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Vishal Punjabi – The Wedding Filmer talks about shooting Anushka Sharma and Virat Kohli's wedding

Vishal Punjabi is the founder and director of The Wedding Filmer, an organisation that shoots weddings. He has shot weddings of celebrities like Anushka Sharma-Virat Kohli and Bipasha Basu-Karan Singh Grover. Recently, we met Vishal and spoke to him about shooting Virushka’s wedding.


Anushka and Virat had a secret wedding in Italy and till the pictures of them came out everyone was just speculating about the wedding. When asked Vishal how difficult it was for him to keep a secret that Anushka Sharma and Virat Kohli are getting married, he said, “That’s the hardest part in the celebrity weddings, learning how to keep your mouth shut. It’s very exciting, but in Anushka and Virat’s case, we didn’t know it was them until we got to Italy. There’s a lot of thinking on the feature when you do a wedding like these because then there’s not a lot of planning that you can do.”

When probed that he actually went for a wedding where he didn’t know who the bride and groom are, Vishal said, “It goes against everything we do, but luckily the planners who were doing it, The Shaadi Squad, they are good friends of mine and they know what they are doing. So, I trusted them and landed up there, and I was grateful.”

When pictures of a celebrity’s wedding come out on social media, people say that they are faking it for the camera. When asked Vishal if those moments are real or some people fake it for the camera, he said, “Celebrity or not, if you are getting married and you are in love, whoever you are it is very hard to fake that emotion because love is quite in your face when you are getting married. It’s the reason you there. It’s not very easy to fake it, I don’t think anybody can.”

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How Southeast Asian storytelling became one of Netflix’s fastest-growing global pillars

Inside Netflix’s 50% surge: the regional creators and stories driving Southeast Asia’s global rise

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How Southeast Asian storytelling became one of Netflix’s fastest-growing global pillars

Highlights:

  • Netflix says global viewing of Southeast Asian titles rose almost 50% between 2023 and 2024.
  • Premium VOD revenue in the region reached £1.44 billion (₹15,300 crore) last year, with 53.6 million subscriptions.
  • Netflix holds more than half of the region’s total viewing and remains its biggest investor in originals.
  • New rivals, including Max, Viu and Vidio, are forcing sharper competition.
  • Local jobs, training and tourism are increasing as productions expand across the region.

Last year, something shifted in what the world watched. Global viewership of Southeast Asian content on Netflix grew by nearly 50%, and this isn't just a corporate milestone; it’s a signal. Stories from Jakarta, Bangkok, and Manila are no longer regional curiosities. They are now part of the global mainstream.

The numbers tell a clear story. Over 100 Southeast Asian titles have now entered Netflix’s Global Top 10 lists. More than 40 of those broke through in 2024 alone. This surge is part of a bigger boom in the region’s own backyard. The total premium video-on-demand market in Southeast Asia saw viewership hit 440 billion minutes in 2024, with revenues up 14% to £1.44 billion (₹15,300 crore). Netflix commands over half of that viewership and 42% of the revenue. They have a clear lead, but the entire market is rising.

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