BENGALURU: Last August, a video of a Bengalurean Rakesh Arjuna proposing marriage to his girlfriend Shruti went viral, with over 50,000 views. Themed on Fast and the Furious, it was shot on a scale grander than anyone had seen before: Shruti is escorted by a fleet of eight or more luxury cars, driving down a runway, to meet Rakesh who comes to meet her in a private jet. This shoot cost `20 lakh to make and then there was the service charge, but all this is little matter for those in love.
Event planners and videographers say that, on an average, each one of them receive nearly 15 requests for ‘proposal’ or ‘pre-wedding’ videos a year. The number may seem low, but it takes months to plan these shoots since couples are demanding. Of course, these couples – who are mostly between 22 and 35 years – want to look their best.
Service charges alone for the event planners cost approximately `1.5 lakh and making charges can vary between `40,000 and `10 lakh.
Months of planning
Deepak Vijay, who worked as a visual artist for eight years and three years as a wedding videographer, had shot the viral video. He says that he entered the industry in 2015 and since then the number of clients has increased. His career graph shot up after the proposal video, and has since received 18 requests for similar shoots.
Another photographer and event planner Sujay Naidu, who has eight years of experience in the industry, has covered over six shoots in the last three months alone. He says, planning for each video takes two to six months. “One couple, who I had shot last weekend, wanted it to be set in Jaipur and had planned it six months in advance. They had even rented a room in the Jaipur palace for it,” he says. The couple had spent `2.5 lakh for the room alone and making of the video cost them `5 lakh in all, including travel, food and stay.
Bengaluru couples prefer to set their shoots outside the state. Jaipur is a popular location and others include Kerala, Coorg, Goa, Delhi and Chikmagalur in India and Europe, Singapore, Thailand, Bali and Sri Lanka abroad.
Friend v/s Friend
Couples often try to one up their peers. Deepak says, “Couples often refer to their friends’ shoot and expect theirs to be grander than the others.”
Private Jet Couple
Businessman Rakesh brainstormed the proposal video. He owned a private jet and borrowed cars from his friends. He says, "I planned it three months in advance. Then, we thought since there was a proposal video, why not go for a pre-wedding shoot and make it complete." The shoot was done at Turf club. The costume of the bride was a customised 40-metre long gown, suggested by the photographer to match with the theme of the shoot.