From celeb weddings to queer love: Vishal Punjabi on crafting love stories beyond the norm

From the high-energy song-and-dance sequences of Shava-Shava to the tear-inducing soulful melodies of Kabira, Indian weddings have come a long way. 

The man behind this welcome shift is also the same person who has offered India a sneak peek into a series of iconic Bollywood weddings, including those of Deepika-Ranveer, Anushka-Virat, Kiara-Sidharth, Katrina-Vicky and Aditi Rao Hydari, among others.

In an engaging conversation with afaqs!, Vishal Punjabi, known for his work as an ad filmmaker and now as the director at The Wedding Filmer, shares insights about his latest initiative, Soul Has No Gender. This wedding film embraces queer narratives, establishing new standards for brand purpose and showcasing remarkable creative courage.

Punjabi honed his filming skills in the high-stakes world of advertising. "I always wanted to work in Bollywood," Punjabi shares, recalling the beginning of his career at 20 with Shah Rukh Khan, quickly rising to become a creative director, where he headed an advertising department.  

“Back in 2003, Shah Rukh was the brand ambassador for everything that could be sold: from bank accounts to planes, trains, automobiles, soft drinks, biscuits, underwear, pens, stationery, noodles, and chips,” recalls Punjabi, “I used to direct all of those ads,” he adds fondly.

His advertising portfolio includes groundbreaking work, such as the viral Sunfeast Snacky ad featuring Dia Mirza and Shah Rukh Khan, as well as exciting campaigns for Airtel that showcased AR Rahman's compositions.  

He also contributed to memorable Pepsi campaigns with Anuja Chauhan, including the iconic Oye Bubly, Oye Bubly jingle. “We did the Kolkata Knight Riders' Korbo Lorbo Jeetbo Re too,” he adds.

Punjabi says his years in advertising have taught him the skill of conveying more with fewer words—how to distil emotion, narrative, and impact into just a few seconds. “It exposed me to how to exploit music to bring out emotions and make people feel a certain way.” 

In his latest wedding film, Soul Has No Gender, he evokes a profound array of emotions. The decision to make his first queer wedding film did not, surprisingly, alter his fundamental creative approach.

"I thought they deserved the same pomp and the same fun and the same music and the same attitude towards love as any couple would," Punjabi asserts.  

He views gay weddings within the broader Indian matrimonial context, seeing them as "just another conflict" similar to interfaith or intercaste marriages that ultimately enrich the great Indian wedding narrative.

Despite the deep impact Soul Has No Gender has had on many Indians, amassing millions of views, Punjabi openly shares the challenges he has encountered along the way. "What we've done in this video has resulted in heavy trolling. We've also lost about 2,000 followers," he reveals. 

Accusations of defying Indian culture have surrounded the brand, with creators facing death threats that highlight the perilous landscape brands navigate when addressing sensitive social issues in the country.

Back in October of 2020, Tanishq also faced similar backlash for an interfaith ad that was part of its Ekatvam (Oneness) campaign. The ad featured a pregnant Hindu woman getting a traditional Hindu baby shower (godh bharai) by her Muslim mother-in-law. The commercial aimed to promote the unity of cultures and religions. But it had to be taken down.

Punjabi notes a pattern: "It's usually either a boycott or threats to the people involved," but for The Wedding Filmer, success isn't just about viral reach. "Unlike other content creators or filmmakers, my audience is literally the bride and the groom," he explains.  

The ultimate KPI, he says, is the film's ability to serve as a treasured memory. “Unlike jewellery or lehengas, which usually go into storage, wedding videos have a huge chance of bringing people closer together,” says Punjabi while defining success.

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Soul Has No Gender is already fostering conversations and potential brand collaborations.

Punjabi reflects on his journey through the world of fashion, sharing insights into various brands that resonate with the queer community, as well as those specialising in bridal jewellery.

He highlights his longstanding relationship with androgynous clothing designer Arjun Saluja, indicating how the queer wedding narrative amplifies excitement for such partnerships. 

"It's okay for clothes to be androgynous. And why not?" He says, embracing the fluidity the film's theme brings to fashion and his collaborations.

Observing broader shifts in the Indian wedding market, Punjabi firmly believes that Bollywood remains the ultimate trendsetter. 

He points to how “Anushka's wedding defined the pink and pastel situation, then Deepika Padukone and Katrina came out in their reds and golds and brought it back, now everybody is wearing red again”.

While criticising brands for merely "following" these aesthetic trends without delving into the deeper "why" of Indian rituals, he commends Sabyasachi for focussing on rich tradition and craftsmanship, suggesting brands should prioritise the "soul" of the Indian wedding over superficial trends. 

Punjabi passionately urges brands to embrace social causes as a strategic imperative. "It's critical for brands to take a stand," he insists. If a brand’s ethos resonates with a cause, the brand must endorse it, he says. 

He recalls a cautionary anecdote of an American baker who refused to serve a gay wedding on religious grounds, only for the Pope to later embrace LGBTQIA+ individuals in church services, leaving the brand's rigid stance vulnerable. 

Drawing from his journey of unlearning homophobia, Punjabi concludes with a powerful articulation of his brand's philosophy: that respectful storytelling, like Soul Has No Gender, can truly change perspectives. 

"We fall in love with someone's Atma in Hinduism... The Atma has no gender," he reflects, emphasising how this profound thought, once shared by a priest, solidified his understanding of all kinds of love.