A sister’s wedding

sister's-weddingHYDERABAD: Bollywood superstar Salman Khan’s sister Arpita Khan tied the knot with businessman Aayush Sharma on a star-studded evening at the Taj Falaknuma hotel here on Nov 18.

The celebrations, which kicked off with the ‘baraat’ at 4.30 p.m., continued till late in the night at the heritage hotel located in the old city area.

The ‘baraat’ included horses and two bands, one from Delhi and one from Hyderabad.

It was followed by the ‘jaimala’ and ‘phere’. The wedding rituals were performed as per Punjabi Hindu traditions.

Salman’s father Salim Khan, mother Salma, brothers Arbaaz, Sohail and other family members received the baraat and blessed the couple, who exchanged garlands.

The entire Bollywood gathered to wish the couple a happy married life. According to a report in Mumbai Mirror, Arpita was dressed in a lehenga by Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla and entered the Durbar Hall, which once hosted the likes of King George V and Czar Nicholas II, around 5 pm. The couple was wed as per Hindu traditions with the rituals of a Punjabi wedding.

The rituals were followed by a party, where Salman, his step-mother Helen, sister-in-law Malaika Arora Khan performed to some popular numbers. Punjabi singers Mika and Yo Yo Honey Singh livened up the party.

Aamir Khan, Katrina Kaif and Karan Johar were among top stars from Bollywood who attended the marriage. Stars from Tollywood and businessmen were among the 250 guests invited for the wedding.

Seven folk artists from Rajasthan and many more from Mumbai were specially flown in for the party.

Hundreds of Salman fans, including young girls, gathered outside the hotel to catch a glimpse of the stars.

The fans, including some from Mumbai, mobbed the vehicles entering the hotel.
The menu for the party included Deccani cuisine, especially Biryani and Haleem and double ka meetha.

Falaknuma is one of the most beautiful palaces of the Nizam, the ruler of erstwhile Hyderabad State.

The palace, which the Taj Group converted into a luxury hotel and opened four years ago, has 60 lavish rooms, decorated halls and a 101-seat dining hall, said to be the biggest in the world.

New girlfriend

After Sangeeta Bijlani, Somy Ali, Aishwarya Rai and Katrina Kaif, Salman Khan once again introduced a lady as his “girlfriend” at his sister Arpita Khan’s wedding, reports Mumbai Mirror. No one was left in doubt about the fact that Salman Khan and Lulia Vantur are a couple. The tabloid quoted a source present at the wedding, “Salman and Lulia were always together. There have been rumors linking him to Jacqueline Fernandez and Daisy Shah, but the fact is that Salman is in love with Lulia. She is very comfortable with his family too.” Back in Mumbai, Lulia is staying in a 5-star hotel in Bandra, which is at a distance of a stone’s throw from Salman’s apartment. “And Salman is paying the bills,” added the source, says Mirror. He met Lulia in 2011 when he was shooting for Ek Tha Tiger in Dublin.

Blessing Arpita

According to a report in Mumbai Mirror, the bride-to-be had arrived on Monday with her famous family and checked into Falaknuma, which has reportedly been booked at the cost of Rs 1 crore per day. After dropping his sister and mother, Salman made another trip to the airport to pick up his soon-to-be brother-in-law. The groom, who had arrived in a horse-drawn carriage flanked by musicians and relatives, was waiting for her. And so, with the saat pheras and sindoor, Arpita wed Aayush in what has become the most talked-about wedding this year.

‘Kalira’ ceremony

Among all the glitz and glamour, the biggest highlight of the wedding rituals was Arpita’s ‘Kalira’ ceremony. The ‘Kalira’ ceremony is one of the rituals of a Punjabi wedding during which the would-be bride shakes her hands (which has ‘Kalira’ tied to the bangles) over the heads of unmarried girls. If a leaf or a part of the ‘Kalira’ falls on the head of any girl, it is believed she will be the next to get married. According to a report on pinkvilla.com, during Arpita’s wedding, the leaf from the ‘Kalira’ fell on Katrina Kaif’s head! With the news about Kat-Ranbir’s housewarming parties floating in the media, Katrina’s marriage certainly looks next on the cards.

Pagdi friends

Salman and Aamir Khan are known for their friendship in Bollywood. Both the actors have won many hearts with their camaraderie. Even though Aamir missed the lavish sangeet and haldi ceremony, he made sure to be a part of the grand wedding. Aamir like a perfect ladki waala was seen tying a pagdi on his head. Not only Aamir, Salman was also seen patiently getting his pagdi done. Both the actors looked dashing in an off white pagdi.

Emotional speech

The most touching moment of the wedding was Arpita’s letter for her family. Salman’s little sister got so emotional and choked with emotions that she requested Priyanka Chopra to read the letter. As per a report in Bombay Times the letter read, “I am the luckiest girl to be brought up in a family like mine,” Arpita wrote in her speech, adding that her brothers are her pillars of strength. “Sohail bhai and I shared the same room until he got married — he’s like a friend to me. Arbaaz bhai is like my guide, he always told me what’s good and what’s bad. Salman bhai, though, has the biggest heart. For him, I can do no wrong. Everything I did, he was there to support me.”

Son’s performance

Before Arpita and Aayush Sharma’s wedding took place, there were reports in the media that Arpita’s brothers will be giving a special performance for the sister. All the three brothers along with Sajid Nadiadwala performed a special towel dance on Salman’s famous song ‘Jawani phir na aaye.’
However, according a report in Bombay Times, the main attraction of the wedding night was the performance of Arbaaz Khan and his son Arhaan. Arbaaz, who is a good singer in real-life gave company to Mika Singh on stage. Further to the Bombay Times report, Arbaaz’s son Arhaan made a smashing entry on the stage stripping off his jacket and hurling on the ladies sitting beside the stage. The crowd cheered for the junior Khan as he performed some fantastic moves. A guest was heard saying, “He will soon give Shahid and Hrithik a run for their money.”