Entrepreneur Ashneer Grover, who rose to prominence thanks to the movie Shark Tank, took a sneaky dig at cricketer Smriti Mandhan and music composer Palash Muchhal – who recently called off their wedding – in a new comedy sketch. Appearing alongside actors Rajesh Yadav and Sanyam Sharma, Ashneer pokes fun at India’s fascination with extravagant weddings, celebrity guests and enormous budgets.
In the spoof, Sanyam plays the role of an over-the-top client planning his daughter’s third wedding. When Rajesh casually asks about the budget, Sanyam confidently states a thousand crores. Ashneer immediately intervenes, mentioning another meeting and prompting Sanyam to raise the fictitious amount. Sanyam takes a hint and increases the projected budget to two thousand crores. Ashneer then readily agrees and says that they would take on the project as it came through a personal contact.
Sanyam further asks if they can hire experienced choreographers. Fake wedding planners refuse, saying that choreographers often lead to “broken weddings and huge losses”. Sanyam responds with a cricket batting gesture that clearly refers to the controversy surrounding Palash Muchhal and Smriti Mandhana’s canceled wedding. Rajesh and Ashneer immediately recognize the link and react with amused expressions.
For readers unfamiliar with the incident, Palash-Smriti’s wedding was unexpectedly called off. Although neither of them publicly explained the reason, widespread speculation suggested that the tension was sparked by Palash’s alleged association with choreographer Nadika Dwivedi.
The exaggerated demands in the sketch keep escalating. When Ashneer and Rajesh suggest Udaipur as a suitable location, Rajesh jokingly mentions a budget hotel chain. Unimpressed, Sanyam asks if its founder Ritesh Agarwal would personally hand over the keys to the room. Ashneer kept a straight face and said yes.
The humor develops further when Sanyam remarks that his daughter prefers “problem personalities”. Without hesitation, Ashneer instructs Rajesh to pull out their list of Bollywood celebrities, adding that Sanyam can pick anyone suitably controversial.
The trio then push the jokes towards the famous actors, especially the Khans. Sanyam explains that the groom is on the shorter side, so he prefers stars known to be of similar height. Rajesh replies that they have several Khans at their disposal and emphasizes that they are not mocking anyone but merely fulfilling a “request”.
The satire reaches its peak when Sanyam insists that filmmaker Christopher Nolan direct the wedding. Ashneer seriously replies and suggests that SS Rajamouli should also be invited to give the production an Indian touch.
The video, posted on December 3, has garnered thousands more likes. However, many social media users criticized the sketch, calling it unnecessary, inappropriate and disrespectful.
“Ashneer bhai kya majboori thi?” one user commented. Another wrote: “That choreography detail was a low blow.” A third added, “Hadd mein raho…”
