Is the Maldives possible at ₹1 lakh for a couple, or is that a fantasy?

Possible — with one honest correction to the dream. At ₹1 lakh per couple you are not buying the overwater villa; you are buying the local-island Maldives: guesthouse islands like Maafushi, reached by public speedboat, with the same impossible water, ₹3,000–5,000 rooms, and excursions (sandbanks, snorkelling, resort day-passes) bought à la carte. Done this way, 4 nights lands at ₹85,000–1,10,000 including flights — a genuine Maldives, dressed casual. What it isn't: private, alcohol-serving (local islands are dry; some day-passes and floating bars solve this), or the villa-on-stilts photograph. Our honest counsel to couples: if the overwater image is the dream, save to ₹2.2L+ or consider the Andaman comparison where your lakh goes dramatically further. If the dream is simply that water — the lakh version delivers it, and the free visa on arrival asks nothing extra.