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In a Land of Lavish Weddings, This Prenuptial Party Takes the Cake
A three-day pre-wedding ceremony for the son of one of India’s richest men raises the bar for extravagant festivity.
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Anant Ambani, son of Mukesh Ambani, the Chairman of Reliance Industries, and Radhika Merchant, daughter of industrialist Viren Merchant, are pictured during their pre-wedding celebrations in Jamnagar, Gujarat, India. Credit...Reliance Industries/Handout, via Via Reuters
By Suhasini Raj
Reporting from New Delhi
Published March 1, 2024Updated March 2, 2024
When a member of one of India’s wealthiest families gets married, big-name guests and showstopping pomp and circumstance are nothing unusual. But it’s not every day that the invitees include royalty, business titans, Bollywood luminaries and Rihanna, for three days of a pre-wedding spectacular, months ahead of the actual ceremony.
The lavish festivities that got underway on Friday for Anant Ambani, whose father heads Reliance Industries, have seized public attention in India despite — or perhaps because of — how they underscore gaping inequality in a country that has enjoyed economic growth yet where millions still live in profound poverty.
Mr. Ambani, 28, the younger son of Mukesh Ambani, will welcome the guests at a sprawling venue in the western Indian state of Gujarat, along with his fiancée, Radhika Merchant. Ms. Merchant, 29, comes from a family that owns health care businesses and is trained in Indian classical dance.
The couple started the festivities earlier this week with a community feast: hosting thousands of people from neighboring villages and serving them Gujarati delicacies.
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But for the main event starting Friday night, more than 1,000 guests, including some of the world’s richest people, are expected. Notable invitees include Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg of Meta and Bob Iger of Walt Disney; present and former prime ministers of Canada, Sweden and Qatar; the king and queen of Bhutan; and Bollywood stars Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan and Madhuri Dixit. Among the luxurious touches planned are chartered flights for the guests and people available to iron their clothes or help apply their makeup.
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The guest list is part of the pageantry. Guests are not just (or not even) friends, but attractions in their own right. Apart from enjoying the spectacle, many will appreciate the chance to sidle up to India’s most influential business family at the bar. For instance, Nita Ambani, Mukesh Ambani’s wife, is reportedly poised to become board chairwoman of the company created by a recent merger of Reliance with Walt Disney’s Indian media assets.
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A correction was made on March 2, 2024
: An earlier version of this article misstated that the presence of Bob Iger of Walt Disney at the wedding was particularly well timed given a recent merger of Reliance, India’s biggest conglomerate headed by the groom’s father, with Walt Disney’s Indian media assets. Mr. Iger was invited to the wedding, but he did not attend.
When we learn of a mistake, we acknowledge it with a correction. If you spot an error, please let us know at nytnews@nytimes.com.Learn more
Suhasini Raj is a reporter based in New Delhi who has covered India for The Times since 2014. More about Suhasini Raj
A version of this article appears in print on March 3, 2024, Section A, Page 16 of the New York edition with the headline: In India, A Wedding That Takes The Cake . Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe
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