The stars came out for Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant's sangeet in Mumbai.
A sangeet is a traditional pre-wedding ceremony, particularly in North India and Punjabi traditions, involving lots of festive dancing and celebratory songs.
After an eye-popping pre-wedding celebration and a multi-day luxury European cruise party, the couple’s grand nuptials are set to be held in a three-day Mumbai celebration starting on July 12.
On Friday, Ambani and Merchant celebrated with friends and family at the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre under the theme “celebration of hearts”.
Their invite, which The National saw, promised guests a “night of song, dance and wonder” with a dress code of “Indian regional glam”.
And glam is only one way to describe the outfits seen at the event, with everyone from Bollywood A-listers to cricket stars in attendance.
The bride and groom made a stunning debut with outfits made with real gold and crystals by the fashion duo Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla. Ambani wore a royal-blue embroidered bandhgala suit, with zari threading made with real gold.
Merchant glittered in a glitzy golden traditional lehenga. Inspired by a chandelier, the outfit displayed a beautiful array of pastel colours. The ensemble featured an off-shoulder crystal statement blouse paired with a multi-paneled lehenga skirt, both adorned with Swarovski crystals.
Her soon-to-be mother-in-law Nita Ambani shined in a custom-made lehenga in bright pink by Falguni Shane Peacock. Her lehenga was encrusted with hints of ruby, emeralds and diamonds. She styled the outfit with a diamond-studded matha patti, chunky necklace, dangling earrings, rings and a stack of bangles for the occasion.
Isha Ambani Piramal, Anant’s sister, stunned in a royal blue custom couture saree designed by Italian fashion house Schiaparelli. She paired it with a silver blouse and polki jewellery. This was just one of three outfits she wore at the sangeet.
Bollywood star Deepika Paduokone dazzled in a custom-made organza purple saree by Torani and complemented the outfit with elegant golden jewellery with her hair tied in a sleek bun.
Other styles that shone include actress Alia Bhatt and actor-husband Ranbir Kapoor matching in black, while actress Sara Ali Khan sparkled in gold. Actress Madhuri Dixit also donned a gold ensemble for the event.
Actress Jahnvi Kapoor wore a sparkling blue mermaid-style lehenga custom-made and designed by Manish Malhotra. She matched it with a sparkly blouse.
Cricket stars also shined with former India captain M S Dhoni donning a white, floral kurta and jacket while his wife Sakshi shined in her lehenga designed by Rahul Mishra.
Hardik Pandya wore a black and white ombre sherwani with intricated design, while his brother Kunal Pandya wore similar colours but in a more traditional sherwani.
The pre-wedding celebrations will continue until next week, when the couple’s grand nuptials are set to be held in a three-day Mumbai celebration.
The main wedding ceremony, also known as shubh vivaah, will take place on July 12 at Mumbai’s Jio World Convention Centre, a 7.4 hectare business and cultural district owned by the Ambani family’s Reliance Industries. Guests expected to wear traditional Indian attire.
The next day will be the “shubh aashirdwad” (the latter word meaning blessings) ceremony on July 13, featuring a dress code of Indian formal. Finally, celebrations will culminate in “mangal utsav” or the wedding reception on July 14, with the theme of Indian chic.
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
The specs: 2019 Lincoln MKC
Price, base / as tested: Dh169,995 / Dh192,045
Engine: Turbocharged, 2.0-litre, in-line four-cylinder
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Power: 253hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 389Nm @ 2,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 10.7L / 100km
Company%20profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Fasset%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2019%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Mohammad%20Raafi%20Hossain%2C%20Daniel%20Ahmed%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInitial%20investment%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%242.45%20million%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2086%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Pre-series%20B%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Investcorp%2C%20Liberty%20City%20Ventures%2C%20Fatima%20Gobi%20Ventures%2C%20Primal%20Capital%2C%20Wealthwell%20Ventures%2C%20FHS%20Capital%2C%20VN2%20Capital%2C%20local%20family%20offices%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE central contracts
Full time contracts
Rohan Mustafa, Ahmed Raza, Mohammed Usman, Chirag Suri, Mohammed Boota, Sultan Ahmed, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Waheed Ahmed, Zawar Farid
Part time contracts
Aryan Lakra, Ansh Tandon, Karthik Meiyappan, Rahul Bhatia, Alishan Sharafu, CP Rizwaan, Basil Hameed, Matiullah, Fahad Nawaz, Sanchit Sharma
Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
How to invest in gold
Investors can tap into the gold price by purchasing physical jewellery, coins and even gold bars, but these need to be stored safely and possibly insured.
A cheaper and more straightforward way to benefit from gold price growth is to buy an exchange-traded fund (ETF).
Most advisers suggest sticking to “physical” ETFs. These hold actual gold bullion, bars and coins in a vault on investors’ behalf. Others do not hold gold but use derivatives to track the price instead, adding an extra layer of risk. The two biggest physical gold ETFs are SPDR Gold Trust and iShares Gold Trust.
Another way to invest in gold’s success is to buy gold mining stocks, but Mr Gravier says this brings added risks and can be more volatile. “They have a serious downside potential should the price consolidate.”
Mr Kyprianou says gold and gold miners are two different asset classes. “One is a commodity and the other is a company stock, which means they behave differently.”
Mining companies are a business, susceptible to other market forces, such as worker availability, health and safety, strikes, debt levels, and so on. “These have nothing to do with gold at all. It means that some companies will survive, others won’t.”
By contrast, when gold is mined, it just sits in a vault. “It doesn’t even rust, which means it retains its value,” Mr Kyprianou says.
You may already have exposure to gold miners in your portfolio, say, through an international ETF or actively managed mutual fund.
You could spread this risk with an actively managed fund that invests in a spread of gold miners, with the best known being BlackRock Gold & General. It is up an incredible 55 per cent over the past year, and 240 per cent over five years. As always, past performance is no guide to the future.
PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES
Saturday (UAE kick-off times)
Watford v Leicester City (3.30pm)
Brighton v Arsenal (6pm)
West Ham v Wolves (8.30pm)
Bournemouth v Crystal Palace (10.45pm)
Sunday
Newcastle United v Sheffield United (5pm)
Aston Villa v Chelsea (7.15pm)
Everton v Liverpool (10pm)
Monday
Manchester City v Burnley (11pm)
MATCH INFO
What: Brazil v South Korea
When: Tonight, 5.30pm
Where: Mohamed bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Tickets: www.ticketmaster.ae
Ant-Man and the Wasp
Director: Peyton Reed
Starring: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas
Three stars
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
UAE’s revised Cricket World Cup League Two schedule
August, 2021: Host - United States; Teams - UAE, United States and Scotland
Between September and November, 2021 (dates TBC): Host - Namibia; Teams - Namibia, Oman, UAE
December, 2021: Host - UAE; Teams - UAE, Namibia, Oman
February, 2022: Hosts - Nepal; Teams - UAE, Nepal, PNG
June, 2022: Hosts - Scotland; Teams - UAE, United States, Scotland
September, 2022: Hosts - PNG; Teams - UAE, PNG, Nepal
February, 2023: Hosts - UAE; Teams - UAE, PNG, Nepal
Richard Jewell
Director: Clint Eastwood
Stars: Paul Walter Hauser, Sam Rockwell, Brandon Stanley
Two-and-a-half out of five stars
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
Sarfira
Director: Sudha Kongara Prasad
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal
Rating: 2/5