BERNAMA
10/07/2024
The atmosphere of the Ambani family's youngest child's pre-wedding ceremony last March, which was also graced with a performance by Rihanna. - Reuters
NEW DELHI: The lavish wedding of the son of India's richest man, Mukesh Ambani, to the daughter of a tycoon in Mumbai this week is the talk of the town.
However, not everyone admired the lavish wedding ceremony.
A lavish celebration is planned, with foreign and local celebrities, top entertainers, famous political figures and of course, many tycoons adorning the guest list.
Many will wear clothes that don't look awkward on Indian film sets.
The groom is Anant Ambani, 29 years old, the youngest son of Mukesh and his wife Nita Ambani who was educated in the United States.
The bride is Radhika Merchant, 29, the daughter of the founders of pharmaceutical group Encore Healthcare, Viren and Shaila Merchant. They have known each other for years.
India's rich are rarely shy about flaunting their wealth and their weddings often get more attention than big corporate mergers and acquisitions.
Mukesh's daughter Isha married Anand Piramal, son of entrepreneur Ajay Piramal, in 2018 in an event remembered for its display of wealth, glamour, political power, elaborate Hindu ceremonies and Bollywood-style celebrations and a reported expenditure of US$100 million.
Anant's wedding on Friday promises to be no less spectacular.
Her three-day pre-wedding celebration in March in Jamnagar, Gujarat state, attracted Indian and foreign dignitaries, including Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, Facebook Meta owner Mark Zuckerberg and pop star Rihanna.
Jamnagar airport, which according to local media reports, is the main facility of the Indian Air Force (IAF), receives a large number of private aircraft. It was reportedly given "international" airport status for a few days to receive foreign guests.
Their second pre-wedding celebration in May involved 1,200 friends, relatives and other guests, on a four-day Mediterranean cruise, with performances on and off the ship from French DJ David Guetta, The Backstreet Boys, US singer Katy Perry and other entertainers, according to media reports.
During this week's celebrations, the Mumbai traffic police will block public access to the road leading to the Jio World Convention Center between 1 pm to midnight from July 12 to 15.
The place, located in the busy commercial area of Bandra Kurla Complex, is owned by the Ambani conglomerate.
Police in a social media post on July 5 said the arrangement was "due to a public event", drawing sharp criticism on social media from Mumbai residents who questioned the restrictions to facilitate private celebrations.
A user in a post on the X platform sarcastically asked the government to declare a national wedding day to commemorate the occasion.
Many expressed outrage at the lavishness of the ceremony, questioning how so much money could be spent on a wedding in a country where hundreds of millions of people depend on a free government ration of five kilograms of grain a month.
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