Docu-drama that glorifies wedding glitz

The Big Day’ features six couples — Divya and Aman, Nikhita and Mukund, Nitin and Ami, Pallavi and Rajat, Aditya and Gayeti, and Tyrone and Daniel — in the weeks leading up to their wedding.

Netflix has followed up the much-discussed series ‘Indian Matchmaking’ with a docu-drama on extravagant Indian weddings.

It is a welcome change that the brides aren’t stereotyped as shy, demure, and polite. Instead, they are educated, independent and outspoken. One episode is dedicated to ‘Type A’ brides who, despite being called “controlling”, “anal” and even "Bridezilla", are unaffected.

Traditional rituals are questioned and most of the couples opt out of ‘kanyadaan’ and ‘bidaai’.

The much-talked-about same-sex wedding between Daniel and Tyrone is probably the best segment. From a church denying the request to allow their wedding ceremony to their struggles to get décor, the episode shows how far we still are from accepting the LGBTQIA+ community.

These minor positives notwithstanding, the show is a masturbatory aid to upper-class, upper-caste families who love to splurge on weddings. You see flashes of opulence and decadence topped with flowers imported from China and a custom-made eight-foot Buddha statue, curated by wedding planners aka luxury wedding designers.

The story of Pallavi and Rajat hits close to home as it shows how women are expected to bow down to familial expectations.

The decision of US-based Nikhita and Mukhund to have an “Indian wedding” is the most cringe-worthy part of the show. The narrative also fails to break the misconception that Indian weddings and Hindu weddings are one and the same.

The ‘Big Day’ achieves nothing. The docu-drama mostly glorifies the wedding industry.