Shot in the picturesque Ponmudi Hills in Thiruvananthapuram, the couple was photographed with books and placards. (Source: First look photography/ Facebook) Shot in the picturesque Ponmudi Hills in Thiruvananthapuram, the couple was photographed with books and placards. (Source: First look photography/ Facebook)

Young couples around the world are coming up with unusual and quirky ideas for their weddings to stand out from the crowd and pre-wedding photoshoots are often an integral part of it. Now, one couple in Kerala too wanted their photoshoot to be special but with a cause. With protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act raging across the country, the duo from Thiruvananthapuram decided to convey a message during their pre-wedding photoshoot. Standing in solidarity with the protesters, the couple held up placards saying no to NRC and CAA.

G L Arun Gopi and Asha Sekhar, who are all set to tie the knot on January 31 in the new year, posed for their ‘Save the Date’ photos, holding placards with captions that read “NO CAA” and “NO NRC”. Soon, their pictures went viral across social media platforms, with many lauding the pair for making the cause a part of their special photoshoot.

Shot in the picturesque Ponmudi Hills in the district, the picture was first posted on Facebook by their photographers at First Look Photography, a joint venture of Arjun VP and Nidhin CK, on December 18. Afterwards, it was shared by multiple accounts even on Twitter and Instagram.

Talking to indianExpress.com, their photographer Arjun said they didn’t anticipate that the photoshoot would go viral across the country. “In lot of recent photoshoots in Kerala, many have commented about how those are filled with vulgarity and often people take it a bit further while creating sensual romantic photos. I thought if those can go viral, then why not create something that is as crucial and important as the ongoing issue of NRC and CAA,” the photographer behind the concept explained.

“The bride is my sister, so when I had this idea and suggested it to them, they were on board. My sister used to be a journalist and the groom has been attached with student politics for long and all of us thought this was a good way to show our social commitment and responsibility,” he said over the telephone.

Arun, who now works as district treasurer of Kerala State Council for Child Welfare and Asha, who has worked as a journalist in several media organisations but is now on a break to prepare for the civil service exams, have always been politically aware and active and said this came very naturally to them.

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Donning a mundu and dress for the photoshoot respectively, the would-be-groom and would-be-bride were also seen holding books in hand in other photos. While most couples are smiles and mushy in such pre-wedding shoot, Arun and Asha’s seriousness in the viral photo got everyone talking online.

Although many praised them for the photos, the couple also drew some few flak online, with some alleging they did this all for ‘publicity’. “We had no idea this would go viral, so this wasn’t done for any kind of publicity, and that is the truth,” retorted the 27-year-old woman. “We decided with this shoot, we had to give some meaningful message to the society, and finally agreed to go ahead with this idea,” the would-be-bride added. However, the negative remarks are not going to bring them down, she added.

Pic of the day 😍 https://t.co/VEUv3yzxEv — Swara Bhasker (@ReallySwara) December 21, 2019

Blessings and applauds to the awake minded couple. 🤘🦍 https://t.co/qEpJZohryT — Maharshi Pandya (@jacks_jarvis) December 21, 2019

Wowwww… 😮

Standing ovation for these two 👏🏼👏🏼 https://t.co/2c9ruxNX8L — Neelam Sumbrui (neelamsumbrui@mastodon.social) (@neelamsumbrui) December 21, 2019

Basically i don’t like pre n post wedding shoots but it has worthy to shoot😍 https://t.co/Sfw0mNMBjR — karthik (@Thecartick) December 21, 2019

Patriotism level at peak. Happy Marriage Life #IndiaAgainstCAA_NRC https://t.co/ODX5ugHkep — Prasanth S (@_PrasanthS) December 21, 2019

Ha ha…. That’s the best save the date photo I have seen so far! https://t.co/ZclGAEewy5 — Kabira Namit Kapoor (@Kabira_Namit) December 21, 2019

Mallus are next level political, and I love it. https://t.co/uTaq1fVFSn — 🌻🌱 (@anuxiety) December 21, 2019

Their children also will be too happy that their parents contributed immensely for the future India — lifeofpi (@lifeofpi2015) December 21, 2019

This can happen only in Kerala. Awesome people 👏👏👏 — Mubarak Ali (@mubarakalims) December 21, 2019

wish you both a very happy and prosperous married life ahead. You both are just amazing citizen – I wish I could get invited to this marvelous wedding — Demonitized – my name is my crime (@tweepleofindia) December 21, 2019

A Couple that Protests together stays together. — | кнαи иσσиιєи ѕιиgн | (@LeoKing098) December 21, 2019

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