The celebrities have come to India for the pre-wedding celebration of the youngest son of an Indian billionaire.
Anant Ambani is the son of billionaire Mukesh Ambani, the chairman of Fortune 500 company Reliance Industries with an estimated net worth of $113 billion (£89.53 billion), according to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index. He marries Radhika Merchant, who comes from a family with business interests in pharmaceuticals.
The Ambani family, with a net worth of ₹85 billion, runs India’s leading conglomerates – petroleum refiners and marketers, organised retail, telecom giant Jio and other digital streaming services.
Although the couple is not getting married until July, the celebrations will begin in March and expected guests include tech heavyweights such as Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg, Ivanka Trump and Disney boss Bob Iger.
Rihanna was recently spotted arriving in Jamnagar for the celebrations. The grand three-day event is set to kick off in Gujarat on March 1 and promises to be a star-studded spectacle. Illusionist David Blaine will reportedly also perform at the party.
The wedding is expected to be one of the biggest of the year worldwide. Guests will enjoy three days of lavish feasting with more than 2,500 dishes prepared by a team of 65 chefs. Top Indian celebrities such as Shah Rukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Amitabh Bachchan, Rajinikanth, Salman Khan, Deepika Padukone, Ranbir Kapoor, Ranveer Singh, Sachin Tendulkar and Alia Bhatt are expected to attend.
According to an event listing, the festivities will begin with a glamorous cocktail party called “An Evening in Everland,” followed by a jungle celebration on Saturday. Guests have been asked to wear comfortable shoes to visit the groom’s animal rescue center, which is spread over 650 acres and is home to more than 2,000 animals. That evening, the couple will host their “Mela Rogue,” where guests have been asked to dress in “dazzling desi romance” style.
On the third day, guests must pack something “casually smart” for the Tusker Trails, where they will likely be exploring the area. The final event is a Hashtakshar – which translates to “signature” – where guests must wear traditional clothing such as sherwanis and saris.
The invitation to the pre-wedding celebrations, which was circulating on social media, reads: “It is with hearts full of joy and excitement that we invite you to Anant and Radhika’s pre-wedding celebrations at our Jamnagar home.”
“We look forward to having you here to share our joy, love and laughter and create memories we will cherish forever.”
The groom’s love of nature is said to have inspired the theme of the pre-wedding festivities, which focused on wildlife. “Anant has lovingly transformed this complex into a sanctuary of care and compassion for thousands of rescued animals,” the invitation said.
Ambani and Merchant got engaged in January last year during a traditional ceremony at the lavish Ambani residence Antilia in Mumbai.
