Elizabeth Hurley

[InchoateDetails]

I never thought Liz was anything other than a woman with a nice body. Her supposed beauty eludes me. About the wedding brou ha ha, I can see Liz snubbing her inlaws for her celeb friends, but I can also see the father not liking that he had a minor role.

[BarbR]

Whatever happened at the wedding, I feel the responsibility rests on the groom's shoulders. It is his family that feels slighted, and I am sure he could have done whatever to smooth things over if he wanted to. Obviously, he doesn't want to!

[Yossarian]

I read ages ago that there was a lot of friction between Liz and her now in-laws over the way Arun's ex-wife, Valentina, got the boot once Liz appeared on the scene. Arun was actually separated from his wife when he hooked up with Liz but apparently his family really quite liked Valentina and were hoping for a reconciliation. Also, when Arun started dating Liz his family were shocked and appalled by Liz's money grubbing ways social affectations. So I'm thinking that this hostility is nothing new. But really, Arun has made his choice - both of wife and lifestyle - his parents should probably shut up.

[InchoateDetails]

HA! Arun's Father is suing the couple for breaking Hindu customs.

Miss Hurley, 41, and her husband Arun Nayar, have been accused of breaching Hindu customs with their Indian wedding – an allegation that could technically put them in jail.

And to make matters worse, it appears that Arun’s father Vinod is willing to testify against them.

Vishnu Khandelwal, a devout Hindu who is thought never to have met the couple, has begun legal proceedings against them, saying their lavish ceremony, held at the Meherangarh Fort in Rajastha last month, broke with custom.

Their £2million magazine deal with Hello!, which helped to cover the cost of the wedding, may be used as evidence against the couple.

“Vinod Nayar told me that when Arun Nayar and Liz Hurley came to the marriage mandap [marriage place], Arun Nayar left his footwear outside the mandap but Liz Hurley refused to remove her footwear.

“When we worship we must remove our shoes because we pray to God and at that time shoes should be removed. Our intention is to prove that the procedures adopted by both the accused for their marriage is against our Hindu rites.

Liz Hurley is gonna have another fit once she learns of this. I'm now kinda on Liz and Arun's side. The father is trying to hard to embarass Arun. What does he hope to accomplish? Arun will most likely now not entertain any future reconcilliation efforts.

[Auroranorth]

Oh, for God's sake. I'd feel some sympathy for the parents if they hadn't already sold their misery to the press. Now they are trying to help someone sue Liz and Arun? Why not just take out an ad in the paper saying, "We hate our son and his bride?" Oh, wait...

[lpatrice]

Clearly Liz Hurley doesn't understand much about the Hindu culture. (Raising someone's social status goes way beyond marrying some aging B list tart, if anything she probably lowered their social standin) And I got the impression that it wasn't the family suing but rather an actual legal issue based on the regions cultural practices.

[velveeta]

Wait, you can be sued in India for going against a religious custom?

[Deleted]

Wait, you can be sued in India for going against a religious custom?

Well, you cannot be sued for going against a religious custom, but if you do something to outrage any religion with malicious intent, then it is admissible in Indian courts.

Essentially, your actions are punishable only if it is proven that they are degrading/insulting a religion. This is because India is a secular country and all religions are to be respected by law. You can be an atheist or an agnostic but you cannot hurt others' sentiments.

Also, in this case, if they did wear slippers to the "mantap", the ceremonial fire area, it is wrong according to the Hindu customs. So, this could be construed by others as a slight to the religion. IMO, it shouldn't matter what one does, but orthodox and conservative hindus might have a different opinion.

To me, all this "Indian wedding" ceremony seems like a fantasy setup and not anything to do with religion. I feel their Indian wedding was more of an Indian themed wedding reception than anything of Hindu significance. I think people are just making too much out of, what is, for all intent, another themed party. JMHO.

[marleigh]

From the link:

Vishnu Khandelwal, a devout Hindu who is thought never to have met the couple, has begun legal proceedings against them, saying their lavish ceremony, held at the Meherangarh Fort in Rajastha last month, broke with custom.

Arun's father isn't suing, just testifying against them. I don't think there's a case. I doubt she did any of it with malicious intent.

[ivy]

I also saw the wedding as more of a costume party than a traditional, religious Indian wedding. IMO it was no more authentic than it would have been if they had gone for a Japanese theme and were wearing kimonos and Liz had chopsticks in her hair.

However, if their intent was just to have an Indian-themed party (and I think it was) I don't think they should have gotten married at a mandap-they should have known people would be offended. Why court trouble? They could have just rented a big hall or something.

I do think Elizabeth is beautiful, although she has a nasty personality. (I can't forget how she said she'd kill herself if she was "fat like Marilyn Monroe".)