The Ambanis all set to host grand and lavish "wedding of the year"

The Jio World Convention Centre in Mumbai is all set to host extravagant wedding ceremonies for Mukesh Ambani and Nita Ambani's son and billionaire heir, Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant, which will follow ancient Hindu Vedic customs.

The customs will begin on July 12 with the auspicious Shubh Vivah, or wedding ceremony. The festivities will continue on July 13, with Shubh Aashirwad followed by the last celebration, Mangal Utsav, or wedding reception, on July 14.

This wedding ceremony is regarded as the final ritual of Anant and Radhika’s half-year marriage rituals.

Maintaining the legacy and setting up the bar of “The Ambani family," they have already organized two pre-wedding bash, a sangeet night, and a mass wedding ahead of Anant-Radhika’s wedding.

The couple held their first pre-wedding bash from March 1 to March 3 at the Ambani estate in Jamnagar, titled “An evening in Everland,” which featured a star-studded guest list from all over the world, including Rihanna, Bill Gates, Hillary Clinton, Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump, Karlie Kloss, and Mark Zuckerberg, among others.

Other attendees included Google CEO Sundar Pichai, cricket legend Mahendra Singh Dhoni, and Bollywood superstars Shah Rukh Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan, Salman Khan, Deepika Padukone, Katrina Kaif, Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Shraddha Kapoor, Disha Patani, and sisters Janhvi and Khushi Kapoor, among many others.

Rihanna, who was paid around $8 and $9 million (₹66 to ₹74 crore), played a medley of songs including "Rude Boy," "Pour it Up," and "Diamonds" in the pre-wedding.

In their second pre-wedding celebration, they invited about 800 friends, family members, and coworkers on a four-day Mediterranean cruise sailing from Palermo, Italy.

Mukesh and Nita Ambani hosted this lavish second pre-wedding function for Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant on a luxury cruise themed 'La Vita È Un Viaggio' which means 'life is a journey' at a cost of $900 million.

The third ceremony was equally enthusiastically celebrated on July 5, witnessing a star-studded lineup.

The international pop star and the Canadian singer Justin Bieber performed for a number of celebrities and sports personalities, with extra events planned in the days preceding the wedding.

This is not the first time an Ambani wedding has booked a worldwide superstar for a private performance. In 2018, Beyoncé performed at Isha Ambani's wedding.

Frequently recognized as the nation's wedding of the year, many high-profile visitors have been invited to the wedding ceremony, which will be held from July 12 to July 14.

With just a minimal change in the guest list from previous ceremonies, the grand gala will be graced with the presence of Rahul Gandhi and his mother, Sonia Gandhi, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, and other prominent leaders.

Bollywood superstars, including Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Aamir Khan, Akshay Kumar, Ranveer Singh, Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Deepika Padukone, Katrina Kaif, and others, are expected to attend the wedding ceremony on June 12.

After Justin Bieber's spectacular performance, guests at Anant Ambani-Radhika Merchant's sangeet ceremony are expected to enjoy power-packed performances by Adele, Drake, and Lana Del Rey.

While the whole business, political, Bollywood, cricket, and other industries are expected to attend the wedding, filmmaker Anurag Kashyap's daughter Aaliyah declined Ambani's invitation, branding the event a 'circus'.

Aaliyah posted on Instagram, “The Ambani wedding is not a wedding at this point; it has become a circus." Although, she admitted to stalking the events leading up to the wedding.

"I was invited to some events because apparently they're doing PR, but I said no because I would like to believe I have a little more self-respect than to sell myself out for someone's wedding," posted Aaliyah on Instagram.

For those who are unaware, musician Justin Bieber received a whopping ₹83 crore for a two-hour performance at the sangeet ceremony. "It's like, oh, we have this extra money; what should we do with it?" she continued, making fun of the same. Let's give Justin Bieber a call."

Even the hospitality sector benefits from this luxurious ceremony. Five-star hotels in the Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) neighborhood have raised their rates dramatically in advance of the grandiose event. The 'Sold Out' status on numerous hotel websites indicates that rooms are unavailable from July 10 to July 14.

Ahead of the Ambani wedding, all of the area's posh hotels are completely reserved. On July 14, one of the hotels that typically charges ₹13,000 per night raised its rates to ₹91,350.

For the ceremony, even the Mumbai traffic has made a U-turn. Due to the high-profile event, the Mumbai Traffic Police have issued a traffic warning for BKC during these days, limiting access to a number of roadways between 1 PM till midnight from July 12-15.