An Indian politician has shocked people in the country and around the world by spending a whooping 5billion Rupees ($74million) on his daughter’s wedding.
Ex-state minister, Gali Janardhana Reddy has thrown a lavish party that is going to last for five days for his daughter’s wedding.
The event, which took place in Bangalore, was a classic display of extravagance.
Guests were invited to his daughter, Brahmani’s wedding ceremony with gold-plated invitations, while Bollywood stars performed in a five-day extravaganza that critics have branded an ‘obscene display of wealth’
According to Media reports, the wedding invitations arrived in a gold-plated box, containing a card setting out details of the affair, and with an LED screen fitted into the lid.
The bride’s jewellery costs about $12.5 million, while her Sari costs about $2.5 million.
A video from the on-going event shows Brahmani wearing a series of fancy gowns, while her fiancé Rajeev Reddy is flanked by five white horses.
Meanwhile, Janardhan Reddy and his wife lip-sync to a song that was composed especially for the wedding.
Weddings in India are often opulent affairs, and it is not unusual for payments for services to be made in cash.
Mr Reddy reportedly said he had mortgaged properties in Bangalore and Singapore to fund the celebration, and had made all payments six months ago, when the planning started.
The main event of the almost-week-long celebration is being held at a sprawling venue in the Bangalore Palace.
Preparations for the event began months in advance, and eight Bollywood directors were reportedly hired to create sets resembling ancient Hindu temples, to form a backdrop for the ceremonies.
Guests will be ferried about in luxury bullock carts and fed in a purpose-built village inside the grounds. While 3,000 bouncers and 300 policemen will ensure the event is secure, with the help of sniffer dogs and bomb squads.
His political opponents also used it as an opportunity to question whether the Prime Minister’s crackdown on illegal ‘black money’ would include elites.
Mr Reddy was a former member of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Karnataka, the state which has Bangalore as its capital.
He recently spent three years in jail on corruption charges – which he denies – but was freed on bail last year.
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