From the media coverage of Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra’s wedding, to who attended Isha Ambani’s wedding, is India’s media too obsessed with celebrity weddings? That’s the question we’ll answer on today’s episode of the Big Story podcast.
Joining me on this podcast are senior entertainment journalists Naomi Datta and Udita Jhunjhunwala.
Let’s start by taking a look at some of the moments that made us ask, is the media going too far in their attempt to cover this wedding?
Ranveer and Deepika’s wedding dominated headlines on both television and digital news media.
Despite the couple doing their best to keep the wedding private, with heavy security and privacy protocols, intrepid journalists landed on the shores of Italy’s Lake Como and gave us amazing inside looks at the wedding, like a shot of the guests’ backs from across the lake…
Or distant ambient audio of the guests cheering for #DeepVeer.
A photo of a concrete wall.
A video of a parking lot at the wedding venue in Italy.
Isha Ambani and Anand Piramal’s wedding is still splashed across the news space with details of everything from who performed at the wedding to who attended and what they ate, going viral.
So are they overdoing it? Udita Jhunjhunwala thinks not.
“I don’t think it’s overdoing it. Increase in social media means far more exposure to it (celebrity weddings). We just have to refresh Insta and follow five influencers and you get updates. It feels excessive, but in the last ten years, globally, we’ve become far more voyeuristic. It’s like reality television for us. Getting a peek into how the rich and famous live.”Udita Jhunjhunwala, senior entertainment journalist
When the first photo of the newlywed Deepika and Ranveer was shared on Instagram, it crossed a million likes in 23 minutes. This kind of celebrity hysteria is intensified by social media constantly fuelling our need to know. Naomi says that it’s simply human nature.
“Now you have digital media and 24/7 news channels. There’s just content to fill and people are interested in it, which is why people follow them on social media. If you don’t wanna see them, don’t see them. I mean if Beyonce’s coming down to perform at someone’s wedding, you will want to see it, it’s just human nature.”Naomi Datta, senior entertainment journalist
“What's wrong with that? This is our royalty. We watched Meghan Markle's wedding sitting in India. I have friends in Switzerland asking me to send them photos of the Ambani wedding. I mean there's nothing wrong in that, right?” adds Udita Jhunjhunwala.
But should the media be prioritising celebrity weddings over more important news? Both Naomi and Udita uniformly agreed that this was something they would never be okay with.
Now the media has a responsibility to the people. But in contrast to this, what happens, when news media goes out of its way to cater to people’s demands for their dose of celebrity culture? Like Deepika and Ranveer’s wedding for example.
“There was a news crew at Italy’s Lake Como with shaky visuals of the parking lot across the lake. It’s a waste of resources really. If they don’t give you access, don’t do that. People also end up feeling entitled to peek into celebrities’ lives if the media keeps doing this.”Naomi Datta
Social media is certainly a MASSIVE player in the celebrity wedding game. If social media didn’t exist, would we look at celebrity weddings differently?
Maybe not.
“It began with television. When news television became reality TV we kind of lost perspective. I think in the west they have sections of media which are devoted to covering celebs, like Page 6, or Hello. In India I think we’ve blurred all the lines. Bollywood’s become a part of headline-making news. Somebody sneezes and it makes headlines on some channel. With growing competition, everyone thinks that this is what will get them eyeballs, and social media has sort of supported that idea.”Udita Jhunjhunwala
Maybe the media is obsessing over celebrity weddings too much. But as long as there’s demand for it, there will be supply. But at what cost? That’s the question India’s media has to ask itself.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)