Latest update:10 December 2025, 7:00 PM IST

After Rishabh Rajput and Sonali Choksi faced trolling over their wedding photos, the groom directly addressed the trolls with a video about his relationship with Sonali.

Rishabh and Sonali started dating in 2015. (Image Source: Instagram)

A couple from Madhya Pradesh, Rishabh Rajput and Sonali Choksi, went viral a few weeks ago after they were trolled when their wedding photos surfaced. The congratulatory messages were filled with jokes and memes criticizing Rishabh’s skin colour. Many users even claimed that Sonali was a ‘gold digger’, having married Rishabh for ulterior motives.

Rishabh later posted a video message to respond to the trolls, confirming his love for Sonali and highlighting their over a decade-long bond.

Now, the couple have addressed the trolling surrounding their wedding photos and their response to it in a conversation with the BBC. The newlyweds shed light on how the controversy started

Rishabh and Sonali talk about trolling

The couple told the media that they got to know about the response to their photos when some women from their area saw WhatsApp videos and photos related to the wedding and informed Rishabh’s mother. The couple said that one of the most important moments in their lives had turned into a joke on social media.

“I saw people treating it like a joke, making memes. In some ways, the whole thing seemed very wrong. It was our moment; we had waited years for it. It was supposed to be a happy moment. When I saw people’s reactions, I was temporarily shocked that in the entire time we had spent together, no one around us had commented on our compatibility based on our skin color,” Rishabh explained.

Speaking about the criticism his family faced, Rishabh said, “I felt bad because my family was being targeted. No one has the right to troll or target someone else’s family.”

Sonali also spoke about the matter and said that she felt disturbed about the way people were treating Rishabh. “When they say bad things about him or call me a gold digger, it bothers me,” she added.

Rishabh Rajput and Sonali Choksi Relationship

The two first met in 2014 at university. They were in the same zoology class. Soon love blossomed and Rishabh and Sonali started dating. Talking about their relationship and the comments it attracted, Rishabh said, “Those who comment on our relationship by looking at a 30-second video do not know that it depicts 11 years of hard work that we have put into it.”

Towards the end of their interview with the BBC, Sonali said that many people in India have different skin tones due to the climate, but people still think that having lighter skin is better. “Should we judge someone as good or bad just by the color of their skin?”

She and Rishabh hope the idea will change one day.

Sonali and Rishabh’s interview is an example of how the notions of lighter skin being better can ruin the happiest moment in a person’s life. It also highlights the negativity and trolling that social media often amplifies. The couple’s response to the trolling shows how they’re still going strong and taking things forward, one day at a time.

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