Bollywood Stars, Former Prime Ministers and the Kardashians Attend the Ambani Wedding
On Friday afternoon, Sneh Zala, 24, waited for celebrities to arrive on the red carpet for the wedding of Anant Ambani, the youngest son of India’s richest man, and Radhika Merchant, a daughter of a fellow business tycoon.
The red carpet was set up in a room adorned with lanterns and red and orange garlands and floral arrangements. Mr. Zala, a photographer working for Manav Manglani, one of Bollywood’s top paparazzi, had already shot several of the couple’s prewedding functions, which began in March. It’s not every day that Kim and Khloé Kardashian, John Cena and Boris Johnson gather for an Indian wedding. All four were in attendance on Friday at the Jio World Centre in Mumbai, India, in traditional Indian garb.
Mr. Zala was one of about 100 media members clamoring next to the red carpet, not a common addition at most weddings. But given the sheer amount of celebrities present, including Bollywood superstars, several members of the Indian cricket team, former prime ministers and billionaire businessmen, and the fabulous Indian clothes on display, a runway seemed in order.
Clockwise from top left: the Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan and his wife, the producer and designer Gauri Khan; Tony Blair, the former U.K. prime minister, and his wife, Cherie Blair; the actor Sanjay Dutt; the actress Madhuri Dixit Nene.Credit…Atul Loke for The New York Times
John Cena stopping for paparazzi on the red carpet.Credit…Atul Loke for The New York Times
When Mr. Cena came out wearing a baby-blue sherwani, one photographer shouted, “Welcome to India.”
As Khunying Patama Leeswadtrakul, a Thai businesswoman, and her husband, Somsak, posed on the red carpet, a young stylist interrupted to adjust Ms. Leeswadtrakul’s scarf. The stylist, who seemed to have been hired just to help guests be camera-ready, stood at the side of the room for the duration of the eight-hour red carpet.