By Justin Enriquez For Dailymail.com and Jessica Green For Mailonline and Vivek Chaudhary In Jaipur, India, For Mailonline
00:10 02 Mar 2024, updated 00:14 02 Mar 2024
Rihanna fans have said that she did the ‘bare minimum’ for a wedding gig for the son of India’s richest man in which she is being paid £5million ($6.33million in the US) Mailonline was told.
Footage surfaced on X (formally Twitter) of the 36-year-old hitmaker on stage during the three day celebration performing at the extravagant event as followers believed that she didn’t exactly bring her A-game.
In one of the clips she could be seen singing her 2011 megahit collaboration with Calvin Harris titled We Found Love and she could be seen barely dancing.
The video was posted with the caption: ‘she just don’t give a f***.’
The Fenty mogul performed a private concert at the wedding of Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant. Anant‘s father Mukesh Ambani has a net worth of $114 billion.
One Twitter user said: ‘Rihanna really said she’s doing the bare minimum, collecting her check and go.’
Regardless the A-lister did boast an impressive 19 song set list of some of her biggest hits including B*** Better Have My Money, Work, All Of The Lights, and lastly Diamonds.
During the show she said: ‘Thanks to that Ambani family, I’m here tonight in honor of Anant and Radhika. Thank you for having me here. God bless your union. I wish you all the best. Congratulations!’
Earlier this week it was reported that she had arrived in Jamnagar for the pre-wedding party for the son of India’s richest man – and was being paid £5million to perform at the celebrations, MailOnline has been told.
Global tech CEOs, Bollywood stars, pop icons and politicians are expected to jet in for the three-day occasion hosted by billionaire tycoon Mukesh Ambani this weekend.
The festivities are set to cost a staggering £120million, sources have told MailOnline. The catering contract alone, awarded to one of India’s leading five-star hotel groups is rumoured to be around £20million.
Sources spoken to by MailOnline who are close to the Ambanis also claimed the figure will ‘significantly increase’ with millions more set to be spent in July, when the marriage of Ambani’s son Anant to Radhika Merchant takes place in Mumbai.
Rihanna and her partner A$AP Rocky were filmed stepping out in India on Thursday.
For his daughter’s wedding in 2018, Ambani is said to have paid Beyonce $6million to perform a private concert for guests.
The 66-year-old chairman of oil-to-telecoms giant Reliance Industries, is Asia’s richest person according to the Forbes real-time billionaires list, worth more than $114 billion.
On Wednesday evening, Ambani and wife Nita – along with their son Anant and his fiancee Radhika Merchant – launched a three-day feast for more than 51,000 villagers at the Reliance Township in his hometown of Jamnagar, in India’s western state of Gujarat.
Anant, 28, who also serves as a director on the boards of several Reliance-owned firms, is expected to marry Merchant, 29, the daughter of an industrialist, later this year.
Ambani held the most expensive wedding in India for his daughter in 2018, which reportedly cost $100million and saw US pop megastar Beyonce perform.
This time, Rihanna, illusionist David Blaine and Bollywood’s Diljit Dosanjh will perform for the guests, who are expected to include Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Meta head Mark Zuckerberg, and several current and former political leaders, according to a list released by Reliance.
Also among the invitees is Disney chief Robert Iger, following a deal agreed Wednesday between Reliance Industries and Walt Disney to merge their Indian media businesses.
Other guests invited include Ivanka Trump, the former US president’s daughter, as well as ex-Swedish prime minister Carl Bildt, former Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper and the King of Bhutan.
Bollywood stars Amitabh Bachchan and Shahrukh Khan, cricket icons Sachin Tendulkar and M.S. Dhoni, and industry titan Gautam Adani are also invited in a who’s-who of India’s super-rich elite.
A source said: ‘No expense has been spared for this three-day party. It is a jaw dropping amount of money but when the Ambanis do something they do it big.
‘The whole of Jamnagar is celebrating because they are all being fed and pampered and treated like celebrities.’
Another source said: ‘This is not the first time that they are spending money like this on one of their children’s weddings.
‘These are going to be a memorable three days with some of India’s and the world’s most famous people present. It’s going to be as lavish as you can get.’
The Ambanis are building a Hindu temple complex in Jamnagar, to keep ‘India’s rich cultural and spiritual identity at the heart of the wedding festivities’, the Reliance Foundation said on social media.
The main celebrations, running from March 1-3, will have different themes, events and dress codes – including a ‘jungle fever’ day with a visit to an animal rescue centre run by Ambani, the Hindustan Times newspaper reported.
