In the last few months, a spate of celebrity divorces – such as A.R. Rahman and Saira Banu, Hardik Pandya and Natasa Stankovic, Dhanush and Aishwarya Rajinikanth – has made the headlines. From comments on possible reasons for splitting up to those discussing potential alimony figures, social media has been abuzz with popular interest in the dissolution of high profile marriages.
This interest in divorces is the flip side of the other recent development – the transformation of celebrity marriages into a national spectacle. With photos and videos of these weddings easily available on social media, the general public has become a de facto guest, invested in the outcome of these wedding. Naturally then, the news of Hardik Pandya’s divorce garners just as much interest as his lavish wedding did.
It has become a trend among film and sports stars to share wedding photos immediately after their nuptials on social media. Big names like Priyanka Chopra, Virat Kohli, Anushka Sharma, Katrina Kaif, Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt, Siddharth Malhotra, Kiara Advani, Parineeti Chopra, P.V. Sindhu and Neeraj Chopra are among a string of celebrities who have made private wedding photos public for general consumption.
In a strange switcheroo, it is the celebrities who seem to be imitating ‘real life’ which has so far remained the exclusive domain of the non-celebrity. Like any ordinary person, the celebrity too gets married, and performs all the duties of domesticity, these photos seem to suggest. “I see celebrities posting wedding photos as a way to announce to the world that they are now married, just like any other ordinary couple would,” said Lakshya Chawla, founder of the wedding photography company Shutterdown.
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This is particularly interesting because before getting married became a celebrity trend, something as banal as a wedding was almost always kept under wraps – even when actors got married they wouldn’t make the information public for fear of losing their fan following. A few grainy pictures might be released to film magazines to mark the occasion, but the actors in question would much rather you forget the change in their marital status.
In 2025, wedding photos not only flaunt extravagance and over-the-top gestures of love, they also make desirable a very conventional form of marriage. By visually depicting ceremonies (pheras, kanyadaan, saat vachan) and symbols of matrimony (sindoor, mangalsutra, the veil), celebrities embrace tradition and conformity, accepting Brahmanical and patriarchal traditions uncritically. This performance of tradition is meant to portray celebrities as normal, relatable, ordinary people who millions of spectators can then identify with and adore.
But why this sudden desire for celebrities to seem more real and approachable? Why have images of a very private and intimate moment in their lives suddenly found their way into the public domain? It is probably the fact that in the age of social media, content is everything and wedding content sits right at the top of the virality pyramid. Voyeuristic curiosity about the country’s biggest stars has always been a feature of India’s celebrity obsessed popular culture. What’s new is the celebrity’s desire to satisfy this insatiable curiosity of the fan.
This motivation to connect with the audience by posting wedding content isn’t however undiscerning. Having blunted film journalism with the mighty arm of public relations, celebrities decide which version of themselves is presented as ‘real’ to the general public. “It was still possible to get unfiltered access to stars until the early 2000s, but since then virtually every interaction with them is mediated and orchestrated by PR managers. A star’s image today is extensively curated through PR agencies,” said Justin Rao, entertainment correspondent at The Hollywood Reporter India.
We don’t really hear any gossip, or insider information on the private, eccentric lives of celebrities anymore. With glossy social media pages dedicated to celebrity news happy to feed on breadcrumbs of alleged authenticity, actors are free to masquerade as normal people who go to the gym, movie theatres, clubs, and restaurants but are interrupted by press photographers.
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The fact that most of these paparazzi photos are planned and staged gives us an insight into just how curated and considered these wedding photos also are. The wedding is just the greatest charade of all – no media allowed in, guests barred from taking photos on their phones – images and videos that are shared online are approved by the celebrity couple and circulated by their PR managers. “Any and all information about a celebrity wedding that spills out into the media comes through PRs. The PR person controls, coordinates, and curates everything that becomes public,” Rao added.
It is no wonder that most of these celebrity weddings look identical. From the decor, outfits, music, down to the poses for pictures are indistinguishable. The contours of the celebrity wedding template are set and everyone conforms to the aesthetic and ritual exhibition. This exhibition extends well beyond the event of the wedding itself, with a performance of marital-religious orthodoxy at Hindu festivals such as Karvachauth, Diwali, Ganpati, Durga puja, Rakshabandhan etc.
The celebrity wedding then, is a gift that keeps on giving. We might never know the exact nature of celebrity marriages (although filmy gossip suggests many are convenience based or open) but the official social media image of said marriages will be one reflecting real love stories embodied in traditional, conventional and patriarchal domesticity.
Tanushree Bhasin is an independent writer and photographer based in New Delhi.
