Image for Mehr for Sania Rs 61

Hyderabad, April 12: In a dramatic turn of events, Indian tennis star Sania Mirza and Pakistan cricketer Shoaib Malik got married at Hotel Taj Krishna at around 1.15 pm on Monday.

The marriage was initially scheduled for April 15, but the two families decided to advance the marriage by three days, reportedly to put an end to the controversies surrounding the wedding.
Earlier on Monday, Sania’s spokesperson, Rucha Nayak, had said the nikah would be performed soon but did not divulge the venue details.
The urgency in conducting the marriage can be gauged from the fact that the mehendi and sangeet that normally take place before the marriage ceremony will now be held later.
The nikah was an extremely private affair performed in the presence of a select gathering of around 70 people comprising only close relatives and friends of the groom and the bride.
The mehr for Sania was fixed at Rs 61 lakhs. Shoaib did not pay the meher at the ceremony. Sania’s father, Imran Mirza, and two of her uncles signed the nikahnama as witnesses.
About 15 people from Pakistan attended the wedding. Sahara Group chairman Subrata Roy Sahara and the sons of actor Mohan Babu and Secunderabad MP Anjan Kumar Yadav were also spotted at the wedding.
Sania decided to go traditional in a red saree that her mother had worn 25 years ago for her own nikah. Shoaib sported a black sherwani designed by Shantanu and Nikhil. A lunch was hosted for the guests at the same venue, where the cuisine was Hyderabadi.
A grand reception has been planned at the same hotel for April 15 for nearly 1,000 guests. The mehendi and sangeet will be held on April 13 and 14 respectively.
Sania’s parents left the hotel in the evening, but the newly-weds were to stay on in the hotel. Local Muslim tradition requires the bride to stay with the groom at his parents’ house but since Shoaib has no house here, they stayed at the hotel.
The marriage was kept under wraps till Monday morning and not even the qazi who performed the nikah knew about it till the last moment.
“I was also under the impression that the marriage will be performed on April 15, but I received a call at 9 am that the nikah is fixed for today,” said deputy qazi Yusufuddin Hussain. He said Sania’s family had produced a no-objection certificate from the city police and a copy of Shoaib Malik’s passport.

Age Correspondent