The Wedding Industry is Intersecting with the Music Industry, Even Creating New Songs

One of the more “alarming trends” that filmmaker, entrepreneur and songwriter Vishal Punjabi has noticed is what he terms the hijacking of wedding films and music. He says, “Hearing yet another rendition of ‘Madhaniyaa’ on loop can be quite taxing.”

The chief executive officer at film production company The Wedding Filmer, Punjabi and his team have gone on to shoot for the biggest Indian movie stars’ real-life marriage ceremonies and even topped it off with creating original music as per each client’s demands. The most recent hit was “Ranjha (Sid X Kiara Version)” which was a new take on the song from the 2021 movie Shershaah, sung by Jasleen Royal. This time, The Wedding Filmer took the romantic song and made it fit into Shershaah actors Sidharth Malhotra and Kiara Advani’s wedding, going from reel to real.

Prior to that, they’ve worked with everyone from Harshdeep Kaur to Sharmistha Chatterjee to Raghav Meattle on songs made specifically for couples’ weddings. With companies like The Wedding Filmer and a few others creating their own catalog of original music, we’re seeing the ways that the perennial wedding industry can give the music industry a new source of revenue.

While personalized songs for weddings are not new, more couples are considering music that goes beyond hiring a DJ or a band to play covers. It’s little doubt that wedding gigs are money-spinners that indie artists have sometimes leaned on as an additional source of income, but now they might get to keep writing original music and still be a part of the wedding economy.

Bengaluru-based, Mangaluru-origin singer-songwriter Frizzell D’Souza has been hired as a songwriter and performer at weddings over the years, with heartwarming results. In 2022, she performed in Goa for a couple’s wedding and termed it “one of the most unreal and precious gigs I’ve played so far.” She added in a social media post, “This couple used to watch my Instagram lives during the lockdowns, and decided to have me sing for their first dance at their wedding […] You guys give me a whole new level of reassurance every time I think otherwise.”

Earlier this year in January, she performed a song she originally composed for another client couple in Bengaluru, at their wedding reception. “What a precious and personal moment it was, singing their story and watching them tear up and cuddle each other,” D’Souza said on Instagram.

Punjabi, for his part, says the goal isn’t always to convince every client to purchase a song, because he doesn’t think of music as a commodity. “It’s an expression, an experience. It’s their memory that I am entrusted with, and if it’s their desire to have an existing song as their anthem, I wholeheartedly embrace it. My role is simply to augment their choices, to weave in my own musical sensibilities and create layers of emotion that enhance their memories,” he adds.

Wedding photography and videography is no small deal in terms of charges and commissioning a song would just add to the bill. The Wedding Filmer’s website notes they charge up to ₹1 lakh per day and the composition of a song is an add-on service. Punjabi says about their process, “Creating a timeless piece of music for a wedding film is no small task. The process involves deep understanding, creativity, and a considerable investment of resources. When we pitch the idea of an original composition to our clients, we make sure to emphasize its uniqueness, its emotional depth, and its potential to resonate not just with the couple, but with everyone who hears it.”

The music composing process is something that Punjabi started about 13 years ago for a film titled Heartbeats, which featured a version of the traditional wedding song “Din Shagna Da.” The filmmaker had heard a family wedding guest sing it with “authentically Indian” charm and felt that they too could “harness that raw, genuine emotion of that moment and translate it into music. Over time, they’ve worked directly with couples who wanted to sing their own song and write their lyrics as well. “The process of integrating their musical talent into our work feels less like ceding control and more like inviting them into the creative process,” Punjabi says. In terms of copyright, he says most times, the rights remain with The Wedding Filmer. “Navigating the nuances of copyright and wider dissemination can be complex, but it’s an integral part of ensuring the artistry of our work retains its integrity,” he says. “Ranjha (Sid X Kiara Version),” of course, was given permission through filmmaker and producer Karan Johar, whose company owns the rights to the song.

The Wedding Filmer has more collaborations coming up, one that includes singer-composer Shekhar Ravjiani. “The last time we were in a studio together was during the creation of the iconic song ‘Chammak Challo,’ with Akon and the experience was nothing short of inspiring,” Punjabi adds. There’s also another song by composer Sagar Desai. Punjabi says, “He’ll be contributing to a folk romance track, a dream project of mine that has been in the making for a decade. I can’t wait to see these projects come to life and further revolutionize the realm of wedding music.”