The masterminds behind some of India’s most iconic celebrity weddings — including the nuptials of Anushka Sharma and Priyanka Chopra —pulled back the curtain on the industry’s most useless trend. In a recently resurfaced interview shared by Fashionably Pernia, ace wedding designer Devika Narain and renowned photographer Joseph Radhik didn’t hold back. Their target? The ubiquitous, colourful smoke bombs. Also read | From vows to views: How social media virality is now the new wedding ‘wow’
A beautiful mess
Devika Narain, the creative force behind Anushka Sharma and Virat Kohli’s dreamy Tuscan wedding in 2017, as well as Radhika Merchant and Anant Ambani’s pre-wedding festivities in Jamnagar, labelled the trend as pure ‘chaos’. According to her, the coordination required for that ‘one second’ of colour is disproportionately stressful.
“I know how many people get yelled at in the back just for that one second… it is a mess,” she said in a February 11 Instagram clip from the August 30, 2024 interview on Fashionably Pernia’s YouTube channel.
The photographer’s nightmare
While smoke bombs are often used to create a ‘cinematic’ effect during the varmala (garland exchange) or jaimala, Joseph — the man behind the lens for Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas’ dreamy Jodhpur wedding in 2018 — called them ‘the most faltu (useless) thing to exist’.
He highlighted a few reasons why the trend fails, sharing that the smoke is unpredictable and often obscures the couple rather than framing them. Smoke bombs also pull guests’ attention away from the ceremony and the natural beauty of high-end venues, Joseph added. He recalled a wedding shoot at Lake Como where the smoke completely overshadowed the stunning landscape, leaving him with only one usable shot despite the massive effort.
Joseph said: “I’ll tell you from a photography perspective, they’re the most faltu (useless) thing to exist. Three places where I’ve shot them recently. Fancy places. Como in the middle of the lake. Bro, Como… like the lake is there. The guests were not even looking at it. So, I have one photo.”
‘Still a waste’
The consensus between the designer and photographer duo is clear: high-end weddings should focus on the venue and the couple, not artificial clouds of sulfurous smoke. Devika and Joseph also doubled down on their stance in the comments section of Fashionably Pernia’s February 11 Instagram post.
Joseph shared that while they might ‘look great in photos’ occasionally, as a lived moment, smoke bombs offer zero value. Devika echoed the sentiment simply, stating the trend remains ‘still a waste’. “This is a throwback from my fat face era. BUT, I do believe smoke bombs are a waste. They look great in photos, but as an actual moment? 2/10,” Joseph commented.
