Beyoncé in a Lehenga. Zendaya in a Saree: All the Things You Can Do If You are a Crazy Rich Indian

When you are rich like Mukesh Ambani, you can get the world’s biggest music icon Beyoncé to get into a lehenga and dance to the guests at a pre-wedding party for your daughter. Or, you can get a global heartthrob and movie star Zendaya drape a saree.

That’s precisely what Ambani has done last week for the inaugural festivities of his wife’s Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC) launch in Mumbai. This is the second time after Beyoncé’s Indian debut that Ambani captured international headlines — which is probably the whole idea behind it — by inviting global celebrities including British actor and Zendaya’s “date” Tom Holland, American model and television personality Gigi Hadid, Spanish superstar Penelope Cruz, American fashion stylist Law Roach, not to mention Priyanka Chopra, the crossover star, who attended with her husband Nick Jonas.

Among the litany of Indian celebrities that “graced the occasion,” to use an Indian idiom, were Bollywood stars like Shahrukh Khan, Alia Bhat, Salman Khan, Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Kareena Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan.

If Ambani’s hosting style is anything to go by, he would have ferried all his international guests in private jets, as he reportedly did chartering 70 jets for his daughter’s wedding. And these guests’ attendance must have cost the chairman of Reliance Industries more than small change, even for a multi-billionaire to lavish on one weekend. According to news reports, Ambani may have paid Beyoncé $3 to $4 million for dancing to his daughter’s tunes. It can be expected that Hillary Clinton who made a cameo appearance at Isha Ambani’s wedding was also paid a tidy sum — the Clintons are loath to show up for free. No word yet on how much he shelled out for Zendaya and Co. — celebrities don’t attend such parties because they are friends. They do it for a pretty penny.

The glitz and glamor, however, must not distract from the reason behind it all. And the reason is honorable. NMACC is India’s first-of-its-kind, multi-disciplinary cultural space as it showcases India’s finest offerings in music, theatre, fine arts, and crafts.

Of course, Ambani is not the only one to use American celebrities to gain brand recognition for his business and other projects. Japanese and Korean corporations take the cake in this respect. As a corporate affairs blogger put it, “Brands recognize the potential and the power of celebrities and employ them to add their star power to companies’ products and services. As famous people are instantly recognizable and attract consumer interest, they can bring attention to a brand in a way that no other type of advertising can.”

“China and India don’t fall much behind their neighbors and have also come to the realization that celebrities can impact the market significantly,” Stacy Jones writes, adding, “Celebrities are one of the global powerhouses – and they can make a brand’s sales go sonic overnight with the right campaign elements to support the partnership.”

Corporate interests apart, occasions such as the Ambani gala, are crowd pleasers. International media gobbled it up with gusto. “Zendaya was dressed in a stunning deep blue and gold sari that was designed and custom embellished by Indian designer Rahul Mishra. The bottom of the dress was bejeweled and decorated with beautiful flowers,” gushed Teen Vogue. Talk of euphoria.

“Gigi Hadid was dressed in a gorgeous cream and gold Chikankari sari by designer Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla. The supermodel paired the glittering outfit with a wrist full of gold bangles,” the report rhapsodized. 

The glitz and glamor, however, must not distract from the reason behind it all. And the reason is honorable. According to a report in Livemint, “NMACC is India’s first-of-its-kind, multi-disciplinary cultural space as it showcases India’s finest offerings in music, theatre, fine arts, and crafts. The Centre marks another definitive step in strengthening India’s cultural infrastructure and bringing to fruition the best of India and the world in the sphere of arts.”

So, it’s all been worth it.