In a city that celebrates both cinema and grand weddings with equal fervor, the marriage of Ira Khan, daughter of Bollywood megastar Aamir Khan, to Nupur Shikhare, is garnering euphoric attention. With the wedding day quickly approaching, preparations are reaching a crescendo within the Khan and Shikhare families’ homes.
The lead-up to this anticipated event was marked by spirited festivities, beginning on January 2 with a haldi ceremony—the traditional pre-wedding ritual where a paste made from turmeric is applied to the bride and groom in their respective homes. This was followed by a mehendi function, a more intimate affair, where the bride’s hands and feet are adorned with intricate henna designs, signaling the soon-to-be-wed status.
What caught the public eye were the scenes captured outside the venue by eager paparazzi where members of both families flitted in and out. The spotlight was on the stunning Reena Dutta and Kiran Rao, Aamir Khan’s former wives, who were impeccably dressed in traditional Navvari sarees—a testament to Maharashtra’s rich sartorial heritage. These elegant sarees served as a vibrant primer for the cultural celebration to come.
As the matriarchs of their clan, Dutta, the mother of the bride, offered warm smiles to the photographers, and Rao added a splash of joy to the haldi ceremony, coloring the event with genuine familial joy.
The grand wedding is slated to take place at the luxurious Taj Lands End in Bandra. It will commence with the ‘Antarpat’ ceremony, a Maharashtrian tradition where a silk cloth separates bride and groom preventing them from seeing each other until the designated moment. Further imbuing the nuptials with cultural significance, a Ganpati Puja, a worship ritual for the Hindu deity Ganesha, will preface the main event.
Another unique tradition, the sankalp ceremony, will be a poignant moment where Ira Khan and Nupur Shikhare read personal vows, making a solemn commitment to each other before the eyes of their friends and family.
The celebrations aren’t slated to end with the wedding. The newlyweds have arranged several personal parties before departing for a brief honeymoon. Their return will be just in time to invite friends, family, and a bevy of Bollywood stars to a reception soiree expected to take place on January 11 in Mumbai. Initially planned for Jaipur or Delhi, the family has now chosen Mumbai as the reception’s home ground. With over a thousand guests anticipated to attend, the evening is poised to mirror the glitz and glamour of a blockbuster premiere.
Ira Khan’s journey to this day is enriched with love and strong family bonds. She got engaged to her longtime beau Shikhare on November 18, flanked by well-wishers including her cousin Imran Khan, her father’s ex-wives—Dutta and Rao—and actor Fatima Sana Shaikh. Aamir Khan, who shares daughter Ira with Dutta and son Azad with Rao through surrogacy, has shown the world that modern families, despite their complex histories, can exude harmony and unity, especially in the celebration of their children’s happiness.
As the families make final preparations for the wedding that will fuse traditional Maharashtrian customs with the personal touches of the couple, Mumbai waits with bated breath for this blending of Bollywood legacy and cultural opulence—an event that promises to become the stuff of legend.
