She is the former Miss World and one of the most gorgeous women on the planet. He is the son of Big B — Amitabh Bachchan — Bollywood’s very own mogul. Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai, also known as Abhi-Ash affectionately are tinsel town’s highly adored couple. However, like every couple in this world, Abhishek and Aishwarya have a very interesting love story — complete with all the spices. Read on to know how the love line of Abhishek and Aishwarya connected.
By Shahida Khan
While Hollywood has its Brad and Angelina, better known as Brangelina., Bollywood has its very own Super Celebrity Couple non-other than former Miss World and actress Aishwarya Rai and son of the Big B (king of Bollywood) and actor Abhishek Bachchan. Abhi-Ash’s Bollywood romance seems right out of a Bollywood movies with some suspense, romance, drama and a bit of humor in their love story.
Both are successful individuals with superstar status; it’s no wonder that when they became a couple their fame just shot high through the roof. They are stalked and hounded by the press and media, watched every minute of every day waiting for something exciting to talk about. And they never disappoint. Right from the Day 1 when the couple was speculated to being together — to their secret wedding going public — to even tiny tiffs and so-called fights causing cracks in their marriage, the couple has made headlines and continue to do so.
Model and winner of Miss World-turned-actress, Aishwarya Rai has been “the” face of Bollywood all across the globe. She has represented India on numerous occasions and has lit the screen on fire with her outstanding performances. She has acted in over 40 movies in various languages, including international productions Bride & Prejudice, The Mistress of Spices, The Last Legion and The Pink Panther 2.
Even though she tries her best, her private life has never managed to be very private, with her relationships being splashed across every newspaper and magazine in the country. The most noticeable being her relationship with Bollywood Bad Boy Salmaan Khan and then newcomer chocolate boy Vivek Oberoi. The first ended on a bad note with Salmaan’s possessiveness and crude attitude causing disruptions on sets and affecting other cast and crew members. On the other hand no one really knew the reason behind the Vivek-Aishwarya split except that she was unhappy with Vivek acknowledging their relationship in a public TV interview and also admitting that marriage was a possibility between them. Vivek and Ash split in 2005.
Abhishek was from the film dynasty — the Bachchan family, and was no stranger to the film industry when he began his acting career. It was no big surprise when Abhishek was engaged to Karisma Kapoor, daughter of actress from one of the most well known film families in India — the Kapoors. But a clash between the two families caused distress in the relationship and Abhishek’s engagement to Karisma Kapoor was broken off and she married a Delhi-based businessman in 2003. Abhi accepted the break-up and sank himself into work.
Abhishek and Aishwarya had worked together in two films — Dhai Akshar Prem Ke and Kuch Naa Kaho. They were friends but there was nothing more to their relationship.
It is hard to tell when exactly the first sparks of romance began between Ash and Abhishek. Some people say it was during the shooting of the song Kajra Re for the movie Bunty Aur Babli. Anyway, seeds of love were sown between them, and Abhi fondly began calling Ash “Number Nine” because she was named the ninth most beautiful woman in the world by a magazine.
By the beginning of 2006, Ash and Abhi romance was already fodder for gossip mills. However, the two never acknowledged their relationship in public.
In 2006 Amitabh’s brother Ajitabh started speculation that marriage was on the cards for the couple when he made a visit to the Bangalore-based astrologer Chandrashekhar Swamy with the horoscopes of Ash and Abhi.
In the meantime, Aishwarya and Abhishek signed and starred in a string of movies together. They signed Umrao Jaan, Dhoom 2 and Mani Ratnam’s Guru. So while these two weren’t shy on sharing the screen it was during the making of Guru in June 2006 that Ash and Abhi became less cautious about being seen together at public places.
Ash fit into the Bachchan family quite seamlessly attending dinners and visiting temples with them. That same year Abhishek proposed to Aishwarya after the premiere of Guru in Toronto and the actress accepted his proposal without a second thought. After flying back to Mumbai, the couple got engaged on Sunday, January 14, at the Bachchans’ residence. Only close friends and relatives from both the families were present at the engagement ceremony.
From then, the guessing game began with everyone waiting for the Big Day and speculation of when and where the impending wedding would take place.
After much speculation the wedding took place on April 20, 2007. The Baarat left from the Bachchan residence “Jalsa” in Mumbai to another residence of the family “Prateeksha.” It was a traditional Hindu wedding in which the groom rode a white horse before the pair took their vows around a sacred fire.
The ceremonies concluded three days of celebrations at the actors’ homes in India’s entertainment capital of Mumbai, creating, what industry pundits said is, Bollywood’s ultimate power couple. The wedding was preceded by a traditional Sangeet (music) celebration and a Mehendi (henna) ceremony.
While there have been rumors about a few tiffs and alleged cracks in their marriage, Abhishek and Aishwarya have been going strong. Their most recent venture is The Unforgettable Tour of the Bachchans.
The only thing that could make this couple most exciting than they already is the pitter patter of tiny baby Bachchan feet of which there are no signs as yet. But, who knows with the baby boom in Hollywood, maybe Abhi-Ash will kick off a celebrity baby watch in Bollywood as well!
