Aishwarya Rai

Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan Get Betrothed

Mumbai, Jan 15: Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai and actor Abhishek Bachchan on Sunday night got engaged to each other at a quiet ceremony in Mumbai, setting the stage for the marriage of the film industry's most talked-about couple.

The engagement between Abhishek, who turns 31 on February 5 next, and 33-year-old Aishwarya, was held at the residence of the Bachchans in suburban Juhu, actress's Secretary Hari Singh said. The event, attended by family members and close friends of the Bachchan and Rai families, took place between 8.30 pm and 9 pm, hours after Aishwarya and Abhishek returned from New York from the promo of their just-released film Guru directed by Mani Ratnam. The engagement came nearly one and half months after Abhishek and Aishwarya Rai, accompanied by Amitabh and Jaya, offered prayers at the Kashi Vishwanath Temple and Sankatmochan Temple in Varanasi on November 26, heightening speculation about a marriage between the younger Bachchan and the actress. There had been considerable speculation in the media about marriage between Abhishek and Aishwarya but neither family had confirmed it before the engagement ceremony on Sunday evening. Amitabh said in London in November 9 last year that he wanted Abhishek to settle with a "good girl" of his choice. Abhishek and Aishwarya have starred together in Hindi films like Dhai Akshar Prem Ke, Kuch Na Kaho and Umrao Jaan. After the unimpressive viewers' response to Umrao Jaan, a remake of Muzaffar Ali's highly-acclaimed movie of the same name in early 1980s, the critical appreciation of Guru had boosted the careers of Abhishek and Aishwarya, Bollwyood analysts said.

Mangalore report Aishwarya, daughter of Kotetadiguttu Krishnaraj and Vrinda Rai who have their family roots in Konaje here, was born just over three decades ago in the Glen View Nursing Home (now defunct) near Jyoti cinema in Mangalore. A few months after winning the Miss World title a few years ago, she had been honoured by the Bunt community in Mangalore. On the occasion, she had promised that she would marry within the community. This was a matter of great disappointment, said a prominent Bunt community leader, speaking to Daijiworld on Sunday night.

'Most Beautiful Woman', Aishwarya Rai Engaged

MUMBAI, India (January 15, 2007) -- Bollywood movie stars Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai are engaged and will marry later this year, the former Miss World's manager confirmed Monday, ending months of speculation about their relationship. Rai and Bachchan exchanged engagement rings in a small ceremony before a small group of relatives and friends late Sunday, Hari Singh told The Associated Press. "Yes, it is true. Abhishek and Aishwarya are engaged," Singh said. "The wedding will definitely take place this year." There has been speculation for several months about the love lives of the two actors, and news of their engagement was the top story in several Indian newspapers. The Times of India newspaper reported the wedding would take place in February or March. "The children (Abhishek and Aishwarya) have decided (to marry)," Amitabh Bachchan, Bollywood legend and Abhishek's father, told The Times of India. "We are very happy." Abhishek Bachchan, 31, and Rai, 33, have worked together in several movies. In "Guru," Bachchan plays a man from a small Indian village who works his way to becoming a top industrialist and Rai plays his supportive wife. The two also starred in a period drama "Umrao Jaan," "Kuch Na Kaho" or "Say No More" and "Dhaai Akshar Prem Ke" or "Two and A Half Words of Love." Raihas acted in more than 30 movies and was dubbed by Julia Roberts "the world's most beautiful woman." Bachchan comes from a famous Bollywood movie family -- his father, Amitabh, and mother, Jaya, are among India's best known actors.

Guru's Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan Got Engaged

Miss World 1994 and Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai and actor Abhishek Bachchan were engaged Sunday, according to Abhishek's father, film icon Amitabh Bachchan, at whose residence here the engagement took place, according to India News.

Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai, finally did touch down in Times Square Friday night, as their Bollywood film called “Guru” opened around the world. The US premiere took place at the vast AMC Empire 25 theater on West 42nd Street.

"Guru" is the story of Gurukant Desai, a villager who becomes a polyester mogul. The character of Gurukant Desai (Bachchan) employs unethical methods to achieve his materialistic goals but does what he has to do to crack a market firmly controlled by the rich and privileged. "Guru" is actually based on Dhirubhai Ambani, who is India's best-known rags-to-riches billionaire and founder of the $9 billion-worth Reliance Group, though the filmmaker vehemently denies that it is a biopic.

Earlier, they were at the at Elgin & Winter Garden Theatre Thursday. There, Rai wore a white sari, and Bachchan donned a black suit and headband.

Aishwarya Rai has acted in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali and English films. She is currently regarded as one of the biggest names in Bollywood. In 2003, Rai was a member of the jury at Cannes. In 2004, she was chosen by TIME Magazine's Asian Edition as one of Asia's "100 Most Influential People." She was the subject of a 60 Minutes profile on January 2, 2005 - "The Most Beautiful Face in the World." A month later she appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman, and on April 25, 2005, she was featured on Oprah's "Women Across the Globe" segment. A wax figure of Rai is on display in London's Madame Tussaud's wax museum.

It was only in 2004 that Rai finally acted in a foreign film, when British director Gurinder Chadha hired her to play the heroine in Bride and Prejudice, a Hollywood-funded but Bollywood-influenced version of Jane Austen's classic novel, Pride and Prejudice.

Her fiance Abhishek is the son of Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan and renowned actress Jaya Bachchan (she is also a Samajwadi Party MP in Rajya Sabha). With his performance in Mani Ratnam's Yuva, he proved his mettle as an actor. He portrayed the character of Lallan which earned him the Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award and every other supporting actor award at the major film award functions.

