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Wealthy Indians hire actors to masquerade as family wedding guests




Shahrukh Khan

Shahrukh Khan Shahrukh Khan is one of Bollywood's hottest stars, though he isn't one of those who has been paid to be a guest. Photograph: Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images

It is hard to imagine a more celebrity-obsessed nation than Britain. Yet in Mumbai – home of Bollywood, where society weddings can cost more than £500,000 – there is a new must-have accessory: the celebrity wedding guest.

Couples can no longer expect their nuptials to grace the pages of celebrity magazines such as Stardust unless a household name is in their wedding party. And as not everyone can be best mates with Shahrukh Khan, pictured (India's answer to Tom Cruise), celebs are now charging to pretend to be genuine guests. With sprawling family groups the norm, it is easy to pass off the star as a distant cousin.

"People pay celebrities to mingle and shake hands with the bride and groom," confirms society wedding planner Gurleen Puri. And they pay well. An event organiser told the Hindustan Times, "The ordinary package, which costs around £7,000 for actresses like Minissha Lamba [think Nicole Ritchie], is inclusive of getting pictures with the bride and groom. In the case of high-profile actresses, it goes up to £70,000."

For those who go further, it costs even more, with male actors charging top whack to don the "pagdi" turban – traditionally worn only by immediate relatives.

But the trend is not without problems. Innayat Khubchandani, who organises weddings for well-to-do Indians in Bali, warns: "If you have these stars around, you're too busy looking after them and their security, and not looking after your guests."

And what self-respecting bride wants another diva present on her wedding day?

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/nov/14/bollywood-stars-hired-as-wedding-guests

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