's not just about inscribing a dupatta.
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And apparently you can have all the tattoos you want and proclaim on telly talk shows that when you first spot a man, it's the unmentionable that you notice (Deepika said it, I didn't) - but for shaadi, it's all traditional. So when she returned home from Lake Como - the photos from there suggested why bother, it could have been a traditional desi wedding anywhere nice - she returned with the giant scoop of sindoor and huge jhumkaas and enough finery to deck out a bridal salon. The 'we're back" outfit was Sabyasachi once again. Ranveer's jacket had motifs of elephants (that's original). But hey, at least they looked happy. Go big or go home, apparently.
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What was special - their gesture of donating all gifts to charity.
Now imagine the pressure on Priyanka Chopra when she gets married in Rajasthan in the very near future! Chances are she is capable of a whole lot, given her bachelorette gigs across the globe. Hopefully, though the jewels won't be sponsored for the real event! Let's keep some stuff real, maybe?
In today's aspirational India, where do weddings like these fit? On one hand, there is the disdain of the double-income-earning middle-class which considers such extravagance a waste; it admires a Sabyasachi on the pages of a magazine, but will willingly never spend so much. And for this India, Goa will do just fine for destination weddings.
But it's still glued, I guess, to the OTT splendour that Bollywood stars deliver with their weddings, produced like their movies, with full screen drama. Doesn't cost to look, after all. So turn your attention to Umaid Bhawan and PeeCee's outfit (also Sabyasachi, apparently); she'll top that with Ralph Lauren couture for the firang ceremony.
Prepare to be impressed - because apparently that's what it's all about.
(Jyotsna Mohan Bhargava worked with NDTV for more than a decade and now writes on a variety of topics for several news organisations.)
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of NDTV and NDTV does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.