Extravagance and the rich and famous came to Mumbai early last Saturday to celebrate the union of the wedding of Anant Ambani and his long-time girlfriend, Radhika Merchant. Described as the year’s wedding, the event was attended by global celebrities, business tycoons, and politicians – all highlighting the billionaire status of Mukesh Ambani, the wealthiest man in Asia and Anant’s father.
The wedding rituals, which included exchanging garlands by the couple and walking around the sacred fire, began last Friday and were completed past midnight. The ceremony officially kicked off the four-day wedding celebrations with the traditional Hindu wedding ceremony and was followed by a grand reception that ran through the weekend.
Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant celebrated with guests at the Ambani-ownedJio World Convention Centre in Mumbai and the family home.
The rich and famous joined the celebrations of Ambani and Merchant, with television news channels catching the arrivals of Kim Kardashian. At the same time, her sisters, Kim and Khloe, enjoyed a ride in a motorized rickshaw through the busy Mumbai streets Friday before joining the wedding ceremonies. Other stars in attendance include professional wrestler and Hollywood actor John Cena, Adele, Lana Del Rey, Drake, and David Beckham. While the Ambani family did not confirm the guest list, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also attended the reception organized by the Ambanis on Saturday evening, along with former British Prime Ministers Tony Blair and Boris Johnson.
International guests honored the couple’s union, wearing traditional clothes by prominent Indian fashion designers, such as embroidered sherwanis and long-sleeved outer coats worn by South Asian men. Cena appeared in a sky-blue sherwani and white pants, while Nick Jonas opted for pink and white ones.
Bollywood icons Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, and Ranbir Kapoor attended the wedding and danced to popular Hindi movie songs. Indian cricketers, including Sachin Tendulkar, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, and Suryakumar Yadav, were also among the invitees.
To monitor the safety and travel of wedding guests, police imposed traffic diversions around the wedding venue from Friday to Monday to handle the influx of guests flying to Mumbai, where heavy monsoon rains had caused flossing and flight disruptions for the previous week.
The marriage culminated in months of wedding events, including performances by pop stars Rihanna and Justin Bieber. These pre-wedding celebrations were as lavish and star-studded as the four-day weekend celebrations.
Beginning in March, the family threw a three-day prenuptial bash for Anant that has 1,200 attendees, including former world leaders, tech tycoons, and Bollywood stars, with performances by Rihanna, Akon and Diljit Dosanjh, a Punjabi singer who shot to international fame when he performed at Coachella.
In May, the family took guests on a three-day cruise from Italy to France, where Katy Perry sang her hit song “Firework” and a performance by Pitbull.
The celebrations included a mass wedding for more than 50 underprivileged couples, which the family organized on July 2.
Other performances during the celebrations included Bollywood stars Alia Bhatt, Ranveer Singh, and Salman Khan, as well as Queen Bey herself (Beyonce).
