Anant Ambani-Radhika Merchant’s pre-wedding festivities turn ‘talk of the globe’

What happens when Asia’s richest man, billionaire industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s son gets married? Apparently, all the stars descend to the ground to celebrate. The pre-wedding festivities of Anant Ambani, 28, and Radhika Merchant, 29 so far have been extravagant, lavish and so out of the ordinary that they became the talk of the globe — especially with the world’s biggest names included in their 1200-guest list.

Anant, one of Mukesh Ambani’s three children, holds a directorial position at Reliance’s new energy business and is considered one of the heirs to his father’s vast empire. While Radhika is a director at India’s Encore Healthcare.

Charter jets for tycoons, Hollywood and Bollywood celebrities, a performance by Rihanna, and directions to don “jungle fever” outfits when visiting an animal rescue centre – that’s how billionaire Mukesh Ambani has kickstarted the big fat Indian wedding celebrations for his son.

Ambani, the head of Indian conglomerate Reliance and Asia’s wealthiest individual with a net worth of $114 billion – according to Forbes, is renowned for his penchant for grandeur. Never do things by halves, especially when it comes to hosting parties.

The ‘occasion of the moment’ that has India transfixed is a three-day pre-wedding jamboree for his youngest son Anant Ambani, who is set to marry his long-time girlfriend Radhika Merchant. It began on Friday, entertaining 1,200 guests, and took place in a township in Jamnagar near Reliance’s main oil refinery in the western state of Gujarat, India.

The wedding ceremony is scheduled for July, yet the celebrations effectively commenced on Wednesday as Anant and his fiancée hosted a communal dinner for local villagers, serving an astonishing 51,000 attendees.

The central attraction of the evening was when Rihanna came out of her semi-retirement for the Ambanis to perform a 19-song set. She performed “Umbrella”, “Diamonds”, “Work”, “We Found Love”, “Stay”, “Rude Boy”, and “All Of The Lights”, and closed the show with the whole Ambani family joining her on stage. The singer hasn’t performed on stage since her 2016 Anti-World Tour.

Apart from Rihanna’s performance, the most exciting moment of the evening came when the three Khans of Bollywood – Salman, Shah Rukh, and Amir Khan – performed together after very many years. The trio brought the house down at Jamnagar, with south superstar Ram Charan joining them in “Naatu Naatu”. Dressed in traditional kurtas, the four superstars mesmerised the audience with the seamless renditions of their most popular song’s hook steps, infusing it with their signature moves.

Following their remarkable performance, Bollywood A-List couple Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt danced to their song “Kesariya” from their 2022 film “Brahmastra”, while Anant’s brother Akash Ambani and his wife Shloka joined them on stage.

The young stars of Bollywood, Janhvi Kapoor, Ananya Panday, Sara Ali Khan, Khushi Kapoor, and famed designer Manish Malhotra also mesmerised the audiences with their dance number in “Bole Chudiyan”.

The Kapoor girls were not strangers to the stage at the mega event either with Karishma and Kareena Kapoor performing to Diljit Dosanjh’s “Proper Patola” and “Kinni Kinni” respectively.

Akshay Kumar brought his electrifying energy to the stage with the famous song, “Gur Naal Ishq Meetha” while Ranveer Singh joined him in the end. Mukesh Ambani stood up and hugged Akshay after his performance.

Superstar Rajinikanth and his family joined the pre-wedding bash in Jamnagar. Shreya Ghoshal also attended the event. The Bachchans, Amitabh, Abhishek, Aishwarya, and Shweta also joined the party.

Popular American magician David Blaine also performed following up with traditional ceremonies in a temple complex.

Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Sunder Picha, Ivanka Trump, fellow Indian billionaires Gautam Adani and Kumar Mangalam Birla, as well as many cricketers and Bollywood film stars such as Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Katrina Kaif, Vicky Kaushal, Deepika Padukone attended the parties that took place at Gujarat’s Jamnagar.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg also shared pictures from the night and wrote, “Love an Indian wedding. Congrats to Anant and Radhika.” Other celebs like Ananya Pandey, Aditya Roy Kapur, Shraddha Kapoor, Shanaya Kapoor, Khushi Kapoor, and Anil Kapoor amongst others also attended the bash.

Mohammed Bin Jassim al Thani, the prime minister of Qatar; Stephen Harper, former Canadian prime minister; and Bhutan’s King Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuck and Queen Jetsun Pema were also in attendance.

Ambani also made headlines with his daughter Isha’s wedding in 2018 which was described by some as a mini-Davos summit. Former US Secretaries of State Hillary Clinton and John Kerry were among those who hit the dance floor with Bollywood stars back then.

Guests to Anant Ambani’s celebrations are set to savour 500 dishes created by around 100 chefs.

They will be pampered as hair styling, makeup artistes and Indian-wear drapists are being made available but only on a “first come, first serve basis,” according to a planning document provided to invitees and reported by Reuters.

They will visit a rescue centre that Reliance says is home to more than 2,000 animals and has one of the world’s largest elephant hospitals. The dress code is “jungle fever” with guests advised to wear animal print clothing or Hawaiian shirts.