After weeks of speculation, Bollywood heartthrobs Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai have taken the first step towards legalizing their romantic relationship. The 31-year-old actor and his 33-year-old muse were engaged in a quiet ceremony on Sunday evening. The engagement brings together two of the biggest stars of India's tinsel town.
Abhishek, who is the son of Indian cinema icon Amitabh Bachchan, popped the question to Aishwarya, the Miss World of 1994, in New York last week while the two were promoting
Guru, their new film together, 64-year-old Amitabh Bachchan confirmed to the media. “She said yes, and we are very happy for them,” he was quoted as saying.
Reportedly, the wedding has been scheduled for February 19 at the Hotel Hyatt in India's celluloid hub Mumbai, where the two are based. But the senior Bachchan asserted that the wedding date is yet to be decided upon.
The engagement ceremony took place at 8.30 pm at the Bachchans' plush bungalow in Juhu in Mumbai in the presence of the two families and their friends, politician Amar Singh, industrialist Anil Ambani and his wife Tina Ambani, among others. The two stars had returned from New York the same day.
Aishwarya and Abhishek first came together in 2000 for the film
Dhaai Akshar Prem Ke and since, have appeared in more than five films together. Earlier, the actress had been in a highly publicized relationship with actor Salman Khan, while Abhishek was engaged to actress Karisma Kapoor in 2002, an engagement that did not culminate into marriage. Kapoor later married an industrialist and is now the mother of a daughter. Aishwarya and Abhishek last co-starred in
Umrao Jaan and
Dhoom 2 and will now be seen in
Guru.
Though the two never confirmed or denied their romance, the former Miss World had hinted at the possibility of a wedding while promoting
Guru in Toronto in Canada. “I'm a normal girl. I do believe in the institution of marriage. It'll be a joyous occasion for me and one I'd like to share with everyone. But please wait for the announcement and do not make assumptions,” she said to fans at the world premiere of the film in Toronto.
Though speculations of a romantic liaison between the two stars had been swirling in the media for some time, rumors of an impending wedding went into overdrive recently when the Bachchan and Rai families were seen visiting temples together. The visits were meant to seek blessings for the couple, whose horoscopes were believed to have shown a mismatch, a development considered inauspicious in Hindus.
Meanwhile,
Guru's debut in the United States has been hailed as a 'cultural phenomenon' by a leading New York newspaper. The film, about a poor villager who makes it big in the polyester business, is believed to be based on noted Indian industrialist and founder of Reliance Industries Dhirubhai Ambani.
The New York debut of the film was on Friday night at the AMC Empire 25 theater on West 42nd Street. According to a
New York Times report,
Guru's high profile debut was 'unusual for a movie without the apparent crossover credentials of a Bollywood film' and indicated a change in the American attitude towards mainstream Indian cinema.
