Hillary Clinton joins Bollywood stars as super-rich Indians wed

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MUMBAI – The daughter of India’s richest man got married on Wednesday in a traditional ceremony in Mumbai attended by Bollywood stars and former U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

The marriage brings together two of India’s most influential families. The bride, Isha Ambani, 27, is the daughter of Mukesh Ambani, head of the vast Reliance conglomerate whose net worth Forbes put at $43 billion.

Her groom, Anand Piramal, 33, is heir to a real-estate and pharmaceutical business.

The wedding bash took place at Ambani’s Mumbai residence, an extraordinary 27-storey structure known as one of the most expensive homes in the world. It was covered in red roses and decorated with lights and flowers for the occasion.

The groom and his family arrived in vintage cars as security guards onlookers and photographers from the narrow lane in south Mumbai that leads to the residence.

India’s Filmfare magazine said 600 guests were expected at what media have dubbed the “the big, fat Indian wedding”.

The festivities were a culmination of lavish pre-wedding celebrations in the desert city of Udaipur over the weekend which featured a private concert by American singer Beyonce, a four-day special ‘Anna Seva’ and an expo on traditional Indian handicrafts, besides other events for the guests.

As well as Clinton, who according to Indian media reports has an association with the Ambanis that goes back more than 18 years, attendees included Bollywood stars such as Rajinikanth, Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan, Abhishek and Aishwarya Bachchan, Aamir Khan and Kiran Rao, Shah Rukh Khan and Gauri Khan, Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh, Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas, Hrithik Roshan, Shilpa Shetty and Vidhu Vinod Chopra, among others; sports personalities like Sachin Tendulkar and Harbajan Singh; politicians including former Indian finance minister P. Chidambaram, former President Pranab Mukherjee and Praful Patel; and top business honchos such as K.V. Kamath, Sanjiv Goenka, Deepak Parekh, Sashi and Anshuman Ruia, Adi Godej, Rahul Bajaj and Harsh Mariwala.

Many in India, where millions of people live in dire poverty, have closely followed the wedding preparations, including the couple’s engagement at a luxury hotel on Italy’s Lake Como.

(With inputs from IANS)