Big budget TV weddings racing for TRP Ratings

No TV show is complete without a big fat wedding. Lavish sets, designer costumes, jewellery and a huge line-up of wedding functions continue to be the order of the day.

While huge monies are spent on wedding tracks, do they really bring the desired ratings? Abhimanyu Raj Singh, the producer of BharatKa Veer Putra — MaharanaPratap, who is currently shooting the wedding track, says, "The subject is a great inspiration for us to go into detailing and plan a lavish wedding track for MaharanaPratap and Ajabde. More than ratings, it is a historical show, and to make it look grand, we will have to indulge." RajanShahi, producer of AurPyaar Ho Gaya, says, "My previous shows have registered very good ratings when there was a grand wedding, so we hope for the same here too. Besides, Indians never tire of festivities." MeenakshiSagar, co-producer of Jamai Raja, says, "We have spent a huge amount of money on the costumes and the jewellery. Weddings on TV demand to be larger-than-life."

Jamai Raja Budget: (Over a crore) Ravi Dubey and Nia Sharma's wedding follows Gujarati and Punjabi rituals, with festivities stretched for 15 days. The 'saat phera' episode will have two designer outfits for the bride, each costing around `5-10 lakhs. The makers have set up a chawl; the budget of setting it up has been estimated to be around one crore, and apart from the 20 family members, there are 500-600 people present for the wedding track.

Bharat Ka Veer Putra — Maharana Pratap Budget: (Over a crore) Sources confirm that the wedding budget is so huge that it runs beyond one's imagination. Huge amount of money is spent on the detailing involved for Pratap's wedding to Ajabde, including the haldi, tilak and engagement. Bride and groom's outfits easily cost around `10-15 lakhs. The ornaments, even though not real, cost around `3-6 lakhs per person for the main cast. Wedding track on the show will go on for a month. Around 1000 people have been involved every day.

Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya Budget: (Over a crore) Wedding track of Avni (Kanchi Singh) and Raj (MishkatVerma) will extend for a month with cocktail party, hen party, haldi, sangeet and atleast 10-11 functions. The sangeet function is estimated to cost around `30 lakhs.