New Delhi- Leading Bollywood actors Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai began a three-day long marriage ceremony Wednesday as India's film fraternity gave their union a thumbs up. "It's wonderful that Abhishek and Aishwarya are finally getting married. They look glamourous together. Aishwarya will be marrying into a powerful acting family.
I think it's as perfect a casting it can get," Pooja Bedi, Bollywood actress and television host, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.
"I wish the couple all the happiness and a beautiful life. I think Abhishek and Aishwarya have great chemistry and look great together," said Priya Sachdev, model and Bollywood actress.
Bachchan, who was named the sexiest man in Asia in a survey by a British newspaper last year, is the son of Indian film industry's biggest celebrity Amitabh Bachchan and popular 1970s actress Jaya Bachchan.
His bride is a former Miss World and supermodel. The couple endorse several top-notch national and international brands.
Wednesday's "Sangeet" or lady's music ceremony would involve female relatives and friends, singing and dancing to celebrate the romance of the bride and groom.
This was to be followed a day later by "Mehndi" - the application of henna, especially flown in from western state Rajasthan, by the couple. The ceremony signifies their mutual love.
The marriage ceremonies were being held in bungalows in Mumbai, owned by the father-of-the-groom and were to culminate in a relatively low-key crescendo on Friday when the couple will become man and wife amid tight security.
Invited guests, among them Bollywood industry friends, politicians and business tycoons, have been sworn to secrecy. They have been asked to bring with them 16-page gold-embossed wedding cards and swipe cards for entry.
While about 300 guards, and wooden fencing, and a request to neighbours to refrain from having "visitors", are expected keep out prying press and "security threats".
The run up to the wedding has been a saga within a saga - with media brinkmanship, polls by talkshows and the media dissecting, predicting and discussing the couple's compatibility.
The Bachchan family's monetary worth, the wedding venue, date, guest list and trousseau have also been scrutinized intensely.
It all started when the couple went public with their relationship last November. The Bachchans, along with prospective bride, consulted astrologers, soothsayers and temples to match horoscopes and diffuse bad influence of stars, in accordance with Hindu marriage customs.
The wedding date was chosen because it was free of "doshas" or bad star combinations.
With every move by the Bachchans being followed religiously, a few naysayers have emerged in what is largely regarded as a happy occasion.
Bihar-based feminist lawyer, Shruti Singh, filed a lawsuit in the Patna High Court, maintaining: "The rituals performed by Aishwarya, Amitabh and Abhishek would only promote superstitions and blind faith among common people."
Some Bollywood aficionados and industry analysts feel that Abhishek is "too nice and warm" for Aishwarya who is sometimes perceived as "a bit cold and lacking humour", and "does not have the best on-screen chemistry as with other actresses," the NDTV station reported.
Before their engagement in January, the couple were individually linked to other Bollywood stars in the past and had acted together in two films.
A well-known filmmaker, who did not want to be named said: "Both of them are ambitious. I hope they survive the pressures of marriage." Many other guests approached for comment, adhered to the Bachchans' demand for secrecy.
Ritual or no ritual, the couple will go all out with their attire for the big day. Aishwarya is likely to wear a made-to-order designer dress while Abhishek may wear an outfit by India's only woman designer who caters for men only when the couple exchange wedding vows.
Equally intriguing has been the speculation about the net worth of Bachchans once Aishwarya joins the family. Apart from being a a "casting coup", the marriage is also being seen as a "brand merger" of high equity.
It is estimated that one the marriage is finalised, the family's combined wealth, taking into account property, past income, income from films, brand endorsements and other commercial contracts, will be between 250 and 300 million dollars.
The bride and groom are said to contribute a combined worth of 150 million dollars to the family fortune.
Their future career prospects have also come into the limelight, with Abhishek's famous father appearing to have the final say. "They will marry. But afterwards, if Aishwarya does better or signs more films than Abhishek, that's their problem, not mine," Amitabh Bachchan told a news channel.
Or perhaps Pooja, who said, "This is their toughest role, ever. It's sound, camera, and action!"
