Riteish, Genelia take their vows

Mumbai: After having been romantically involved with her on and off the screen for seven years, popular Bollywood actor Riteish Deshmukh yesterday married actress Genelia D'Souza in a gala ceremony at the Hotel Grand Hyatt in north Mumbai.

Son of India's federal minister for science and technology and Maharashtra's former chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, Riteish, 33, married Genelia, 22, in a typical Maharashtrian ceremony. True to tradition, Riteish arrived at the venue astride a horse, with his relatives, friends and a music band accompanying him.

Riteish and Genelia, who had made their film debuts together in Tujhe Meri Kasam in 2003, looked resplendent in their wedding dresses.

Among those from Bollywood who made it to the wedding were Abhishek Bachchan and his mother Jaya, Ajay Devgan and his wife Kajol, Karan Johar and his mother Hiroo, Ashutosh Gowarikar, Akshay Kumar, Asin, Sajid Khan, Shahid Kapoor, Suniel Shetty, Maria Goretti, Jakie Shroff, Rakumar Santoshi, Boman Irani, Raj Shroff and Jackky Bhagnani among others.

Federal agriculture minister Sharad Pawar, Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, federal minister Rajeev Shukla, Member of Parliament Gurudas Kamat and Mumbai Congress president Kripashankar Singh were among well-wishers from the political firmament.