Opinion | The Wedding That Wasn’t: Inside Gen Z’s Playful Reimagining Of Tradition
Last week in Dubai, a friend hosted me for lunch at The Arts Club. As we discussed the evolving landscape of society and culture, she shared a video-cum-advertisement that left quite an impression. It was a video with eye-popping colours, choreography, and an unmistakable shaadi dazzle. Young people in exquisite ethnic ensembles twirling to Bollywood beats, grinning through varmala ceremonies, throwing petals with perfect cinematic timing. It looked like a wedding. It felt like a wedding. Except, there was no bride or groom. No priest. No sacred fire. Just a curated performance of what a wedding is supposed to feel like. Welcome to the world of fake weddings. A rapidly growing trend among Gen Z across India’s metros—and now increasingly across global campuses and expat communities—these shaadi-style parties have all the makings of a big fat Indian wedding minus the actual marriage. There’s a mehendi counter. There’s a sangeet. There may even be a baraat, a mock phera, and a buffe...
