Dawn Images

Nupur Shikhare, the husband of Aamir Khan’s daughter Ira Khan, turned up at his wedding in a vest and a pair of shorts. While the glistening biceps and the energetic dance in the baraat were definitely fun, the ‘dress up’ tops the lowest of the low effort by an Indian man. And no, Nupur was neither kidnapped midway through a gym session, nor had his parents threatened to remove him from their will if he didn’t marry Aamir’s daughter. Nupur was clearly just being himself — a groom who couldn’t take his bride into account while deciding to pull a stunt.

Weddings are meant to be about two people, and not only about the bride’s lehengas, and definitely not about the groom’s gym wear.

One can say, ‘his wedding, his choice’. Of course, it is. But Nupur did not have to lower the already low bar when it comes to Indian men dressing up. Men who put zero effort into dressing up are neither cute nor attractive. Period.

Dear men, make an effort

Before we get ahead of ourselves, there are ways of explaining Nupur’s outfit. Weddings are, after all, personal, intimate affairs, and one should get to have bespoke ones. Except this wasn’t private or intimate. It was a public affair, with stars posing in front of the paparazzi, dancing at a baraat, and, in Nupur’s case, doing an 8km run.

Running is definitely healthy, especially with younger people dying of cardiac arrest. It is an exercise with no equipment. If that was the point of Nupur’s stunt, it is fairly acceptable, perhaps even noble. But it is not like that. Nupur really just dressed the way he did to get married.

Was it his love for Ira Khan that Nupur just could not wait to get married to her, and decided to not Uber his way but run the 8km stretch from Santa Cruz to Taj Ends at Bandra? Of course not. Both have been planning their wedding months in advance, so this was clearly not a spur-of-the-moment act. Perhaps it was the rising fuel prices!

Nupur also made the best men, all dressed in similar outfits, run with him, really taking the ‘ride or die’ to new limits.

An X user summed up what the future for Nupur and Ira could potentially look like:

Indian men cannot be bothered to dress is a pretty accepted adage, with reels talking about women’s 2kg of makeup and skincare and outfits. Men wear the badge of being unbothered about dressing with pride. But it really isn’t. It just shows you are lazy and can’t make the effort. Neither is praiseworthy.

Grooming and making efforts to look presentable are really the bare minimum, irrespective of one’s gender. And when it’s for a special occasion that is going to be televised and advertised to the world, one can’t cut corners.

Not ‘unconventional’, just bizarre

Granted, people have opted for ‘unconventional’ weddings, from Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick to Jordan Peele and Chelsea Peretti. But this does not qualify as an ‘unconventional’ one. Or Nupur could have opted to run back and change for the actual ceremony.

If this was a promotional event or advertisement for athleisure, this would really be gold. But unfortunately, it is neither.

There are many what-ifs, but none quite sound logical to justify the boxer-vest combo of Nupur. One does not need to be a Manyavar groom, but one can maybe wear a shirt. Or is that too much to ask from Indian men, even on the day of their wedding? The entire wedding was filled with men and women in wedding finery, while the groom signed his wedding papers in gym wear, even as Ira Khan was dressed in a lehenga.

For the reception, the groom appeared in front of photojournalists and paparazzi dressed in a sherwani. One wonders if Ira finally put her foot down, or if good sense prevailed on Nupur.

This article was originally published in The Print on January 4 and has been reproduced with permission.