Friday, 2 Feb 2007
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Bollywood hearthrob, Aishwarya Rai, and actor Abhishek Bachchan ob Sunday night got engaged to each other at a quiet ceremony here, 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 Rai, was held at the residence of the Bachchans in suburban Juhu, the actress' Secretary Hari Singh said.
The event, attended by family members and close friends of the Bachchan and Rai families, took place between 8.30 p.m. and 9 p.m, hours after Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek returned here from New York from the prommo of their just-released film 'Guru' directed by Mani Ratnam.
Sources said Abhishek put a ring on the finger of Aishwarya Rai to mark the engagement, but no date has been set for the wedding between the two of Bollywood's hottest stars.
The engagement came against the backdrop of rave reviews of 'Guru', giving a major boost to the careers of Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek.
Among those present at the ceremony were Amitabh Bachchan, his wife Jaya Bachchan, their close friend and Samajwadi Party General Secretary Amar Singh, the parents of Aishwarya Rai, industrialist Anil Ambani and his actress-wife, Tina.
The engagement came nearly one-and-half months after Abhishek and Aishwarya Rai 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 Rai, but neither family had confirmed it before the engagement ceremony last evening.
Amitabh had said in London in November 9 last year that he wanted Abhishek to settle with a "good girl" of his choice.
Abhishek and Aishwarya Rai 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 re-make of Muzaffar Ali's highly-acclaimed movie of the same name in early 1980s, the critical appreciation of 'Guru' has boosted the careers of Abhishek and Aishwarya Rai, Bollywood analysts say.
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