Mumbai: In this fast-paced world, the recent trend of commercialising marriage on TV just reflects the new dimension of Indian reality. On the small screen, there are at least three different reality shows which are based on marriage. First, Star aired a show which is more of a TV matrimonial where couples meet through the TV show. Adding to that, there is The Big Fat Indian Wedding which documents the execution of extravagant marriages. And now to top it all, controversy's favourite child Rakhi Sawant is actually getting married on TV to the winner of the show, Swayamvar.
Shaadi.Com, one of the pioneers of online matrimony websites has been operating for the past 11 years and they have partnered with Star for the show Star Vivaah which is like TV matrimony. Gourav Rakshit, business head, Shaadi.com says, "Marriages in India, are still a very sacred institution and one of the biggest milestones in an individual's life where a huge emphasis is laid on the entire matchmaking effort.
However, the scene now evolving. This generation is willing to adopt
an independent outlook to life and wants to make decisions by
themselves." There are a variety of reasons for the increasing trend,
but in a nutshell, in the absence of a strong social network to fall
back on, people are moving to other forms of connecting and
communication and hence there has been a rise in online matrimony in
the last decade.
"It's all about convenience and that doesn't change the way that marriages are looked at," adds Gaurav.
Actress Mouli Ganguly says, "I think this new trend is interesting and exciting. I don't know how these shows work, but in special cases like the one I saw recently about a handicapped person looking for a groom, it seems to work well."
