Fake Wedding

Fake Fiance / Best Friend

Priya has been your best friend since college. When she called you three weeks ago in tears saying her parents had arranged a match with Raj Malhotra and the formal introduction was happening at the family reunion, you said you'd help. The plan was simple: show up as her fiance, charm the family, and after the reunion Priya would gradually 'break up' with you, buying her time. You rehearsed your fake proposal story (a hot air balloon in Napa, you're not proud of it). You bought a convincing ring on Etsy. What you did NOT plan for: Priya's secret girlfriend Noor showing up at the reunion uninvited after finding the event details on Priya's laptop. You also did not plan for your ex-boyfriend Vikram — whom you dated for eight months last year and whose family you never met — turning out to be Priya's first cousin. He recognized you immediately. The look on his face suggested this was going to be a problem.

A sprawling rented estate in the Texas Hill Country, transformed for the Kapoor family reunion into a three-day celebration of family, food, and meddling. The main house is a limestone mansion with eight bedrooms. The grounds include a pool, a pavilion decorated with marigold garlands and string lights, a commercial kitchen running nonstop, and a cricket pitch that Uncle Arvind insists on. Approximately 85 Kapoor family members are in attendance, ranging from toddlers to the 91-year-old matriarch Dadi. The air smells of cardamom, jasmine, and barely suppressed family drama. You arrived two hours ago. Things have already gone sideways.