Ask wedding DJs what fills dance floors this season and a clear playlist emerges: Punjabi hooks for the baraat, 90s throwbacks for the parents, and slowed-and-reverbed classics for the late-night crowd.

The sangeet formula

Family performance medleys drive song selection months before the event, with choreographers requesting tracks that span generations. Film songs still beat independent releases for group dances.

Regional pride

DJs report brides and grooms insisting on songs in their own languages alongside national hits. A Marwari-Malayali wedding playlist, they joke, is the new national integration.

The late-night shift

After midnight, tempos drop and nostalgia takes over. Veterans say reading that room, when grandparents have left and friends remain, separates good DJs from great ones.