Kiran Rao and Aamir Khan: Wedding bells

Mumbai, Dec. 28: Actor Aamir Khan married girlfriend Kiran Rao at his Pali Hill residence in Bandra today.

The wedding was wrapped in as much secrecy as there was openness on Aamir’s part to come out with his relationship with Kiran, once a student of Loreto House in Calcutta. It is still a practice in Bollywood to deny live-in relationships ? and the two were a welcome exception.

The wedding was attended only by close relatives, including Aamir’s children from his first marriage, Junaid and Aira. They have reportedly been very supportive, as his first wife Reena Dutta, whom he divorced in 2002, is also said to be.

The only known face from Bollywood was actor Rani Mukherjee’s, who featured in the latest Aamir-starrer, The Rising.

Aamir and Kiran were married in a civil ceremony, in the presence of an official from Bandra court. Aamir’s flat was decorated brightly with marigolds.

The partying is set to kick off tomorrow and continue into the new year, with the couple and their families due to leave in six limousines for Panchgani, near Mahabaleshwar, about 250 km from Mumbai. The couple will host a reception on Saturday.

The reception will be held at Meherbai House in Panchgani, one of Aamir’s favourite locations. The couple will stay at Hotel Il Palazzo.

There is as much secrecy over the guest list and the proceedings as there was over the wedding. Il Palazzo is hidden ? there are 15-ft-high tarpaulin sheets around it, making the task very challenging for the paparazzi.

No one will “admit” to being invited to the reception either, except Kunal Kapoor, Aamir’s co-actor in his forthcoming film Rang De Basanti.

Even workers setting up the reception venue have reportedly been provided ID cards.

Rani Mukherjee and the director of Lagaan, Ashutosh Gowarikar, are expected to be present at the reception. From Panchgani, the couple will go to Bangalore where Kiran’s parents will host a reception.

This is Aamir’s second marriage. The 41-year-old actor met Kiran, who is in her early thirties, during the making of Lagaan. She was an assistant director on the project.