Aishwarya (second from left) and Abhishek Bachchan (second from right) at the engagement ceremony of Rajnikanth’s daughter Soundarya on Thursday evening

Chennai, Sept. 3: The who’s who of filmdom and some VIP politicians gathered in central Chennai as Tamil film superstar Rajnikanth’s second daughter Soundarya got married today.

Stars from Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada cinema watched Soundarya tie the knot with businessman and family friend Ashwin Ramkumar, a Stanford graduate, in traditional Tamil Brahmin style in what was clearly the big-ticket event of Chennai’s social calendar this year.

At the auspicious hour, Soundarya sat on her father’s lap as Ashwin tied the mangalsutra around her neck. Then the couple went through the rest of the rituals like saptapathi and the groom put the toe-ring on the bride’s feet.

Rajnikanth and his elder brother Satynarayana wore the traditional Maharashtrian turban during the muhurtham.

Rajnikanth’s close friend Kamal Haasan, Telugu stars Chiranjeevi and Venkatesh, Rajnikanth’s past heroines Sridevi, Radhika and Meena, his mentor and director K. Balachander, and director Mani Ratnam were present to bless the couple in the morning. Kannada actor turned politician Ambarish and Malayalam director Priyadarshan were among the guests.

Bollywood couple Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan attended the engagement on Thursday evening. Aishwarya, who pairs with Rajnikanth in the much-awaited Endhiran (Robot) — said to be the most expensive Indian film ever made (Rs 150 crore) — had begun her career in Tamil cinema, starring in Mani Ratnam’s Iruvar.

Iruvar was loosely based on the once famed friendship of MGR and Karunanidhi and their eventual falling out. Ash played a character with parallels to Jayalalithaa, now Karunanidhi’s arch-rival.

Union home minister P. Chidambaram led the phalanx of politicians, which included most local political leaders. Chief minister M. Karunanidhi, who was to attend the muhurtham in the morning, showed up at the evening reception.

Rajnikanth’s neighbour Jayalalithaa was a notable absentee. She was at her home in Kodanaadu estate in the hills.

The marriage was held at a posh wedding hall, and the spread from Thursday evening to Friday night included more than 130 dishes.

Soundarya runs an animation studio and has produced one Tamil film. Her elder sister Aishwarya is married to Tamil film hero Dhanush.