Skip to content

The rise of India’s viral wedding photoshoots

Newlyweds in some parts of India are shunning traditional Hindu wedding photos in favour of exotic photoshoots in the hope that they will go viral online.

Elaborate outdoor shoots include fake rain and can take eight hours or more.

BBC World Service has been speaking to one couple in the state of Kerala, on India’s tropical Malabar Coast.

Video produced, filmed and edited by Anubha George, Anand Mohandas and Trystan Young.

Listen to more stories from Newsday.

22 July 2019

Explore More

People in high-vis jackets walk next to a car submerged in floods on the left of a split screen with a snowy road on the right

Atmospheric river dumps snow and record rain on California

Science & Environment

Phone footage of a skate surfacing out of grey waves to a rigid inflatable boat.ttack the side of a inflatable

Watch the moment a skate attacks a fisherman's boat off Shetland

NE, Orkney & Shetland

Smoke billows from house fire.

Video shows flames and thick smoke at house fire

A view from an EasyJet plane window as it flies above and to the side of an erupting volcano

Plane passengers film Iceland volcano lava from above

BBC News

East of England weather forecast

Composite image of Sir Keir Starmer and BBC Radio WM presenter Kath Stanczyszyn, who is pictured wearing headphones and speaking into a purple microphone

Will there be a Birmingham pub bombings inquiry?

Birmingham & Black Country

A huge Christmas tree on a flatbed lorry in font of the US Capitol building

US Capitol Christmas tree arrives in DC

Blurred still image from video clips shows people being taken out of a car

Migrants asked to rate trip in smuggler review videos

John Darvall sat on the left of a composite image, in a purple studio with a microphone in front of him. On the right is Keir Starmer with grey hair and brown glasses.

PM challenged on West's councils facing bankruptcy

BBC Newsline

BBC Newsline signed summary

BBC Scotland weather presenter Christopher Blanchett in front of a weather map of Scotland showing snow warnings.

Watch the Storm Bert weather forecast for Scotland

Mural of The Smiths bassist Andy Rourke unveiled

Parts of West Burton A power station being demolished

Power station demolition captured by drone

Man clinging to a cliff being rescued

Moment person clinging to cliff is rescued by helicopter

A woman in a hospital gown grins on the left and a monitor lit up with lungs is on the right of a split screen.

Woman gets first double lung transplant done by robot

Ryan Borgwardt

US kayaker who faked own death thought to have fled to Europe

Ruth Dodsworth in the BBC studios in Cardiff. She is sitting on an orange sofa. She has cropped blonde hair and is wearing a fitted mauve top,

Stalking was part of my daily life, says presenter

A Christmas tree with lots of blue and green lights. A building nearby has yellow lights and a red bow so it looks like a present. You can see people stood in front of the building.

Manx capital sparkles at Christmas lights switch-on

A woman has her make up done in a Swansea salon for Beaujolais Day

'Beaujolais day is Swansea's Christmas'

A woman polished a large Gromit statue at the launch of the Gromit Unleashed 3 trail in Bristol. The statue has a multicoloured sparkly pattern. The woman is wearing a red and white shirt and a black dress over the top and she has red hair cut in a bob style

Aardman unveils new Wallace and Gromit trail

Varanasi residents

Varanasi: The ancient city at the heart of India’s election

Varanasi, one of the world’s oldest cities, is Prime Minister Narendra Modi's constituency.

Grace Banu

Indian activist Grace Banu wants more rights for the transgender community

Ms Banu says the LGBTQ struggle in India needs to be understood through the lens of caste privilege.

Apsara Reddy

Trans politician Apsara Reddy on LGBTQ representation in Indian politics

Ms Reddy says political parties need to have an electoral roadmap for LGBTQ people.

Cutout masks of Narendra Modi and Mamata Banerjee

The many colours of India’s election campaigns

India's general election, the world's largest democratic exercise, is a long, colourful and visual affair.

Modi at a roadshow

Modi holds roadshow in Varanasi

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a roadshow in his constituency in May 2024.

PM Modi snorkeling

Modi snorkels in Lakshadweep

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the island in January 2024.

PM Modi at the Ram temple in Ayodhya

Modi inaugurates Ram temple in Ayodhya

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had inaugurated a grand Hindu temple to Lord Ram in Ayodhya in January.

BBC reporter speaks to Donald Trump via AI

India election: BBC journalist gets a call from AI-generated Trump

The BBC got to see just how easy it is to create a fake phone call between two people.

A mother and daughter in Vizag

An Indian family living on welfare

A family in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh shares its experience of living on government welfare schemes.

Women attending a welfare camp in Kolkata

India: 'Welfare at your doorstep'

More than 100 people turn up at a welfare camp in West Bengal state to apply for government benefits.

A couple in Bhopal in their mud house

India: A house for Mr Bhallavi

A construction worker in the state of Madhya Pradesh is a beneficiary of India's rural housing scheme.

Influencers

The challenges of making political videos

YouTuber Sham Sharma talks about the positives and perils of sharing his views online.

Juhapura, Gujarat's biggest Muslim ghetto

No roads, no streetlights: ‘We lack basic facilities’

Gujarat's biggest Muslim ghetto is located in Indian Home Minister’s Amit Shah’s constituency.

Children in a school

India home minister’s first school

The first school Indian Home Minister Amit Shah attended was in his in hometown Mansa in Gujarat.

Amit Shah's ancestral home

‘Amit Shah and I played cricket and marbles here’

The BBC visited the Indian home minister's ancestral home in the town of Mansa in Gujarat state.

Students in a coaching institute

Patna: A transformative journey for young Indian Muslims

This school provides free coaching to more than 800 boys and girls from all over the country.

A Muslim boy in a sweet shop

Agra: Indian Muslims talk about 'changing times'

In the historic city of Agra in northern India, Muslims worry about about how “society has changed”.

Young Indians who applied for jobs in Israel

The young Indians applying for jobs in Israel

A job crisis in India is forcing thousands of young men to move to conflict-torn Israel in search of work.

Underwater metro in Kolkata

Watch: India's first underwater metro in Kolkata

Take a look at India's first underwater metro in the eastern city of Kolkata.

Why the India election matters

The Indian election matters for the world. Here’s why

Nearly a billion people are eligible to vote in India’s national election, which is set to begin on 19 April.