Small is good, but big is better! Well, we are talking about weddings on the small screen, where big just seems to keep getting bigger with each new show.
It’s no trade secret that lavish weddings have always got the show higher TRPs and in this quest for TRPs, telly-viewers are being treated to some big fat telly weddings on the tube regularly. If anything, they’ve only got grander over the years.
TV industry experts admit that the budgets allotted to these weddings alone have grown manifold. But now that showing expensive designer wear or celebrations spanning into a week is the most done thing, producers seem to have found another lucrative way to keep the audience interest in such weddings alive.
Not content with actors of other shows on the same channel coming in as special guests at the small screen weddings, shows today not only have actors from other channels make an appearance, but also have a lavish sprinkling of Bollywood glamour. So, Zee TV’s Hitler Didi had Bolly hottie Vidya Balan come in for the wedding episodes of its lead protagonists Indira (Rati Pandey) and Rishi (Sumit Vats), apart from a host of other popular names like Dia Mirza. More recently Zee TV’s Punar Vivaah too had performances by actors from across channels and shows when the lead protagonists tied the knot. The show saw performances by guest actors right from sangeet to mehendi to baraat. Actor Madhuri Dixit-Nene and item gal Malaika Arora Khan have been adding the oomph factor to the wedding of Lakshmi and Arjun in Main Lakshmi Tere Aangan Ki and similarly in other serials too.
Fiction head of Zee TV, Sukesh Motwane attributes the grandeur of the small screen weddings to generating high viewership. “Weddings are anyways grand and lavish affairs in India. And when you want to attract the audience you have to show them something that is novel. So, yes, designer wear, special songs and the excitement apart, getting Bolly stars or lead actors from other shows is a huge draw for viewers,” he explains.
Several show producers and actors agree.
“It’s not just the show that stands to benefit. The actors get multi-platforms to perform, also Bollywood stars often come while promoting their own films, so it’s a win-win situation for all involved, including viewers,” they say.
“Weddings are a big business in India and it’s no different on the small screen,” adds producer Shashi Ranjan.
So, bring on the big fat telly weddings, as it’s time for band bajaa baarat with the stars on the small screen.
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