India’s Reliance, Bollywood fuel Ambani wedding hype through social media

MUMBAI: Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s son marries on Friday in a lavish ceremony that has been a hot talking point at home and abroad, with his father’s $260 billion-conglomerate Reliance taking to social media to heavily publicise the event.

Reliance’s efforts, coupled with posts from a host of Bollywood stars and coverage in media, have helped whip up public interest in the wedding, overshadowing some critical social media posts that have questioned the opulence at a time of growing inequality in India.

Ambani’s youngest son Anant, 29, is marrying his long-time girlfriend Radhika Merchant, 29, in a star-studded ceremony in Mumbai that will be attended by celebrities and politicians, such as Kim Kardashian, Mike Tyson, Tony Blair and Boris Johnson. Three days of celebratory receptions will follow.

One unnamed executive at Reliance called the event a “powerful symbol of India’s growing stature on the global stage”.

“The presence of esteemed individuals highlights India’s economic, political, intellectual, and scientific prowess,” the note, shared with reporters, said.

Ambani, Asia’s richest person, is famous for hosting lavish parties, especially for his three children Akash, Isha and Anant. International artists perform and a host of Bollywood stars usually attend the gatherings, whose price tag runs into the millions.

This promises to be the most extravagant of Ambani’s galas so far, although it is not know how much was spent.

Some, such as opposition politician, Thomas Isaac have called the amount of spending “obscene”.

“Legally it maybe their money but such ostentatious expenditure is a sin against mother earth and (the) poor,” he said in a post on X.