Hungarian band plays at Indian billionaire heir’s luxury wedding

Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant are set to exchange vows at a three-day wedding with a budget of hundreds of millions of dollars, which has been ongoing since March. The Hungarian band, Budapest Scoring Orchestra, was personally invited by the Ambani family to be part of the celebrations.

Since early spring, Asia’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani, has been celebrating the marriage of his son, Anant Ambani, to Radhika Merchant. However, the most significant part of the ceremony took place this weekend in Mumbai, from Friday to Sunday, following traditional Indian customs, according to Index.

The pre-wedding event for the Indian billionaire’s son in March was attended by dozens of Bollywood film stars, leading Asian business figures, and world-famous guests including Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, and Ivanka Trump, as well as top singers such as Rihanna and Justin Bieber. The main wedding, which began on the evening of 12 July 2024, also featured numerous famous personalities.

The wedding is a cultural event

The wedding is being held at the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre, which also featured the Hungarian orchestra at its opening last year. Preparations have been underway for a month at the 40,000-square-metre complex, with 12,000 workers labouring non-stop to prepare for what is set to be the largest and most spectacular wedding ever.

Photo: PrtScr/YouTube

Budapest Scoring arrived in Mumbai earlier in the week. They received the score the next day and have since conducted several stage rehearsals. They also held a dress rehearsal the night before the wedding with the family in attendance and arrived early for the ceremony as much of the city was closed down due to the constant arrival of stars and influencers.

“Budapest Scoring plays at the engagement ceremony, which is the most important part of the event and lasts two days. The wedding is practically an art festival; we provide the accompanying music with a local composer duo. Most of the music we were asked to play is about a deity, as part of a special ritual,” Bálint Sapszon, founder of Budapest Scoring, told Index.

“For us, playing the music didn’t require much preparation, but our appearance did. Everyone had to provide their measurements, and we were all dressed in tailor-made traditional outfits. They take this whole event very seriously. We will not be in traditional tuxedos, but in outfits that match the theme. We’re in an amazing setting; all the key players, the decorators, the sound, the lighting, the set designers are all the best professionals in the world,” said Sapszon.

The band has been involved in several Oscar-winning productions, including the four-time Oscar-winning “Parasite” and the film “Get Out”. Among the series, the band contributed to the animated Star Wars series “Rebels” and “Bad Batch”, as well as Netflix’s “Squid Game” and “Outlander”. Their music is also featured in “Foundation”, “Cobra Kai”, and “Wednesday”, Kultúra wrote about the orchestra.

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