Clinton, Beyonce attend big, fat, crazy, rich Indian wedding
NEW DELHI — In a season of big Indian weddings, the Wednesday marriage of the scions of two billionaire families might be the biggest of them all.
The bride, Isha Ambani, is the Ivy League-educated daughter of industrialist Mukesh Ambani, thought to be India’s richest man. Forbes estimates his net worth at over $43 billion.
The groom, Anand Piramal, is the relative pauper. His father, industrialist Ajay Piramal, is thought to be worth $10 billion.
The festivities began weeks ago, starting in September with an engagement party at a lakeside Italian palace.
Over the weekend, thousands attended pre-wedding parties at a 16th-century palace in the Indian desert city of Udaipur, where videos shot by partiers showed Hillary Clinton dancing with Shah Rukh Khan, one of India’s biggest movie stars, as former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry danced just a few feet away.
A highlight was a performance by Beyonce, who sang “Crazy In Love,” among other hits, with a band backing her up and a series of costume changes that included at least one India-inspired outfit.
Indian weddings are famously elaborate, driving many families into debt with expectations that they invite hundreds or thousands of people, and arranging professional song-anddance shows.
Among India’s rich, weddings are displays of almost unimaginable wealth, with guests flown in on chartered jets from around the world and celebrities paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for brief appearances.
The Indian media noted that the actual Ambani wedding, in Mumbai, was expected to be a relatively small affair, with just 600 or so people in attendance. More parties will follow the marriage ceremony.
Indian grooms traditionally ride to their weddings on horses, but Piramal arrived at the Ambani home in a classic Rolls Royce, with marching bands playing in the procession and scowling bodyguards scattered through the crowds.
The competitiveness of India’s wintertime wedding season is growing more extreme, according to Archana Dalmia, a social activist in New Delhi.
The wedding of Indian actress Priyanka Chopra and American singer Nick Jonas earlier this month — which included palace parties and lots of celebrities — has been quickly overshadowed by the Ambani festivities.