The couple are hosting 1,000 VIPs who will be housed in specially arranged five-star facilities just outside the city of Jamnagar in the state of Gujrat, western India.
Hundreds of staff will be on hand to look after them with a series of penthouses and villas renovated for the occasion.
More than 100 chefs are also being flown in to cater for them and will prepare 500 dishes over the three days, ranging from traditional India food to Mexican, Chinese and European.
Bride-to-be Anant Ambani, 29, is the daughter of billionaire Shri Viren Merchant, who is the CEO of private health firm Encore Healthcare.
The invite for the pre-wedding celebrations – which have been widely circulating on social media – read: ‘With hearts full of joy and excitement, we invite you to the pre-wedding celebrations of Anant and Radhika at our home in Jamnagar.
‘We look forward to having you with us to share in our joy, love, and laughter, and create memories that we’ll cherish forever.’
It would also seem that there is a strict dress code to follow for guests taking part in the lavish wedding warm up.
On the Friday night, the happy couple’s loved ones will enjoy an ‘evening in everland’-themed cocktail party on the premises.
The following day, they have been told to wear ‘comfortable shoes’ to take a ‘walk on the wild side’ by visiting the groom’s Reliance animal rescue centre, which spans 650 acres and homes more than 2,000 animals.
That evening, the couple will host their ‘Mela Rogue’ and guests have been told to dress in a ‘dazzling desi romance’ style.
On the third day, guests have been told to pack something ‘casual chic’ for the Tusker Trails, where they will presumably explore the local area.
The final event will be a Hashtakshar, which translates as ‘signature’, and guests will be expected to wear traditional clothing, such as sherwanis and sarees.
For Annant’s sister’s wedding in 2018, the family is said to have paid Beyonce $6m to fly in and perform a private concert for guests.
Ahead of the celebrations, guests were reportedly issued with a nine-page dress code which covers the variety of events that will be taking place this weekend.
Local media reports that guests will be travelling to the city of Jamnagar on chartered flights and ferries – and have been told that there is a limit of three suitcases per couple.
Indian publication National News reports that all 1,000 guests will have access to laundry services throughout the weekend, which includes express steaming.
The information booklet also states that hairstylists, make-up artists and sari drapers will also be on hand to help.
The guide reads: ‘We would like you to enjoy each moment to the fullest and make beautiful memories that last a lifetime.’
According to The Times of India, chefs employed by the luxury Jardin Hotel have prepped more than 2,500 dishes – spanning Japanese, Mexican and Thai cuisine.
An insider told the publication that guests will have the choice of 75 options for breakfast and a further 225 and 275 for lunch and dinner.
There will also be 85 catering options on offer for the traditional midnight meal, which runs from 12-4am.
What’s more, the insider also claimed that no item on the menu will be repeated across the course of the three days.
The happy couple are said to have been childhood friends and both attended university in the US.
In November 2018, Anant’s Yale graduate sister Isha tied the knot with real estate mogul Anand Piramal, a childhood friend and the son of another uber-wealthy businessman, in a wedding that is thought to have cost $100million (£74.9million), according to Bloomberg.
The first hint of the nuptials’ lavishness was the elaborate embroidered and gold plated Dolce & Gabbana box guests received as invitations.
Each exquisite rose printed package contained a series of luxury cards which folded out to reveal details of the events that would be held across the five-day affair.
As per Indian tradition, the party kicked off with the Sangeet, which typically sees the bride, groom and their families come together to sing and dance in stage performances celebrating their unions.
But Mr Ambani, whose business interests cover oil, telecoms, chemicals, textiles, technology and food, did not hold back when it came to the entertainment for his little girl.
Beyoncé was flown in especially for the a 45-minute private concert, which saw her make several costume changes and sing hit songs Perfect and Crazy In Love.
Bollywood superstars including Aishwarya Rai partied the night away as laser lights criss-crossed the sky.
Other reported VIP wedding guests included former Huffington Post editor-in-chief Arianna Huffington, 21st Century Fox CEO James Murdoch, BP Group CEO Bob Dudley, and cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar.
Mr Piramal and Yale graduate Miss Ambani selected the finest locations in Udaipur, known as the ‘city of lakes’, for the weekend, taking over the five-star Oberoi Udaivilas hotel and the 18th century City Palace for two night-time events.
James Parker is a UK-based entertainment aficionado who delves into the glitz and glamour of the entertainment industry. From Hollywood to the West End, he offers readers an insider’s perspective on the world of movies, music, and pop culture.