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It has quietly become one of the most beautiful trends in Indian celebrity culture. When two people from different communities, different languages, different corners of the country fall in love, their wedding does not choose one world over the other. It chooses both. Rashmika Mandanna and Vijay Deverakonda, adored together as Virosh by millions of fans, made that choice this morning, and in doing so, they joined a tradition that has been quietly building for years across Bollywood and the wider Indian film industry.
The couple started their wedding day at 8 am on February 26 with a ceremony conducted according to Andhra-Telugu Hindu rituals. Later at 4 pm, they celebrated a Kodava wedding, honouring Rashmika's Coorgi roots. Taken together, the two ceremonies were more than just weddings. They were a statement about who these two people are, where they come from, and what they are building together.
"Their wedding did not choose one world over the other. It chose both."
Rashmika Mandanna and Vijay Deverakonda
The Kodava ceremony was especially striking in its simplicity and depth. There was no priest. Family elders conducted every ritual themselves. Customs like Bale Ketuva, where banana stems are symbolically cut to display strength, and Neer Adpo, a Ganga Puja where the bride draws water from a well, were observed. The couple also paid respects to their ancestors and sought blessings from Kaveri Amma, the river goddess revered across Coorg. Wedding expenses were shared equally between both families, a Kodava tradition that speaks of equality long before it became a talking point. It was intimate, rooted, and deeply personal.
Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas
Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas were among the first to make this template famous. In December 2018, they married twice in three days at the Umaid Bhawan Palace in Jodhpur. The first was a Western Christian ceremony, white dress and all. The next day came a grand Hindu wedding with Priyanka in a Ralph Lauren lehenga especially designed for the occasion. The ceremonies blended the sacred traditions of two very different cultures, watched by the entire world, and managed to feel genuinely heartfelt throughout.
Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh
Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh followed in November 2018 with what many consider the template for the modern Bollywood twin wedding. They married at Villa del Balbianello on Lake Como in Italy, first according to Konkani traditions from Deepika's side, then in a Sindhi ceremony honouring Ranveer's family customs. Both events were visually spectacular but never felt like a spectacle. They felt like a genuine merging of two families, two communities, two sets of rituals that had survived for generations.
Vicky Kaushal and Katrina Kaif
Vicky Kaushal and Katrina Kaif married in December 2021 at Six Senses Fort Barwara in Rajasthan. The celebrations spanned multiple days and included both a traditional Hindu ceremony and events that reflected Katrina's own background. What struck people about that wedding was the warmth, no elaborate PR campaigns, just the sense of a real family coming together in an old fort under the Rajasthan sky.
Love without erasureWhat connects all these weddings is not glamour, though there is plenty of that. It is the underlying idea that love between two people from different communities does not require anyone to erase themselves. The Telugu rituals Rashmika and Vijay observed this morning have been performed at Telugu weddings for centuries. The Kodava customs this afternoon carry the memory of a warrior community that worshipped nature, valued equality, and conducted its most sacred moments without intermediaries. Holding both in the same day is not a compromise. It is a fullness.
Understated, yet perfect
Virosh, as the fans call them, have been together for years. The relationship was long speculated, occasionally confirmed in small gestures, never loudly announced. That the wedding itself was also understated, no weeks of pre-wedding coverage, no airport appearances building up to it, fits the couple perfectly. The news came quietly, the way real things often do.
The most honest films they’ve made
In a film industry that spans dozens of languages, hundreds of communities, and a country of breathtaking cultural variety, these weddings are perhaps the most honest films these stars have ever made. No script. No retakes. Just two people, two families, and the long, layered, living traditions that made them who they are.
"No script. No retakes. Just two people, two families and the traditions that made them who they are."
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