Wedding pictures of Deepika Padukone-Ranveer Singh out after long wait
New Delhi, Nov 15: A public announcement, two weddings and a long tease later, Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh released the first pictures as husband and wife on Thursday.
The marriage, one of the most awaited events in Bollywood calendar, was an intensely private and synchronised affair at scenic Lake Como's Villa del Balbianello in Italy. The couple honoured their South Indian and North Indian origins with twin nuptials.
Both Deepika and Ranveer shared the photographs simultaneously on their respective social media accounts.
In the South Indian style wedding, Ranveer can be seen wearing a cream-white and golden kurta-dhoti, while Deepika looked gorgeous in what appears to be a maroon Kanjeevaram sari. The couple is seen sharing a hearty laugh in the picture.
In the second picture, the couple twinned in red and gold outfits. Deepika wore a dupatta that had the blessing 'Sada Saubhagyavati Bhava' inscribed on it in gold letters. This picture has the couple engaged in a deep conversation.
Deepika's favourite couturier Sabyasachi designed the outfits for both the couple. The bride, for once, managed to force Ranveer to mellow down from his quirky, flamboyant style.
Media, both national and international, was stationed outside the venue but could only manage a series of grainy images and videos, mostly of the guests and family members, doing little to quench the thirst of the stars' fans.
Though the wedding date announcement was made public in October, the wedding itself was one of the most secretive celebrity nuptials in Bollywood as even guests, who were ensconced in resorts tucked high above the lake ringed by mountains, were asked to keep the phone camera away.
Singer Harshdeep Kaur, who reportedly performed at the sangeet ceremony Tuesday, had to take down a picture from social media, that showed her standing near the lake with her husband.
The couple were sheltered from the prying camera eyes of the paparazzi during the ceremony with the help of black umbrellas, which the guests carried with them. They also flanked Deepika and Ranveer as the rituals were underway, with the media guessing that the wedding was over only through cheers and fireworks.
Like everything, the theme was also colour-coordinated - gold and cream, followed by red and gold on day two.
The wedding date Thursday also marks the fifth anniversary release of their first film together - "Ram Leela" - on whose sets their love story is said to have taken off. The couple has been in a relationship for six years.
Deepika and Ranveer will host a reception each in Bengaluru and Mumbai on November 21 and 28, respectively.
"Such a stunning, gorgeous and beautiful couple. Nazar utar lo. Badhai ho. Love you both. Here is to a lifetime of love and joy, filmmaker Karan Johar tweeted Wednesday, later admitting that he too was eagerly waiting for the pictures.
The actors, who have also worked together in Bajirao Mastani and Padmavat , were photographed at the Mumbai airport leaving for Italy on November 10 in a blaze of camera flashes and they will reportedly stay there till November 17.
On November 10, Ranveer's stylist Nitasha Gaurav posted teasers of the pre-wedding rituals on Twitter.
No pictures but it was love personified to see them together today. Couldn't stop my tears, but these were tears of happiness and so I hope they never do. #DeepVeerKiShaadi #ranveerkishaadi #foreverlove, she wrote on the microblogging site.
Next big wedding in Bollywood is that of Priyanka Chopra, who is reportedly set to tie the knot with American singer Nick Jonas in December.
Actor Anushka Sharma, who married Indian cricket skipper Virat Kohli last year, was one of the firsts to congratulate the married couple.
"Wishing you both a world of happiness and beautiful journey together. May the love and respect you have in each other grow leaps and bounds. And welcome to the club," she wrote on Twitter.
"Lots of love and congratulations my RV and Dips," wrote Parineeti, who made her debut with Ranveer's film.
Bipasha Basu tweeted, "Love a great love story. So happy to see this beautiful couple together forever. Congratulations."
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Constitution amendment bill defeat was BJP’s first embarrassment in Parliament: Margaret Alva
Bengaluru (PTI): Senior Congress leader Margaret Alva on Monday said that the constitution amendment bill's defeat in the Lok Sabha on April 17 was the first embarrassment faced by the BJP-led government in Parliament.
She also alleged that the BJP has no real concern regarding women’s reservation.
The opposition INDIA bloc defeated the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill that sought to facilitate the implementation of women's reservation by expanding the strength of the Lok Sabha, apart from making changes to delimitation.
"This is the first embarrassment and defeat faced by the NDA government in the Lok Sabha," the former Governor of Gujarat and Rajasthan said in a press conference here.
According to her, the women’s reservation has been under discussion since the time of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.
"During Rajiv Gandhi’s tenure, a 14-member committee was formed, and I was appointed as its chairperson. We prepared a report after studying what needed to be done to enhance the dignity of women across 12 sectors. This was submitted to the government in 1989,” Alva, 84-year-old veteran Congress leader, said.
She said political empowerment for women was emphasised in that report, without which, empowerment in any other sphere is not possible.
“Many people in Parliament used to question me — should we vacate seats for women and stay at home cooking? Why insist on this? Has anyone written these seats in your name? This debate has been ongoing since 1975,” Alva explained.
The Congress leader said Rajiv Gandhi had introduced 33 per cent reservation for women in local bodies.
“At that time, all opposition parties united and defeated the Bill,” she pointed out.
Again, during the tenure of former Prime Minister late P V Narasimha Rao, the 33 per cent reservation Bill in local bodies was passed.
“It was the Congress party that first introduced women’s reservation. Now they are falsely accusing us of being anti-women,” Alva charged.
In 2023, the Women’s Reservation Bill was passed with much fanfare, but it was not immediately implemented.
According to her, a condition was imposed for its implementation that it would be enforced based on census data.
"Once it is in the statute book, what is preventing its implementation? Two years for the census and another two years for delimitation — this means it cannot be implemented by 2029. It was not given in 2024, and there is no possibility even in 2029," Alva charged the BJP-led government at the Centre.
The Congress leader said the BJP is saying that the Bill can be implemented based on the 2011 Census, but when the same suggestion was made in 2023, the BJP rejected it.
On increasing the Lok Sabha seats by 50 per cent, she sought to know the basis for it.
“Where did this (idea) come from? Whose advice was taken? Was it decided by the RSS? Or ordered by a court?” Alva asked.
The former union minister said the Constitution amendment bill, which was defeated on April 17 appears to favour certain North Indian states.
“We pay taxes, but they receive greater benefits and allocations. If seats are increased by 50 per cent based on their calculations, we would get only 14 additional seats, while they would get 40. How is this fair?” she questioned.
While 298 members voted in support of the bill in Lok Sabha, 230 MPs voted against it. Out of 528 members who voted, the bill required 352 votes for a two-third majority.
According to the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, Lok Sabha seats were to be increased to "operationalise" the women's reservation act before the 2029 parliamentary polls, following a delimitation exercise based on the 2011 Census.
Seats were also to be increased in state and Union territory Assemblies to accommodate 33 per cent reservation for women.
