The social media jury is out on the wedding ensembles of Kiara Advani and Siddharth Malhotra. Was the bride’s outfit spectacular? It was nice enough. Was there enough surprise in the wedding pictures being uploaded? Not really. Friend and mentor Karan Johar had already asked them about a February wedding on his Koffee With Karan chat show a few months ago. We even knew the guest list would include him and Shahid Kapoor, her Kabir Singh co-star.
So, where was the ‘aha’ moment?
Perhaps there need not be an ‘aha’ moment for every single Bollywood wedding. Perhaps the simple folks that Kiara and Sid are, they just wanted a relaxed and fuss-free wedding. There is something to be said about a bride who is determined not to be a bridezilla, especially if she is an A-list movie star. And a big hat-tip to Kiara for keeping it easy, breezy and serene.
Kiara Advani and Siddharth Malhotra at their Mumbai reception | AFP
Kiara wore a baby pink lehenga for her wedding. It was dressy enough. Especially since she teamed it with mega emeralds and diamonds. Her designer and stylist Manish Malhotra is launching his jewellery line next month (with a store in Dubai to boot), hence the gobsmackers. “Kiara is the first person to be wearing my jewellery,” Malhotra tells me. “A lot of my clientele wear large diamonds and precious stones, so it was important for me to showcase that. Of course, uncut diamonds are beautiful too, but I think they are a bit stereotypical.”
But what truly impressed me was the monochrome fishtail gown that Kiara wore at her Mumbai reception. Again with a sea of diamonds and emeralds. I just love how it broke the tradition of wearing Indian bridal finery at the post-wedding party. Totally mindless, if you think about it. But often brides in India save their most expensive outfit for the reception, where the maximum guests are invited.
The square-necked, as-elegant-as-Hepburn gown was superbly tailored to start with. It was white on the top half with a trailing black skirt. And a bib of emerald necklaces. Like with almost every ceremony, her makeup was minimal. The ensemble was modern and young; one can just imagine a rich Gen-Z bride wearing a gown for her biggest wedding party, and dousing it with desi-style giant baubles. A win for sure.
Designer Malhotra takes the credit for this look. He says he wanted Kiara to be classic in a black-and-white ensemble, so the jewellery would stand out even more. It does prove to be a great look, especially when one notes its uniqueness. I am not sure how the netizens would take to wearing a western outfit at an Indian wedding (and honestly, who cares?), but perhaps this would be Kiara’s ‘aha’ moment alright.
For her sangeet, Kiara wore a gold-going-into-silver outfit, with a diamond and ruby necklace. Her Delhi reception was beautiful and vintage. Siddharth’s mother gifted her with an uncut diamond necklace, which Kiara paired with a chenille lehenga and an antique silver zari dupatta. For her mehendi, she wore a white chikankari. The wedding was at 4pm, hence the pheras lehenga was pink and not a conventional red.
The lessons to glean from Kiara the bride is that here is a Bollywood who is not trying to be different or stand out; she just wanted a calm, content and unpretentious wedding. No statements needed to be made. It was the kind of wedding where the focus was on joy, love, each other and the meaning of marriage, more than what the bride wore.
@namratazakaria