From Indian Matchmaking to Great Weddings of Munnes: It’s band, baaja, and OTT now
With Indian wedding becoming a big theme in the OTT space, we talk to industry experts to understand the buzz, and shifting of the spotlight
For a long time, big Indian weddings have served as a canvas for the cinematic world, and now, the strokes of the revelry are being splashed.
In the OTT world with myriad hues, sometimes through real life docu-series and sometimes fictional tales. If there is Mumbai-based matchmaker Sima Taparia helping people finding the right match through Indian Matchmaking, which got an Emmy nomination last year, there is also Divyak D’souza helping girls find the right dress for their D-day with Say Yes To The Dress India.
“Marriages and weddings have always been popular, everywhere in the world. Everyone enjoys love stories, especially real life love stories. In the past, celebrities shared their wedding photos in magazine articles and now it’s on streaming services,” says Taparia while talking about the trend, adding that the ethos of storytelling are still the same.
“We still want to share in the stories of people finding their perfect life partner, whoever they are. And Indian weddings are some of the biggest and best so everyone loves to enjoy the amazing celebrations,” adds the matchmaker, who feels the return of the show for the second season signals the growing popularity of the theme in the digital space.
When it comes to the fictional space, wedding as a theme is being explored through a varied lens, from a man’s struggle to find a bride in comedy series The Great Weddings of Munnes, to finding about the complexities of weddings and the planning with Made In Heaven, to the what happens after marriage in Meenakshi Sundareshwar. There’s also romantic comedy, Wedding Season, starring global Indian origin actors Pallavi Sharda and Suraj Sharma.
However, there’s no doubt that it is the dose of reality which is leading India’s wedding affair in the digital space. Recently, it was announced that a documentary on Nayanthara-Vignesh Shivan’s wedding will be released on an OTT platform, with director Gautam Vasudev Menon attached to direct it.
Actor Sonalee Kulkarni has also got hitched to the idea of bringing her wedding in the web space, and says it will be out soon. “There is a lot of curiosity around my wedding and my husband.. I thought why not bring the entire story in the digital space instead of putting pictures or short videos or reels.. It is an interesting story, how the pandemic affected everyone. It has a dramatic arc to it, and is very real. With this step, we wanted to include our fans and well wishers in it all,” she says.
Moreover, actor Priyanka Chopra Jonas along with husband Nick Jonas is also creating a series inspired by their own sangeet. It is said to be an unscripted dance competition series executive-produced by the couple and inspired by the Indian pre-wedding tradition.
According to Sai Abishek, factual and lifestyle cluster, South Asia at Warner Bros Discovery, the trend has grown exceptionally after the pandemic crisis in 2020.
“There’s so much drama in the world today. So definitely, people need these types of shows. I can see that wedding reality shows are definitely a need in India in the post pandemic time, considering so many weddings happened during the virus crisis. For instance, the Indian version of Say Yes To The Dress, it turned out to be an interesting first step towards feeding into those needs. And we would be looking to do more in this category going forward,” says Abishek.
The Great Weddings of Munnes creator Raaj Shaandilyaa feels Indian wedding is a cinema in itself, and the OTT space is giving makers a chance and time to invest in the characters and lay out the plot in more detail.
“Wedding is something with which everyone relates, and comes with a lot of personal emotions. It is very intimate in India. It is great that the theme is being explored in various stories and shades, from explorers in various stories and shades, for instance, The Great Weddings of Munnes comes with comedy and horror as well.” Shaandilyaa, adding that the advantage of time is working in favour of the storytellers.