How Shah Rukh Khan inspired The Wedding Filmer's journey
What's the story
Vishal Punjabi, popularly known as The Wedding Filmer, has been the man behind some of Bollywood's biggest wedding videos. His work has included capturing the grandeur of events such as Deepika Padukone-Ranveer Singh and Virat Kohli-Anushka Sharma's nuptials. In a recent interview with NDTV, Punjabi credited his career to Shah Rukh Khan.
Filmmaking wisdom
'Filmmaking requires a lot of maturity, time, and love...'
Punjabi shared, "Shah Rukh Khan once told me, 'Filmmaking requires a lot of maturity, time and love. Only make a film when you reach that level of maturity.'" He reflected on this advice, saying, "I think today I have reached that level of maturity where I can bring expertise and years of my experience to the craft."
Career transition
Punjabi's initial days at Red Chillies
Before he became a wedding videographer, Punjabi was a line producer at Khan's Red Chillies Entertainment in Mumbai. His talent for visual art caught the attention of the production house, which allowed him to form a team for visual art on movies like Main Hoon Na, Asoka, Paheli, and Don. He later moved to the advertising division of Red Chillies to produce and direct TV commercials.
Mentorship
'Everything I know about filmmaking...': Punjabi
Punjabi revealed to the outlet, "Everything I know about filmmaking, I have learnt from my time at Red Chillies." He named Farah Khan, Bobby Chawla, Santosh Sivan, Juhi Chawla, and Khan as his mentors. "They taught me how to edit...shoot. They have taught me the language of cinema. I hope they are proud of me now." Punjabi has filmed over 50 celebrity weddings, including those of Vicky Kaushal-Katrina Kaif (2021) and Sidharth Malhotra-Kiara Advani (2023).