Published on: 11/27/2015IST
Kerala NRI tycoon splurges Rs 55 crore on daughter's wedding
Global leaders, political bigwigs and a sheen of actors? attended Kerala?s big-fat wedding of? Arathi, daughter of NRI businessman B Ravi Pillai, and Kochi-based doctor Aditya Vishnu, in Kollam on Thursday.?
Rumoured to be a Rs-55 crore event, the wedding held at the Ashramam ground in Kollam had been in the news for its whopping scale. The wedding was held on a 4.25 lakh-sq ft set that came with a LED wall which measured 34x12 ft. The set was put together by a team of eminent art director-production designer Sabu Cyril, in 45 days. The hall was lit using 10,000 power lights and 250 chandeliers.?
According to the wedding planners, 350 trucks transported material from across the country to the venue. About 2,000 workers were involved. Tonnes of purple orchids were flown in from Bangkok.
The Dubai-based Pillai is a real estate tycoon and is listed by Forbes at number 40 in its list of India?s richest. He has countered criticism on the extravagance by pointing out the extensive humanitarian initiatives he has helmed.
According to the event?s organisers, the wedding was attended by guests from across the world including members of the royal families of Bahrain, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia, global CEOs, Minister for Communications and Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and actors Mohanlal and Dileep.
NRI businessmen Ravi Pillai spent Rs 55 crores for his daughter's wedding, which took place in Kerala today. In an extravagant display of wealth, Pillai married his daughter, Dr Arathy to Dr Adithya Vishnu of Kochi, at the famous Asramam ground in Kollam.
The wedding was organized by none other than the production designer who lent his capabilities to the blockbuster film,?Bahubali.?The musical fiesta was organized by Stephen Devassy to entertain 30,000 guests. The wedding?pandal?was constructed on a 350,000 sq ft expanse and was modelled after the royal palaces of Rajasthan by none other than Sabu Cyril, the famous movie art director.
It took nearly 75 days for Cyril to create the?pandal. The entire wedding set itself costed around Rs 20 crores.?"Various parts for this set were first moulded in clay in Mumbai, and then it was cast in plaster of Paris. It took us about 40 days to assemble the pre-fabricated structures here," said Cyril.
The festivities were kick-started by singer Gayathri who sang bhajans, followed by a Kuchipudi performance by Manju Warrier, a Bharatanatyam dance by Sobhana, and a musical treat played out by Stephen Devassy.
As far as the guest list goes, some of the most well-known names graced the occasion with their presence such as CEOs of Japan Gas Corporation, family members from royal lineages of Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, and the UAE, Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, and movie stars Mohanlal and Mammootty.
Chartered flights were arranged for Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and the royal family of Bahrain who flew in on Wednesday. The security detail at the wedding included around 250 policemen and 350 private detail cops.
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