Chartered jets for moguls and celebrities, a performance by Rihanna and instructions to wear a “Jungle Fever” outfit when visiting an animal rescue center: this is how billionaire Mukesh Ambani kicks off his son’s big Indian wedding celebrations.
Head of Indian conglomerate Reliance and Asia’s richest man with a net worth of $114 billion according to Forbes, Mukesh Ambani is known for never doing a job by halves.
The momentous occasion that has captivated India is a three-day pre-wedding jamboree for his younger son Anant Ambani, 28, who is set to marry his long-time girlfriend Radhika Merchant, 29. The festival, which will begin on Friday, will welcome 1,200 guests and will take place in the township of Jamnagar, near Reliance’s main oil refinery, in the western state of Gujarat.
The actual wedding will not take place until July, and the festivities effectively began on Wednesday, when Anant and his bride hosted a community dinner for local villagers, who served 51,000 people.
Apart from pop and R&B superstar Rihanna, American magician David Blaine will perform and traditional ceremonies will take place in the temple complex.
A number of cricketers, including Bill Gates, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, Indian billionaires Gautam Adani and Kumar Mangalam Birla, and Bollywood stars such as Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan are expected to attend Anant’s bridal shower, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the event, who declined to be identified.
Disney CEO Bob Iger, who on Wednesday announced an $8.5 billion merger of its Indian media assets with Reliance, is also expected to attend.
Anant is the director of Reliance’s new energy business and one of the three Ambani children who are heirs to his empire. Merchant is the director of Encore Healthcare, an Indian company.
Ambani also made headlines in 2018 with the wedding of his daughter Isha, which was described by some as a mini-Davos summit. Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and John Kerry were among those who danced with Bollywood stars at the time.
At the Anant Ambani Celebration, guests will be able to taste 500 dishes created by around 100 chefs.
They will be pampered – hairdressers, make-up artists and Indian drapers are at their disposal, but only on a “first come, first served” basis, according to a planning document provided to guests and seen by Reuters.
They will visit a rescue center that Reliance says is home to more than 2,000 animals and is one of the largest elephant hospitals in the world. The dress code is “Jungle Fever” and guests are advised to wear animal print clothing or Hawaiian shirts.
Round-trip charter flights are available from New Delhi and Mumbai, but visitors are asked to limit themselves to two pieces of luggage or three suitcases per couple. The document specifies that “if you take more”, it is not guaranteed that they will arrive on the same flight.
Travelers are also advised to be reasonable when it comes to laundry services.
“All garments handed over to the steam press will be returned within three hours… It is not possible to wait or ask for it faster than that,” the document states.
