While Umer and Priyanaka seemed almost indifferent to the feelings of their respective families, Ranu Kulshreshtha – a Hindu married to Asif Iqbal, a Muslim - said she did care for her family when she got married. However, she also pointed out what she believed was the problem in cases like hers and Priyanaka’s. "It's not that children don’t care about the families. We also try to reach out to parents and convince them. But the problem comes in when after making efforts, you try to prove a point and decide to get married thinking that things do settle after sometime. Parents, ultimately want their children to be happy and given some time, things do settle down. Also, our lives are not governed just by religion. Relationships do matter," she said.

Religion: Breaking Barriers or Building Them?

Interestingly, Ranu and Iqbal choose to call themselves "practicing Hindu" and "practicing Muslim." But does the couple face any hurdles or obstacles in their daily lives? "No way," said Iqbal, adding, "People are curious and try to gauge Ranu's religion. But it's very clear and when they come to know, they don't seem to have many problems with it."

Iqbal and Ranu also said that some people grudgingly admire the couple as well. "I know a lot of youngsters look up to us. People initially try to gauge you with a lot of doubt. But when they see your conviction, they do feel proud of it. I know of my relatives and family who feel like that," said Ranu.

Much heat and dust has been raised in Bhopal over Umer-Priyanaka nuptial. At the helm of the protests are the Hindu groups namely Rashtriya Swayamseva Sangh (RSS) and Bajrang Dal.

On the show, Ram Madhav of RSS was asked whose side would he choose to be on – the couple that wants to start a new life or some "antiquated" tradition that they claim to uphold?

"See, if you are talking about two couples – I can cite you hundreds of couples creating thousands of troubles. Let me cite the example of a very senior IAS officer in Madhya Pradesh. He is a Hindu and has a highly-educated Muslim lady as his wife. Their eight-year-old son died years ago. Now whether he should have been created or buried created a near-riot situation in the state," Madhav concurred.

Refusing to let Iqbal counter the argument, Madhav continued to make his point. "In the same family, there were two more daughters-in-law and both got converted."

Conversion Compulsory?

So does it imply that whenever a Hindu and Muslim decide to get married, the Hindu has to convert?

Madhav countered that the RSS had organised many Hindu-Muslim marriages in the past and was not even opposed to Umer-Priyanka match. "Half of your story is lies," he said, adding there was a difference between marriage and elopement. "Whether it’s in one community or among different communities, it (elopement) creates tensions," Madhav said.