Article- Small screen's big wedding

Mumbai: Indian television is set to witness the most lavish on-screen wedding. Jewellery worth about Rs2 crore will be used for an opulent marriage sequence in the serial Chittod Ki Rani Padmini Ka Johur.

DNA has also learnt that the makers of this serial have insured everything from the sets to costumes and jewellery for Rs6 crore.

A source says, "It is one of the grandest weddings on Indian television. The bride and groom are dressed in Neeta Lulla's creations. Just the female lead's jewellery adds up to about Rs75 lakh. It's made of real gold. She dons kundans, a gold outfit, five gold kadas weighing close to 180 grams and three neckpieces weighing more than 400 grams. It echoes the setting of a real-life royal wedding."

Nitin Desai, the maker of the serial, says: "It is true that we have lavish costumes, jewellery and sets. The ornaments are worth Rs2 crore and we have insured everything for around Rs6 crore. I have designed the ornaments myself and they have been made by PN Jewellers."

He adds: "A small-screen marriage can be as lavish as the ones shown on big-screen. Our story is about a royal family and so we cannot have a low-key marriage. All the jewellery had to be real too as audiences want to see real things today. We thought we would make it a spectacle for them in terms of lavishness and opulence."