Jayalalitha Jayaram (India), former Tamil Nadu chief minister and movie star, hosted a reception banquet for over 150,000 guests at her foster son's wedding in the 20 hectare (50 acre) grounds in Madras, India on 7 September 1995. The wedding is reported to have cost over 750 million rupees (US$23,299,162), with the dining area alone costing an estimated Rs 15 million (US$465,983) and the menu an estimated Rs 20 million (US$621,311). A fortress topped with cannons and winged mythological creatures was constructed from plywood at the entrance of the wedding grounds. The 5 km (3 mile) drive from the temple to the grounds was strewn with rose petals and lined with 600 Grecian columns strung with coloured lights along with giant papier mache models of ancient Indian princes in erotic poses.