One of South India’s most closely watched weddings is under way. Composer Anirudh Ravichander and Kavya Maran, chief executive of the Indian Premier League franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad, are reportedly marrying in Greece, with ceremonies said to run across 10 and 11 November. The guest list spans cinema, politics and business.
A destination wedding with a notable guest list
Actor Rajinikanth was photographed at Chennai airport with family members, including his daughter Aishwarya, before leaving for Greece. Former Tamil Nadu chief minister and DMK president M K Stalin and his son Udhayanidhi Stalin also left Chennai early on Monday, reportedly travelling via Dubai. A Malayalam news outlet reported that four private jets had been arranged for guests, though that detail has not been independently confirmed.
The wedding is described as a private, destination-style affair, with close relatives and a select circle of friends invited. A grander public celebration is planned later.
Two well-connected families
Kavya Maran is the daughter of Sun Group chairman Kalanithi Maran. Besides leading Sunrisers Hyderabad, she is an executive director of Sun TV Network. Kalanithi Maran is the son of the late Union minister Murasoli Maran, and he and M K Stalin are cousins, a family tie that explains the political presence among the travelling guests.
Anirudh’s link with Rajinikanth is just as close. The composer’s father, actor Ravi Raghavendra, is married to Lakshmi, the sister of Rajinikanth’s wife Latha. The actor is therefore Anirudh’s uncle by marriage, and the two have worked together repeatedly.
From speculation to public confirmation
For months the relationship was a matter of speculation. The first firm signals came in mid-October, when Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy shared photographs of Kalanithi Maran and his wife Kavery Maran visiting him to invite him to the couple’s reception. Reports at the time said Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Joseph Vijay and Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also been invited. Anirudh’s maternal uncle, actor Y Gee Mahendra, had earlier told interviewers that the couple were getting married.
The reception is scheduled for 21 November in Chennai. As of Wednesday morning, details of the Greece ceremonies had reached the public largely through guests’ movements, invitations and media reports. The couple had not published their own account of the celebrations, so the dates should be treated as reported rather than officially announced.
The music behind the Rajinikanth films
Anirudh’s professional bond with the superstar is hard to miss. He has scored Rajinikanth’s Petta, Darbar, Jailer, Vettaiyan and Jailer 2. The last of these, released on 15 October, has been reported to have crossed Rs 800 crore worldwide and become the highest-grossing Tamil film of all time. It begins streaming on Prime Video on 12 November, a day after the reported wedding date. Further collaborations with Rajinikanth, including projects known as Dharman and KHxRK, are also expected.
What happens next
The celebrations now move back home. The Chennai reception on 21 November is expected to draw a wider gathering from Tamil cinema, politics and the cricket world, and it will likely be the first occasion on which the couple appear together before a large public audience.
For Tamil cinema, the story is more than celebrity gossip. It joins two powerful families, one of the industry’s busiest composers and one of its most influential media houses, and it arrives in the week one of his biggest films reaches streaming. Cinezone will update this report as confirmed details emerge from Greece.
