MUMBAI: Socialite sisters Kim and Khloe Kardashian were among the global celebrities spotted in India on Friday to attend a lavish three-day wedding ceremony staged by Asia’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani.

Ambani’s youngest son Anant and his fiancee Radhika Merchant, both 29, will tie the knot over the weekend in Mumbai following months of pre-marriage parties that have set a new benchmark in matrimonial extravagance.

Earlier celebrations included a European cruise for 1,200 guests, a party at the Ambanis’ ancestral home where a purpose-built temple was unveiled, and private performances by R&B star Rihanna and Canada’s Justin Bieber.

The Kardashians are the latest in a long line of famous foreign VIPs to make an appearance.

Elder sister Kim shared an Instagram story showing her car being mobbed by Indian photographers shortly after her arrival and both siblings receiving flower garlands from staff at their luxury hotel.

Actor John Cena, FIFA boss Gianni Infantino and Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan posed for cameras on the red carpet upon their arrival at the wedding, hosted at a huge convention centre owned by the Ambani family’s conglomerate.

Former British prime minister Tony Blair and his wife Cherie were also in attendance.

Footage shared by the hosts showed hundreds of revellers dancing enthusiastically inside the venue wearing traditional Indian dress.

Guests at the couple’s earlier pre-wedding galas have included Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and former US president Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka, along with a who’s who of India’s sporting and entertainment worlds.

The couple embarked on a four-day Mediterranean cruise last month with singer Katy Perry performing at a masquerade ball at a French chateau in Cannes.

The Backstreet Boys, US rapper Pitbull and Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli also provided entertainment.

Raising the bar

This week’s opulent celebrations are set to raise the bar further, as even more celebrities, politicians and global business elites jet into monsoon-hit Mumbai.

Several major roads around the venue have been closed off to the public by authorities for most of the coming weekend.

Further downtown along the Ambani household’s street, popularly known as Billionaires’ Row, traffic has ground to a standstill through the week as mobile cranes install festive lights and decorations.

“It’s just traffic all the time,” one resident said. “The whole road is chaos.”

Friday saw the main formal ceremony at the 16,000-person capacity venue, with a separate “blessing ceremony” on Saturday and a grand reception on Sunday.

$123bn fortune

Anant’s father Mukesh is chairman of Reliance Industries, a family-founded conglomerate that has grown into India’s biggest company by market cap.

The patriarch is the world’s 11th richest person with a fortune of more than $123bn, according to Forbes, and is no stranger to making a statement when it comes to family marriages.

He held the most expensive wedding in India to date for his daughter in 2018, which reportedly cost $100 million and saw US singer Beyonce perform.

Ambani is also a key ally of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

He inherited a thriving industrial enterprise spanning oil, gas and petrochemicals and grew it into a commercial behemoth.

Its lucrative interests include retail partnerships with Armani and other luxury brands, more than 40 per cent of India’s mobile phone market and an Indian Premier League cricket team.

His 27-floor family home Antilia is one of Mumbai’s most prominent landmarks, reportedly costing more than $1bn to build and with a permanent staff of 600 servants.

Merchant is the daughter of well-known pharmaceutical moguls.

Published in Dawn, July 13th, 2024