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What does a Tamil bride look like? Not like this magazine cover, some say

A luxury Sri Lankan wedding show has stirred controversy in Toronto's Tamil community — thanks to a magazine cover featuring a bride in a sari showing some leg.

The eye-catching cover shared by Jodi Bridal Show shows a model sitting on a throne of flowers, with her legs revealed through the pleats of her sari. While some people loved the cover, the online backlash was quick.

"This not a Tamil Bride, this is too much," wrote one commenter on Facebook. "I am disappointed because in the name of creativity, the beauty and elegance of this dress has been compromised," wrote another.

Tamil residents in Toronto also told CBC's Metro Morning that the photo doesn't represent traditional Tamil culture, nor do brides show that much leg at a wedding. Some went so far as to say the photo is "destroying (Tamil) culture."

But the photographer behind the striking shot says she's glad the photo got people talking about what defines Tamil culture, and who gets to make that call.

"For this photoshoot, I was like — what a great way to showcase a sari in a modern way, that women could relate to," says Vipoositha Gnanenthra, a wedding and fashion photographer and the owner of Little Black Sari clothing retailer.

Photographer 'shocked' by level of backlash

Gnanenthra told Metro Morning she was "shocked" by the level of backlash. "On social media, I think a lot of people reacted really negatively. We didn't expect it from the younger generation."

Gnanenthra acknowledges the decision to show lots of leg — which was something she proposed — was controversial from the get-go, right on the photoshoot set. But she stresses the choice isn't destroying anyone's culture.

As a wedding photographer, she also says it's interesting how brides bow to cultural expectations. "They have such vibrant personalities, and then come their wedding day... they resort back to what is expected to them," she says.

But women can decide what they want to do their bodies, Gnanenthra says. The sari, she adds, dates back to 2,000 years ago, when women didn't even wear blouses to cover their breasts, or petticoats to cover their legs — which are both more modern additions to the traditional attire.

"Culture is going to change," Gnanenthra says. "It's going to evolve, whether you accept it or not. And it's easier if you accept it, and move with it."