In 2004 he starred in Dhoom which was the first box office hit of his career. In 2005 he shot to fame with four consecutive hits which were Bunty Aur Babli, Sarkar, Dus and Bluffmaster. He recently won his second Filmfare Award in the Best Supporting Actor category for Sarkar. He was engaged to actress Karisma Kapoor in 2002, an engagement later broken. Gossip has linked him with a number of actresses.

His first 2006 release, the multi-starrer Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006) did extremely well at the box office. He was also a part of Mani Ratnam's stage show, Netru, Indru, Naalai alongside many other costars.

Bollywood's Aishwarya Rai and Bachchan to Get Married

Aishwarya Rai is getting married. This is the big news. She's not getting any younger and if the Miss
World title is any indication, it's been more than 10 years since she was in the prime of her beauty.

She won the coveted Miss World crown in 1994.
Media reports are describing it as a big wedding of two top Bollywood stars although Rai is far more
famous than her fiance, especially following her attempts to break into the Hollywood scene as an
actress.

Hollywood turned out to be a lot more difficult to penetrate than Bollywood, even for one of India's

most adored stars.
With heavy cultural pressure on Indian women to get married early and to a man with visible means of
sustaining himself and his family, the news comes as no surprise.

Many believe it may have been more difficult for her to stay unmarried all these years than to tie the

knot.
Former Miss World and leading Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai and fellow star Abhishek Bachchan
are engaged to be married, it has been confirmed.

Ms Rai's secretary Hari Singh confirmed to the BBC a ceremony had taken place on Sunday evening at
her home in the city of Mumbai (Bombay).
The confirmation ends frenzied speculation in the Indian media about the couple.
Rumours were sparked when the stars visited a Hindu temple in November.
Time magazine
Mr Singh confirmed the families of both actors were present at the ceremony.

Abhishek Bachchan is the son of Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan.
The families have been tight-lipped about the relationship. Even after the small engagement ceremony,
both parties were maintaining their silence.

Indian television channels showed pictures of crowds gathered outside Mr Bachchan's residence, waiting to catch a glimpse of either of the stars.

Ms Rai is one of the top Bollywood actresses and has had several hit movies over the past few years.

She was featured on the cover of Time magazine in 2003 as Bollywood's leading lady and was interviewed by Oprah Winfrey and David Letterman. Abhishek Bachchan has starred in several successful films and was voted the sexiest Asian man by a

British newspaper last year.
The actors have starred together in several films.
In the past, Ms Rai has been linked to other Bollywood actors, including Salman Khan and Vivek

Oberoi.
Abhishek Bachchan was engaged to former actress Karisma Kapoor but the marriage was called off.

Indian actors Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai are engaged; to wed this year

MUMBAI, India: One of India's most beautiful actresses, Aishwarya Rai, is engaged to marry Bollywood's crown prince, Abhishek Bachchan, her manager said Monday, announcing the romance that India has so clearly been pining for. Rumors the two were a couple have been swirling for months, and within hours of the engagement being announced, the wedding was being touted as one that would be as dreamy as the Bollywood love scenes that have helped make Rai, 33, and Bachchan, 31, famous. The couple exchanged engagement rings in a small ceremony attended by family and friends late Sunday, said Rai's manager, Hari Singh. "The wedding will definitely take place this year," Singh told The Associated Press without specifying a date. The timing of the engagement couldn't have been better for Bachchan and Rai — a move starring the duo, "Guru" came out Friday, and fans were quick to draw a comparison between the big screen and real life.

Aishwarya Rai Is Happily Engaged

Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan have caused a general frenzy in their native India, with the announcement of their recent engagement.

The two artists are among India’s greatest cinema stars and have played together in five movies. Their relationship, which has been quite discreet albeit the wishful speculation will soon turn into marriage, as Aishwarya and Abhishek got engaged this Sunday.

The two lovers’ families have expressed their happiness at this union and will soon discuss the circumstances of the marriage. Legendary actor Amitabh Bachchan, father of Abhishek, has said that “no date for marriage has been fixed yet.”

He did add that his son proposed to Aishwarya in New York last week, after the world premiere of their latest movie, entitled “Guru”. The two families will soon meet and decide on a marriage date.

"Some members of the two families are not in town now. Let them come back," the father told Sahara television. "Every son's parents desire a daughter-in-law. We too will have a daughter-in-law and we are very happy."

The former Miss World is likely to become a daughter-in-law quite soon as Abhishek’s grandmother is not in good health anymore. There is even speculation that the marriage could take place as soon as next February or March.

It seems that the announcement of their engagement generated great joy among fans and friends, as large crowds sang and danced through the night outside the Bachchan family home. Several Bollywood stars, top industrialists and politicians also visited the couple into the early hours of Monday to offer congratulations.

According to television reports, the couple left Mumbai shortly afterwards for a movie shoot in Rajasthan. Several members of the Bachchan family left for Ujjain, where they will pray in a revered temple. Aishwarya and Abhishek’s families visited several temples over the past few months to pray for the two lovers whose stars were reportedly not in harmony, a key ingredient to any engagement in astrology-mad India.

Aishwarya was chosen Miss World in 1994, at the age of 21. She has played in over 40 movies and has become a bona fide diva of Indian cinema. The beautiful Aishwarya is also the first Indian actress to be on the jury of the Cannes International Film Festival.

Abhishek Bachchan has also acted in about 40 movies. “Guru”, in which he plays alongside fiancée Aishwarya, has been very successful at the box office.

Last February, Abhishek’s uncle, Ajitabh Bachchan told the media that he went to meet a Bangalore-based astrologer Chandrashekhar Swamy with the horoscopes of Aishwarya and Abhishek. The stars seem to agree with this Earthly match.

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