India's top matchmaker Seema Taparia slams the 'Farzi' or fake wedding’ craze: 'No bride, no groom - what’s the point?'

Dubai: Trust Seema Taparia from Mumbai to say what everyone’s secretly thinking — and in her case, she’s got no patience for the latest social-media-fuelled Farzi wedding craze.

“I didn’t like it,” she says bluntly when I ask her about the viral trend of fake wedding parties where guests turn up decked out in lehengas, sip cocktails, dance to dhol beats, and pose for shaadi-style photos — minus the bride and groom.

“There’s no dulha [groom], no dulhan [bride], just people dancing, drinking, putting mehendi… what is this? There’s no wedding at all!”

For the uninitiated, Farzi weddings — or fake weddings — are India’s new “it” social events, a sort of tongue-in-cheek rebellion against traditional marriages.

But for Seema Aunty, who’s spent decades brokering real unions with real commitment, the idea sounds absurd.

“Why go to a wedding where there’s no couple?” she asks, genuinely baffled. “But if anyone wants to enjoy, they can go and enjoy. Who am I to stop them? It’s just not for me.”

It’s classic Seema Taparia — equal parts pragmatic and perplexed.

The woman who made “compromise” a cultural buzzword has since rebranded it to a gentler “understanding,” but she draws the line at what she calls “nonsense fads” that trivialize relationships.

Her reasoning is simple: “Marriage is sacred — whether it’s love or arranged. You can’t make fun of it.”

In a world where Gen Z dates via DMs and swipe culture replaces family introductions, Taparia’s disdain for Farzi fun is almost nostalgic. Yet, she admits she’s learned to pick her battles. “The youth doesn’t like the word compromise, so I changed it to understanding,” she laughs. “It’s the same meaning, but softer. The world is happy with that word.”

Still, when it comes to fake nuptials, her tone turns firm again: “What to do? The way the world goes, it goes that way. But not everything modern is good.”

Love her or roll your eyes at her — Seema Aunty remains India’s no-filter cupid, calling out dating fads with a mix of sass, sense, and a Marwari mother’s moral compass.