Please register to access this content.
To continue viewing the content you love, please sign in or create a new account
Dismiss
This content is for our paying subscribers only

Entertainment Bollywood

Inside the Isha Ambani wedding with a galaxy of stars

The wedding, which took place on December 12, saw Bollywood’s Bachchans and Khans attend



Image Credit: Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani's sons Akash (L) and Anant (R) taking part in a traditional marriage ritual of their sister Isha Ambani (C) to Indian businessman Ajay Piramal's son, Anand Piramal in Mumbai

In a season of big Indian weddings, the December 12 marriage of the scions of two billionaire families might be the biggest of them all.

The bride, Isha Ambani, is the Ivy League-educated daughter of industrialist Mukesh Ambani, thought to be India’s richest man. Forbes estimates his net worth at over $43 billion (Dh157.91 billion).

The happy couple
Image Credit: AFP

The groom, Anand Piramal, is the relative pauper. His father, industrialist Ajay Piramal, is thought to be worth $10 billion.

The wedding was held in Mumbai but festivities began weeks ago, starting in September with an engagement party at a lakeside Italian palace.

Advertisement

The Mumbai event saw film and sports icons, business tycoons, political heavyweights, celebrities and a host of others attend, in what is best described as India’s very own royal wedding.

Bollywood actors Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh arrives for Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani's daughter Isha's wedding in Mumbai, India, Wednesday, Dec 12, 2018(AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade)
Image Credit: AP

Indian grooms traditionally ride to their weddings on horses, but Piramal arrived at the Ambani home in a classic Rolls-Royce, with marching bands playing in the procession and scowling bodyguards scattered through the crowds.

The 27-storied Antilia, said to be one of the most expensive private residences in the world, itself has been decked up like a bride, and the entire stretch from the main road to the building has been decorated since the past few days with multi-hued fresh flowers, colourful lights and festoons to commemorate one of the most anticipated weddings in the country’s commercial capital in recent times.

Isha Ambani and her now husband Anand Piramal
Image Credit: AFP
Advertisement

Later in the evening, the grand wedding saw the parents — industrialist Mukesh Ambani and his wife Nita, tycoons Ajay Piramal and his wife Swati — and others welcoming the high-profile celebrity guests.

Former Indian President Pranab Mukherjee was received by business magnate Anil Ambani, the bride’s uncle, while other top celebs like former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Praful Patel also made their presence felt.

Hillary Clinton during Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani's daughter Isha's wedding in Mumbai, India, Wednesday, Dec 12, 2018(AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade)
Image Credit: AP

Prominent invitees included Bollywood actors like Rajinikanth, Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Aamir Khan and Kiran Rao, Shah Rukh Khan and Gauri Khan, Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, Priyanka Chopra and her husband Nick Jonas, Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh, Hritik Roshan, Shilpa Shetty and Vidhu Vinod Chopra.

Actress Alia Bhatt arrives to attend the wedding ceremony of Isha Ambani, the daughter of the Chairman of Reliance Industries Mukesh Ambani, in Mumbai, India, December 12, 2018. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas
Image Credit: REUTERS
Advertisement

Besides, Sachin Tendulkar and other sports personalities, top business honchos included KV Kamath, Sanjiv Goenka, Deepak Parekh, Sashi and Anshuman Ruia, Adi Godrej, Rahul Bajaj and Harsh Mariwala were also seen at the wedding.

The grand wedding festivities had started several days earlier in Udaipur, Rajasthan which witnessed a performance by Grammy Award winning singer Beyonce Knowles, a four-day special ‘Anna Seva’ and an expo on traditional Indian handicrafts, besides other events for the guests that included many of the biggest names from politics, business and Bollywood.

Bollywood actors Kareena Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan arrives for Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani's daughter Isha's wedding in Mumbai, India, Wednesday, Dec 12, 2018(AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade)
Image Credit: AP

Thousands attended the pre-wedding parties in Udaipur, where videos shot by partiers showed Clinton dancing with Shah Rukh, as former US Secretary of State John Kerry danced just a few feet away.

Indian weddings are famously elaborate, driving many families into debt with expectations that they invite hundreds or thousands of people, and arranging professional song-and-dance shows.

Advertisement

WEDDING AFFAIR

Among India’s rich, weddings are displays of almost unimaginable wealth, with guests flown in on chartered jets from around the world and celebrities paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for brief appearances. In 2004, a daughter of Indian steel baron Lakshmi Mittal held her engagement party at Versailles.

Sachin Tendulkar with his wife Anjali and son Arjun arrives for Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani's daughter Isha's wedding in Mumbai, India, Wednesday, Dec 12, 2018(AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade)
Image Credit: AP

The Indian media noted that the actual Ambani wedding, in Mumbai, was expected to be a relatively small affair, with just 600 or so people in attendance. More parties will follow the marriage ceremony.

Mukesh Ambani controls the conglomerate Reliance Industries, which has businesses ranging from petroleum to chemicals to mobile phones. The Piramal family businesses include pharmaceuticals and real estate.

Advertisement

The wedding of Indian actress Chopra and American singer Jonas earlier this month — which included palace parties, lots of celebrities, an appearance by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and fawning coverage — has been quickly overshadowed by the Ambani festivities.

Advertisement