In The Noisy World Of Big Fat Weddings, Yami Gautam's Simple Ceremony Has Appeal

Yami Gautam marriage photos have universally stolen hearts for their raw honesty and authentic beauty. Simple, real, sincere are what netizens are most commonly exclaiming to describe snaps from her pre-nuptial festivities.

The Vicky Donor actor has never been one to call too much attention to herself in an industry that thrives on publicity. But with her lowkey &t=661s">marriage to filmmaker Aditya Dhar, which was by itself a well-guarded secret, Gautam has kicked her endearance quotient up a notch.

What is it that has struck a chord with her fans so? Why are her wedding photos earning as much praise as they are sparking joy? What is so attractive about this simplicity that a grand wedding would pale in comparison?

💛 pic.twitter.com/6e5rab9rbB

— Yami Gautam (@yamigautam) June 6, 2021

The first thing that strikes about Gautam and Dhar's wedding is how suddenly it dropped onto our social media feeds. To add to that surprise was another - that of their wholly unassuming quality, that is possible but unexpected and rare in the internet age from a celebrity. A dancing, jiving, larger-than-life Bollywood one at that.

The Priyanka Chopras, Deepika Padukones, Anushka Sharmas of the Hindi film industry all tied the knot in extremely hush-hush and yet loud affairs. Call it a genuine attempt at privacy or a carefully PR-tailored exercise in amping up credit, the anticipation for each of their D-days was so overwhelming that one still has to catch their breath when recalling that time.

Gautam has given us a glimpse into the behind-the-scenes of a celebrity wedding, so to speak. And it looks curiously, and obviously, like any regular Indian marriage.

Yami Gautam Marriage Photos Are Relatable And How

That her photos seem to be free of stage-managed mechanics and a crew waiting to touch up her face every time the camera clicks is evident. Evident not just to fans who can't stop swooning, but also to her actor friends who, rather self-awarely, are equally bowled over by the honesty in Gautam's wedding ceremony. Here's what they said.

Social media users found that her photos resonated with how weddings actually do happen in a lot of Indian families, in and beyond Himachal Pradesh, where Gautam is from.

A happy bride decked in red and ornaments, hands and feet dipped in haldi, a little make-up but not necessarily, caught between rituals. Haven't we all seen women like her? Haven't we spent good times with our cousins, friends, family around women like her? Unfiltered, little-photographed weddings - haven't we made our best memories at those?

Here are some reactions that capture the emotion of Gautam's photos aptly: 

Yami Gautam’s marriage pictures are so relatable. Everything is so simple and nicely done. Koi show off nahi. It’s just how marriages happen in our family too.

— D (@MajaniLifeChe) June 6, 2021

In the world of nautanki photoshoot, scripted, planned and directed celebrity weddings, Yami Gautam's simple and desi ceremony is so refreshing ❣️

— Sunanda Roy 👑 || IDF stan account (@SaffronSunanda) June 6, 2021

Yami Gautam again proves that she's the most unproblematic Bollywood actress. Got married in the hills wearing a simple red saree in the middle of the lockdown to a guy no one even knew she was dating. Absolutely based!

— hooman✨ (@foodonmymind) June 4, 2021

I loved Yami Gautam's simple wedding...i remember as a kid my mausis getting married this way, ghar ghar wale functions and family and friends... kitni pyari wedding. Good example set by her!

— Miss Bharadwaj! (@Sayani_Pandit) June 6, 2021

For all the rituals and ceremonies she partook in, I don't see Gautam's photos as an instance of traditional affirmation or a hearkening to an idea of a unified culture, as some like actor Kangana Ranaut are claiming. Even a bride in funky blue and shades on her eyes makes for a pretty sight.

And this is also not to say grander, blingier weddings aren't beautiful. The aspirational value and unbounded luxury in a big, fat Indian wedding are what a lot of women crave. It's a choice. But often these dreams are made of more expectation than desire.

How many people pick out an exorbitant lehenga or flashy decor without fast-tracking it to social media in their head and counting the number of hearts it will bring? Hasn't pop culture - and ironically, Bollywood (both reel and real) - taught us that a wedding is no wedding if it's not worth crores?

Between these often fabricated realities and online validation-crazed choices, Gautam's wedding is beautifully real, beautifully her.

Views expressed are the author's own. 

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