The journey started 15 years ago with a dream to carve a niche in a competitive market, with a determination to change the game of perception. And, it paid off.
The Wedding Filmer, Bollywood's go-to wedding videographer, witnessed the biggest moment of fame in his career on December 11, 2017 - the day former Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli and Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma got married in the picturesque locales of Lake Como, Italy. As soon as their first video found its way to social media, the Internet across age groups, cultures and regions, had only these words to say, "Ah, it's beautiful!"
And the credit goes to Vishal Punjabi, a filmmaker who always wanted to create something beautiful, something "timeless".
As the Wedding Filmer, how Vishal Punjabi is popularly known as in wedding circles, completes 15 years in the industry, the OG Bollywood wedding videographer shared his thoughts on the evolution of the Indian marriage market, the big, fat Indian weddings, the challenges, the perks and the zeal to create evergreen wedding memories in an exclusive chat with NDTV.
The Most Challenging Part Of Shooting Deepika-Anushka's Weddings
Virat-Anushka's picture-perfect wedding set the trend of lavish and yet intimate weddings in India in recent times. In 2018, Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh also chose Italy to film their jaw-dropping wedding. When we ask Vishal what his high-profile clients briefed him about before their weddings, he tells us, "All of them just wanted a beautiful wedding. That's what they briefed me."
"Getting married is not like a film shoot. These people see themselves in nice pictures, nice shots, nice locales all day. On their wedding day, we have to make them look even more special. That's the most challenging part. They gave me full creative freedom. My job was to tell the story that they want to share with the world."
Kiara Advani's Viral Walk Before Joining Sidharth Malhotra At The Mandap
Kiara Advani set another trend as she walked down the aisle with her playful gestures, while Sidharth Malhotra looked at his watch during her wedding held at the Suryagarh Palace in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan in 2023.
"I have nothing to do with what the actor does, or for any bride for that matter. I try not to direct them and shoot. Because I feel it's not my memory of their wedding, it should be their memories of their wedding. So the weddings we shoot, whether of a celebrity or not, we don't direct them. Kiara is a playful girl. She had come up with that," clarifies Vishal.
Evolution Of The Indian Marriage Market
According to Vishal, a wedding should be "classic" and "timeless". These two adjectives sum up his vision, aesthetics and his driving force behind these creations. From the point when there was no Indian wedding videography market, Vishal has come a long way.
Tracing the evolution of the market, Vishal says, "India has a specific trait. If anyone does well in any business, everyone follows him. It's like a 'follow me trait'. With the advent of social media and so many players in the market, the Indian marriage market is huge but it's also a saturated market. Changes will come and go in the Indian market. But what really stays is classic. Talk about wedding entertainers, jewellery, fashion, food or music, what stays is timeless creations. At least, weddings should be classic and timeless, according to me."
When we ask him about Delhi government's plans to open the heritage sites like the Qutub Minar or the Purana Quila to host weddings and private parties, Vishal said he is all game for it.
"I have already shot pre-wedding functions at places with the Qutub Minar in the background. India has some beautiful architecture. If reputed wedding planners can guarantee safety and security of these places, it would be an opportune moment to showcase what India has in store as a country. Perhaps, we can have a wedding at The Taj Mahal. Why not? For people who can afford it."
The Idea Behind The Wedding Filmer
Vishal Punjabi used to work as a line producer in Shah Rukh Khan's production banner Red Chillies Entertainment. Later, he moved to the advertising vertical of Red Chillies Entertainment to produce and direct television commercials. But he never left filmmaking.
"The idea was to create a niche for myself and to create a small universe where we could thrive and create something beautiful for people. Filmmaking is in my blood and I always wanted to do films. So stepping into the wedding industry was entirely new at that time. This industry didn't exist. There was no industry like wedding videography. Wedding photography was looked down upon in India. And I really wanted to take that upon myself to change the perception," Vishal recalls.
"So, I started the Wedding Filmer. And over the past 15 years the mission was to educate as many people by doing workshops, by shooting some of the finest weddings, by bringing together some really good talents to make these films work. From the music we created to the places we have travelled to, life has completely changed over the last 15 years. It's beautiful," says the OG wedding videographer with a sense of bliss in his voice.
Tips For Budding Wedding Videographers
People go by the looks and glamour of it, but shooting a wedding video is as "stressful" as any other job. "Don't get into this profession until you want to put in a lot of hard work. Someone's memories are not to be toyed with. If you are doing this job, do it with sincerity," Vishal shares tips for the budding wedding videographers.
Apart from Virat-Anushka (2017), Deepika-Ranveer (2018), Kiara-Sidharth (2023), The Wedding Filmer also covered the grand weddings of Vicky Kaushal-Katrina Kaif (2021), Aditi Rao Hydari-Siddharth (2024), PV Sindhu-Venkata Datta (2024) and many more.
Also Read | Exclusive: What Shah Rukh Khan Told Wedding Filmer AKA Vishal Punjabi About Cinema
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