TOI: Twists n turns of small screen weddings

Tellyworld's fascination for the shaadi ka laddoo, indeed seems to be working wonders - not only in terms of good TRPs, but also in the number of twists in the tales that the wedding sequences can lead to. The end result - kuch hatke wedding stories.

Picture this. In Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Duun?, the male protagonist Arnav (Barun Sobti), in order to save his sister's marriage, emotionally blackmails Khushi (Sanaya Irani) into marrying him. This isn't as simple as it sounds as the wedding happened amid high drama in a solitary temple without the respective families' consent. In Punarvivaah, the wedding sequence of the lead couple Aarti (Kratika Sengara) and Yash (Gurmeet Chaudhry) is expected to have its share of drama as Aarti's marital status (she's a divorcee) is kept hidden from Yash's family. Haar Jeet had a 'surprise' wedding sequence. According to the telly grapevine, one such dramatic twist is in store for a viewer in the just launched Shubh Vivah as well. Diya Aur Baati Hum, Bade Achche Lagte Hain, Saas Bina Sasural, Parichay et al had it all - jodis, jodi breaking and shaadis with a twist in the tale that is going to decide the future plot of the story.

Producer Shashi Mittal says, "Marriage of the lead couple is one of the most important sequences for any soap. And if there's an 'unusual' twist then the audience feels more interested." She adds, "We ensure that while weaving the story-line for a marriage track, the plot looks convincing without exaggeration."

General Entertainment Channels (GECs) plan such sequences to provide the best in entertainment and push the envelope when it comes to planning the promotions and budgets involved for such episodes. Virendra Sahwney, fiction head of a GEC says, "When a lead couple in any soap gets married, it results in more viewership. Simple marriages won't get the zing factor. We focus on more spice and entertainment value, so proper planning is done with producers for their creative inputs, if needed." This formula never fails by the looks of it. So GECs bank on it heavily.

For lead actors, shooting such sequences are sometimes too much to deal with. Barun Sobti says, "Wedding sequences are always exhausting because there's a lot happening like the sangeet (which involves choreographed dance sequences) where the entire cast is involved, it is not easy. But when fans tell us how the drama in a wedding sequence has them hooked to the show, it feels great."

Well, what's a screen shaadi without some high drama anyway?*