A special episode of Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC) was filmed this week in Mumbai
to celebrate India’s ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup win. Many players from the
winning team were present, including captain Harmanpreet Kaur, Harleen Deol,
Richa Ghosh, Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana, and head coach Amol
Muzumdar. But vice-captain Smriti Mandhana was missing, which caught a lot
of attention.
According to The Indian Express, Mandhana’s vanity van stayed parked and unused,
showing she wasn’t coming. Studio staff noticed her empty seat, and backstage
teams quietly adjusted the cue cards and seating plan.
Mandhana’s absence came at the same time her wedding to music composer and
filmmaker Palash Muchhal was suddenly postponed. The wedding was planned for
23 November 2025 in Sangli, Maharashtra, but it was put on hold after her father,
Shrinivas Mandhana, suffered a health scare.
On the day of the wedding, her father suddenly became ill and was taken to a
hospital in Sangli with heart attack–like symptoms. Doctors said he had an
angina-type heart issue and needed angiography and monitoring. Mandhana, who
is very close to her father, decided to delay the wedding until he recovered.
The next day, Palash Muchhal was also admitted to a hospital in Sangli.
According to Hindustan Times, his mother said he is very close to Mandhana’s
father, and when he fell sick, Palash didn’t want the wedding to continue.
He later moved to Mumbai for rest, with his mother Amita Muchhal and sister
Palak Muchhal taking care of him. Reports said he was very emotional and wanted
to focus on the family’s well-being.
Mandhana and Muchhal have reportedly been together since 2019 but kept their
relationship private until 2023–24, when they started appearing together publicly.
After India won the ODI World Cup, Muchhal proposed to her at Mumbai’s DY Patil
Stadium, and both shared the moment online. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also
congratulated them and mentioned their wedding.
Photos and videos from these events became widely popular online.
After the wedding was delayed, Mandhana deleted or hid many pre-wedding
Instagram posts. Her teammates and friends—such as Jemimah Rodrigues, Shreyanka
Patil, and Radha Yadav—also removed related posts, which led to more speculation.
However, reports made it clear that the wedding was only postponed, and no new
date has been announced.
Around 24–25 November, screenshots claiming to show Muchhal chatting flirtatiously
with a woman named Mary D’Costa went viral on Reddit, Instagram, and X.
The messages were said to be from April–May 2025. Mary D’Costa later posted on
Instagram saying she never met Muchhal, was not a choreographer, and had nothing
to do with the wedding. She said the screenshots were misleading and that she had
no romantic connection with him.