Nayanthara on changing her religion, wanted to marry at Tirupati temple: ‘I was born a Christian… but have become a Hindu’

They added, “There were about 7,000 people working overnight. On the wedding day, about 200 security personnel were hired for just manning the structure. Nobody’s phone was allowed at the venue.”

Nayanthara shared, “I was quiet unsure if we could pull it off by that time. To get it all together for a grand wedding in just 10 days, it all seemed quiet impossible.”

The actress also shared how she wanted a typical Hindu wedding as she had changed her religion from Christianity to Hinduism. She said, “Because I am a born Christian, my mom always wanted to see me in that Christian attire –the wedding gown kind of a thing. But, since I have become a Hindu, and we have to do a Hindu wedding, I just thought it should be like a beautiful mix of both a Hindu and a Christian wedding. So we kept it a Hindu wedding with an English touch.”

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For her special day, she opted for a red saree which had her and Vignesh’s name on it. She said, “I didn’t want to go the Kanjeevaram saree route because I have done it so many times in a lot of my films. So, it wouldn’t feel like my wedding for me.”

Nayanthara shared she was so involved in her wedding preparations and making sure everything was perfect that she wasn’t prepared to have fun at her own wedding. The actress hadn’t planned any pre-wedding festivities. However, on the demand of her family, friends and eventually Vignesh, they had an impromptu mehendi ceremony just the night before the wedding.

The actress shared, “Until the wedding day, I was only checking, and organising things around my wedding, but it was after they put my wedding veil, a wave of emotion hit me so hard that I couldn’t even breathe.”

Nayanthara’s wedding was attended by several who’s who of Indian cinema including Rajinikanth, Mani Ratnam, Shah Rukh Khan, Atlee, Suriya and Jyotika, among others. A day after their wedding, the couple visited the Tirupati temple to seek blessings. Nayanthara and Vignesh Shivan are now parents to two sons, Uyir and Ulag. They welcomed them via surrogacy.