CINEMOTION.UK · EVERY WEDDING

Not one Asian wedding.

Pakistani, Indian Hindu, Sikh, Bengali, Gujarati, Tamil, Bangladeshi and fusion. Each is a different marriage. Each page says what to film, then opens the rite in the field book.

• PakistaniA Pakistani wedding in Britain is rarely one room. The marriage is the nikah. The film people share is often the entrance.
• Indian HinduThere is no single Indian wedding. There is the family in front of you, and a priest who will tell you which circuit is the marriage.
• SikhThe marriage is the Anand Karaj, in the presence of the Guru Granth Sahib. A country house can hold the milni and the dinner. It cannot invent the four laavan.
• BengaliA Bengali Hindu wedding is not a North Indian mandap with a different playlist. The look is the first sight, the seven circles, and the sindoor.
• GujaratiThe room will dance before it sits down. The marriage is still the fire, and the priest’s count, not the garba.
• TamilThe marriage is often a morning, and the moment is the thali. A North Indian shot list will miss it by arriving for an evening baraat that is not on the card.
• BangladeshiIn Britain the largest Bangladeshi weddings are Muslim. Gaye holud is the yellow morning. The nikah is the marriage. The walima is the feast.
• FusionTwo families, often two buildings, sometimes two days. The film fails when it pretends there was one roof and one dress.