Saifeena Wedding: Fact versus fiction

(AFP)

Newly-wedded Bollywood personalities Saif Ali Khan (L) and Kareena Kapoor pose for the media outside Khan's residence in Mumbai. Bollywood glamour couple Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor tied the knot on October 16 in Mumbai in the most anticipated Indian celebrity wedding of the year. (AFP)

Published Wednesday, October 17, 2012

By Bindu Suresh Rai

While fans continue to lap up the stories breaking every few seconds in the Saif Ali Khan-Kareena Kapoor wedding circus, the media itself is left scratching its head following trails of breadcrumbs that lead to dead ends and implausible stories.

In the past four days, three different marriage ceremonies are said to occur in three different cities on the same day!

The couple, which has been dating for five years, refused to even once confirm a wedding date when directly quizzed, forcing Saif’s mother Sharmila Tagore to let the cat out of the bag that October 16 is indeed the day of the big Kahuna.

Fact vs Fiction

If you aren’t on the VVIP list of Pataudis or Kapoors, chances are you have no clue what is actually happening in the three-ring circus.

However, the one confirmed update of Tuesday is, the couple is now officially Mr and Mrs Saif Ali Khan, with Mumbai marriage registrar, Surekha Ramesh, confirming the same to Indian news agency, PTI.

The came the reports that threw everyone in a spin: one story stated earlier, the duo was set to fly directly to Pataudi Palace on October 16 for a special nikaah ceremony to take place the following day.

The story went for a toss when the couple and their starry friends and family members showed up at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel for another related ceremony the same day in Mumbai!

Conflict continued with ‘insiders’ saying the Tuesday evening ceremony in Mumbai is the nikaah, while other sources were being quoted as saying ‘Saifeena’ will in actuality exchange vows on October 16 as Kareena’s mother Babita is half Christian, while the nikaah will occur in Pataudi Palace on October 17.

Phew!

Where in the world are Saifeena next?

So even as confusion mounts on whether there are two, three or five wedding ceremonies, the wedding party will next be torn between Pataudi and Delhi, with the latest story to emerge is that the royal family of Pataudi will host an intimate dinner at the palace with 36 handpicked family members attend the celebrations on October 17.

NDTV also reported on the dinner, adding that invited guests belong to Saif’s extended family all the way from London, Islamabad, Kolkata and Mumbai, who added: “The celebration is a close-knit affair as both the families are sceptical because of security reasons which Sharmila Tagore had admitted to, during her visit to Bhopal earlier in August.”

Meanwhile, in an interview with AFP, Kareena’s uncle Rishi Kapoor said: “The wedding is taking place Tuesday and then we will have a reception in Delhi later on. It is a very joyous moment for our family.”

The reception in Delhi is expected to be held on October 18, with a colonial mansion in the Indian capital’s posh Aurangzeb Lane neighbourhood as being thrown around by some sources, while others mentioned several five-star hotels near a helipad that has been booked.

The couple are then supposed to swing by Saif’s ancestral Pataudi Palace yet again until October 21 to perform official duties.

What’s so funny?

Earlier this year, Saifeena had led everyone on a merry chase even then with throwing about nuggets of wedding venues, which ranged from London to Pataudi Palace to Maldives and Las Vegas.

Some insiders say that it was Saif’s twisted sense of humour that started this entire trail of fool’s work, while others hint at a more painful truth that is Kareena’s sisterly concern towards Karisma, who is going through a terrible patch in her life with reports filtering in that her husband Sanjay Kapur is openly dating Priya Chatwal.

This guarded wedding affair was Kareena’s way to protect her sister from the media.

Meanwhile, Saif’s family is still in mourning with the death of his father, Mansour Pataudi, thus making this wedding an intimate family and friends affair of 60-odd people.

While the truth may never come out, until then the newly married couple continues to clown around.