Indian weddings are often reduced to ostentatious displays of wealth. So, perhaps, there is nothing very unusual about Karnataka politician and iron-ore mining magnate Gali Janardhan Reddy's invitation for his daughter's wedding. According to a report in The News Minute, the BSR Congress leader has sent out boxes as wedding invites with an LCD screen on the inside of the lid which begins auto-playing a music video about his daughter's upcoming wedding once the box is opened.
The music video comprises a Kannada song composed and picturised exclusively for the purpose, featuring Janardhan; his wife; his daughter, the bride, Brahmani; and the groom, Rajeev Reddy.
The video introduces the bride and the groom in a cinematic manner, with Brahmani walking shyly amidst gardens, waterfalls and cascading flowers, while Rajeev, sporting sunglasses, saunters among white stallions.
One of the richest men in India, Janardhan Reddy was implicated in large-scale illegal mining and irregularities in allotment of mining leases in the Bellary Reserve Forest area in Andhra Pradesh.
He was released on conditional bail in January 2015 by the Supreme Court.
Here is an excerpt from a 2010 New York Times story by Jim Yardley on the former Karnataka minister:
Janardhana Reddy insists he is not a king. No, no, no, he protested, as a servant trotted across the courtyard to deliver a cup of cooled water. Men with machine guns stood outside. An architect waited to discuss the new mansion, while another man hovered nearby, sitting in the grass.
"He's the state minister of health," Mr. Reddy said of the man in the grass, who stood up, made a little bow and hurried away.
Reportedly, a slew of Bollywood stars, including Shah Rukh Khan and Katrina Kaif, are going to perform at the wedding.
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