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Salman Khan, Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor at Anant-Radhika's pre-wedding festivities.
Credit: PTI, Reuters Photos
Mumbai: Pop star Justin Bieber brought the house down at Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant's pre-wedding festivities, which also saw film stars Salman Khan, Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor light up the stage with back-to-back memorable performances.
Bieber arrived in Mumbai on Friday morning before setting the stage at the Jio Convention Centre on fire at night with his chartbusters such as "Baby", "Peaches", "Love Yourself", and "Sorry".
The crowd sang and grooved along with the Canadian singer, who attained the status of a teen idol following the success of his debut extended play album "My World" in 2009.
In attendance were the who's who of the entertainment industry and sports arena, including Deepika Padukone, Arjun Kapoor, and Janhvi Kapoor as well as cricket stars MS Dhoni and members of the T20 Cricket World Cup winning team Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya and Surya Kumar Yadav.
The vibe was easy and the mood was light, according to several videos from the much-talked about event trending on social media.
In one of the clips, Bieber, 30, can be seen dancing with internet sensation Orry. In another, Alaviaa Jaffrey, daughter of Jaaved Jaaferi, is spotted hugging the two-time Grammy winner who continues with his performance with his admirer in embrace.
Bieber, who flew out to Miami after his special performance at the sangeet, was paid USD 10 million to perform at the event.
This wasn't his first time performing in India. The singer last came to the country in 2017 for his maiden concert. Bieber was supposed to return in 2022 for the India show of his 'Justice World Tour' but cancelled due to health reasons.
Another highlight of the star-studded gala was Salman and Anant's performance on the superstar's hit song "Aisa Pehli Baar Hua Hai" from "Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega.." (2000)
The duo entered the stage on a ATV bike and what followed was an entertaining act by Salman on the track with the to-be-groom trying to match the star's steps.
Ranveer gave an energising performance on the foot-tapping number "Ishq Di Gali Vich No Entry" from the 2005 multi-starrer "No Entry".
Real-life couple and "Brahmastra" co-stars Alia and Ranbir shook a leg with Akash Ambani on the latter's song "Show Me The Thumka" from the 2023 movie "Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar".
Arjun Kapoor, Janhvi Kapoor, Shanaya Kapoor, and Shikhar Pahariya and Veer Pahariya can be seen dancing to the song "Maria Maria" from "Partner" (2007), starring Salman and Govinda in the lead.
In another video from the event, celebrity couples Madhuri Dixit Nene-Sriram Nene and Vidya Balan-Siddharth Roy Kapur were seen chatting away animatedly with Mukesh Ambani, father of the groom.
Dressed in traditional finery, the entire Ambani family danced to "Deewangi Deewangi", the party anthem from 2007's "Om Shanti Om", starring Shah Rukh Khan.
The performance opened with Akash and entrepreneur Anand Piramal, Isha Ambani's husband, on the stage. They were soon joined by their wives Shloka Mehta and Isha.
Matriarch Nita Ambani enters next, followed by Mukesh Ambani who waves to the audience. Anant and Radhika then stepped on to the stage to dance along with the clan.
Sidharth Malhotra, Kiara Advani, Atlee, Priya Atlee, Varun Dhawan, Natasha Dalal, Aryan Khan, Ananya Panday, Navya Nanda, Sara Ali Khan, and Ibrahim Ali Khan were also present at the sangeet.
After months-long pre-wedding festivities, Anant and Radhika, daughter of industrialist Viren Merchant, will finally tie the knot on July 12 here.
The celebrations kickstarted on March 1 in Gujarat's Jamnagar, known for the world's largest refinery, which is owned by Reliance Industries.
Previously, pop diva Rihanna performed at Anant and Radhika's pre-wedding festivities in Jamnagar.
Last month, singer Katy Perry, pop group Backstreet Boys and Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli performed at the couple's cruise tour party in Italy and the South of France.