Aishwarya Rai

Bollywood’s hottest and most talked about pair Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan are now officially engaged.

Confirmation of this came from none other than Abhishek’s father, film icon Amitabh Bachchan, at whose residence here the engagement took place.

There was no immediate word on the wedding date but it was reported that Abhishek popped the question to Ash after the international premiere in Toronto Friday of Bollywood film “Guru” featuring the duo in the lead roles.

Aishwarya Rai had in the past been romantically linked to actors Salman Khan and Vivek Oberoi but the recent buzz claimed that she and Abhishek were an item and were about to tie the knot.

These reports gained added more credibility after Aishwarya accompanied Abhishek and his parents to perform rituals at a Varanasi temple in November last year.

Bollywood’s hottest pair Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai, are to visit Kerala’s well-known Sree Krishna Temple in Guruvayoor in early February and they will be accompanied by Abhishek’s parents - Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan.

Dad Amitabh Bachchan is on cloud nine after son Abhishek announced that he was marrying Aishwarya Rai, a decision that was hanging for more than a year.

When dad Amitabh was asked as to when the wedding would take place he said, “Not right way. But yes, very shortly. Like every father i’m over the moon, specially at this juncture when Abhishek has delivered such a sledgehammer performance in Guru. ”

The wedding is expected to take place in February this year.

Apparently, some family members were initially against the match but finally they also came around.

“Everybody - be it fans, media or family members - were against their marriage because of Aishwarya’s flings in the past and the myth that she brings bad omen for her boyfriends. They warned Abhishek ‘if you marry her your career will be ruined’ and insisted that she is very unlucky.”

“They tried to dissuade him by talking about their age difference (Abhishek is about to turn 31 and Aishwarya is 33) and that she is a manglik (born under a particular astrological configuration that the superstitious believe is not auspicious for the husband). But Abhishek didn’t listen to anybody and withstood all the opposition,” added the source.

Abhishek’s first love story with Karisma Kapoor didn’t have a happy ending. Before joining films he was dating the actress and they had got engaged too, but they later broke off over reported interference by Karisma’s mother, former actress Babita, who didn’t want her daughter to marry the then flop actor.

in 2005, Aishwarya came into his life after her break up with co-star Viveik Oberoi. Before that she had an affair with Salman Khan. Abhishek and Aishwarya appeared as lead couple in Kuch Naa Kaho, Dhaai Akshar Prem Ke, Umrao Jaan and the just-released Guru.

in the first three films, their on-screen chemistry failed to impress and the movies sank without a trace. Thankfully, Guru, released on Friday, is making waves at the box-office.

“They said that Abhishek should go with Rani Mukherji because they make a good couple. Some said that their romance is a mere publicity stunt but the fact of the matter is that they were waiting for a hit. Their marriage talk was going on for quite sometime; it didn’t happen in the last few days,” said the source.

The engagement ceremony took place at Amitabh Bachchan’s residence and among those present were Aishwarya’s family and industrialist Anil Ambani and his wife, Tina. Close friend Karan Johar was also there. Earlier, the roka ceremony was performed at Aishwarya’s house.

Abhishek flew the next morning after the engagement with his mother Jaya to Rajasthan for the shooting of Goldie Behl’s Drona and Aishwarya chose to be with her family on Monday before heading for Karjat to shoot for Ashutosh Gowariker’s Jodha-Akbar, thereby leaving all the subsequent details including the wedding date to the parents.

Ash has made it very clear to her parents that all marriage details will be decided by them. The same goes for the Bachchans.

For a while now, Ash has been a dutiful bahu at their residence, so much so that Jayaji has completely warmed up to her and has been telling friends for a while that Ash will fit wonderfully into their household.”

Now both the parties are waiting for their parents to get together and select a date for what is going to be the biggest occassion in Bollywood for now.