Behind the lens: Vishal Punjabi reflects on filming his own love story

If a Bollywood couple was getting married, trust The Wedding Filmer to be behind the camera, capturing their love story and theri coming together to start a new chapter of their life. Over the past 10 years, Vishal Punjabi and his team have given us some breathtaking, evocative wedding videos of celebrities we love, including Aditi-Siddharth, Radhika-Anant, Deepika-Ranveer, Vicky-Katrina, Anushka-Virat, Kiara-Sidharth, Rakul-Jackky, and Nayanthara-Vignesh among others. But today is not about their video, it’s about Punjabi's own wedding video that released last week. 

So what and how does a person—who’s done more than 400 weddings over 10 years, feel about his own wedding video. Brides Today, catches up with Punjabi to get the answers. 

Brides Today: How does it feel to be on the other side and have your own wedding video shot? 

Vishal Punjabi: Honestly, I didn’t even realise I was being shot. I was so present in the moment, being with my fiancé that the video was the last thing I was thinking about. I also trust my crew so much, who flew from India to London. Raj, the head of the cinematography department, shot my wedding. A few months ago, I shot his wedding—it was very karmic that life comes full circle. I didn’t intend to shoot his wedding and vice-versa, things just happened that way. 

We always had the footage of Nikki and I falling in love at her sister’s wedding two years ago (Punjabi made Nikki's sister's wedding video two years ago). My crew, so intuitive and sharp, left the camera rolling once we were done. And that became the backbone of the wedding film. I always knew that the film would be real, quiet, and peaceful. I didn’t want to feel like I’m at work so I didn’t do the interview format that I usually do. Instead, we had speeches and vows. Usually, I do dialogues just to get into their heads. Here, it wasn’t required.   

BT: Did you change parts of your wedding knowing that it’s going to be shot a certain way? 

VP: I don’t think anything we did was for the video. There were things added, that we wouldn’t normally do. For example, because it was a white wedding, there was this bottle that Nikki and I put sand in. The different colours signified different traits in a marriage. Family members would come and put in the sand in the bottle. It wasn’t done for the video. We wanted a beautiful cake because I wanted to eat a cake. The flowers and the place were picked because we loved it. We put a Ghana and India flag because both of us are from there, and we wanted our representation. This is what makes the best photos and videos—when it’s all natural. What we end up preserving isn’t a made up memory, it’s real. I don’t think Nikki expected such a video; so, she was happy when she saw it. I know my team and knew they’d make something beautiful. She shows it to everyone and there’s a certain joy in that.  

BT: How much of an input/insight did Nikki have in the final cut of this wedding video?

VP: She didn't. We showed her the final video. I have a video of her reaction that we made. 

BT: Your video, too, is extremely personal as it has a clip of Nikki from her sister’s wedding that you captured. How special is that?

VP: Those were the beginnings of a relationship. How many people are lucky enough to have that? It was very important to have that. 

BT: While love stories and wedding films are different, was there any wedding you worked on that made you say, ‘Hey, this is something I want to do in my wedding video as well’?

VP: Now, I’m looking forward to having the kind of wedding that I shoot. I want to party, have a haldi, mehendi, pheras. If other people can have it, why can’t she. And that’s what I wanted to create. 

BT: What’s the reason behind choosing 'Is This Love' by Bob Marley as the song for your wedding video?

VP: I’m a big Bob Marley fan and it irritates her a little bit as she’s not that much of a fan. When I played the song for her to pick, she instantly liked the voice and lyrics. She didn’t know that it was a Bob Marley song until the wedding got over. When it did, she looked at me and asked, ‘Was that a Bob Marley song?’ and we both burst out laughing. It was a tribute to him because I love him so much. 

BT: What kind of mood or style did you want to capture, and how did you translate that into the video?

VP: I wanted to capture and preserve the quietness of the wedding. It was a very quiet and beautiful day. I remember that there was a lot of silence, hope, and faith. Whatever words were spoken, each one of them was beautiful and that’s what I wanted to capture.  

BT: What was the most important moment or detail you wanted to make sure was included in your video?

VP: I’d say our vows to each other when we got married were something that doesn’t happen every day. You don’t make that kind of promise in front of everyone. That to me solemnises the wedding. We wanted to capture the dialogue and the voice correctly and the room was quiet enough to make sure that was done.  

BT: What is your favourite part of the video?

VP: I think my favourite part of the video would be the last shot—going back two years ago. 

BT: Were there any unique challenges or surprises in creating your own wedding video?

VP: The challenge was, ‘Who’s going to do my interview?’ since there was nobody I could speak to regarding how I was feeling. That’s why I ended up giving a speech. The other challenge was that I end up filming very big and fancy weddings professionally, but I, myself, can’t afford The Wedding Filmer. It’s expensive to hire a team like mine. I could only afford two cinematographers, while normally there are four or five. There is a drone person, two to record the action and two for the reactions, a producer and a person for the sound. You have people for everything and don’t have to stress. Here, I only had two. But when I watch the video, I don’t feel bad. I just feel grateful to the two people who did just a beautiful job. 

BT: Looking back, is there anything you would have done differently in terms of video coverage or editing?

VP: No. I went through all the footage and I don’t think there’s anything that I would change. They’ve made a complete memory for me. It’s also testament to know that when people say The Wedding FIlmer, they aren’t referring to me they’re talking about people who represent the brand. It’s preserved very well. Even though it was my wedding, it was great to see how good the team has become and make something so beautiful. 

BT: How will your wedding experience influence your approach to shooting weddings?

VP: Tremendously. In fact, the wedding I’m doing right now, it’s influenced it heavily. Because now I finally understand what it truly means to have a film made by The Wedding Filmer. I understand that joy and get the vibe. No one does more than me. After my wedding trailer was made, I got closer to my wife and her family. Up until now, her father never called me. Post the trailer, he’s called me thrice. People spend so much on their weddings, but the memories here has a job to do and that’s priceless. More than me, Nikki understood the joy I bring to people who get married. She realised how nice it feels. 

All images: theweddingfilmer | Instagram

Also read: Vishal Punjabi of The Wedding Filmer shares his learnings from the hundred-something love stories he’s captured so far

Also read: What are the key moments you should include in your wedding video? Four videographers weigh in