A Star-studded Walima

From Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s wife Gursharan Kaur to Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi to celebrities like Nandita Das and Imtiaz Ali, the Dawat-e-Walima [wedding reception] of star couple Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor here Thursday saw the who’s who from politics and Bollywood in their finery.

Dressed in elegant sherwanis and colourful ghararas, lehengas and saris, some of the country’s noted personalities attended the grand event, hosted by Saif’s mother, and Begum of Pataudi, Sharmila Tagore. The celebrations marked the five-day wedding gala for the couple.

‘Bless the couple and join in our happiness,’ said Sharmila, looking regal and resplendent in a gold sari.

Farooq Abdullah, Rajiv Shukla, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Kamal Nath, Congress’ Renuka Chowdhary and Marxist leader Sitaram Yechury, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Arun Jaitley, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, former Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh, and politician-writer Shashi Tharoor with his wife Sunanda also attended the event.

Celebrities from the world of cricket included Bishen Singh Bedi, Kapil Dev and Ajay Jadeja, while Ritu Kumar, Meera and Muzaffar Ali and Manish Malhotra represented the fashion fraternity.

Malhotra, who took care of Kareena’s entire trousseau, only hinted that the new bride, wore a gold

gharara with shades of pink for the event. Saif is said to have worn a black sherwani by designer Raghavendra Rathore.

Lyricist Prasoon Joshi and sarod player Amjad Ali Khan also came for the extravaganza and wished the couple all the best.

The bungalow was decorated in cream and gold with the intricately embroidered carpet, an old possession of the Pataudi family.

The celebrations began with a pre-wedding bash followed by a registered wedding at Saif’s Bandra residence.The couple exchanged vows at a Mumbai hotel in the presence of Bollywood’s glitterati.


SAIFEENA AT AWARD FUNCTION

Newly-wed couple Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor will team up for a live performance, their first after their marriage, at the People’s Choice Awards, to be held here 27 October. ‘The newly-wed couple Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor will be performing for the People’s Choice Awards,’ confirmed Raj Nayak, CEO, Colors, which will telecast the function. Saif and Kareena have starred together in films like Tashan, Kurbaan and Agent Vinod. They registered their marriage on 16 October, followed by a grand reception. Their performance will be an attraction at the event which will also witness dance sequences by Madhuri Dixit, Parineeti Chopra and Priyanka Chopra.
Priyanka was here to unveil the People’s Choice Awards trophy, said: ‘I will be doing a stage performance a different kind of act.’ The awards will not be decided by any jury but will be based on the votes of people.