It has been dubbed Bollywood's wedding of the decade. The reigning king and queen of Indian cinema tied the knot yesterday in a private ceremony attended by a small group of billionaires, politicians and close family.
Following Hindu tradition in northern India, actor Abhishek Bachchan, 31, rode in on a white horse leading his wedding procession in Mumbai, before circling a fire to marry one of his leading ladies, Aishwarya Rai, 33. The bride and groom exchanged wedding vows in a huge air-conditioned tent, wreathed in red and pink flowers and covered in green and gold cloth, in a garden adjoining the Bachchan family home.
Fewer than 100 guests had been invited, most of them the cream of Bollywood. Not present was Sonia Gandhi, who had once been was close to the Bachchans in the late 80s but fell out with them over politics. Hundreds of police and security guards kept out gatecrashers.
People began gathering at the Bachchans' residence two days ago. Some came bearing boxes of sweets and said they wanted to bless the couple. Other fans slept on the pavement to catch a glimpse of their favourite stars who dropped by to offer congratulations.
The bride is a former Miss World who became India's favourite actress, while her husband, part of a new wave of heartthrobs, is the son of actor Amitabh Bachchan, who was named the Greatest Star of the Millennium by a BBC online poll, ahead of Marlon Brando, Sir Laurence Olivier and Charlie Chaplin.
"It's our idol's son's marriage. We don't need an invitation," Manikchand Choksi, a young Bachchan fan who came from the northern city of Allahabad, the actor's hometown, told Reuters. "We think we are a part of the groom's side."
Many Bollywood fans go to extreme lengths to celebrate their on-screen idols. Fire engines were on hand to extinguish mock Hindu fire ceremonies on the streets outside the Bachchan house.
But the wedding has not been without controversy. A Bollywood starlet drove up to the wedding gates yesterday and slashed her wrists.
Janavi Kapoor, who is in her mid-20s, starred in a song-and-dance sequence in Abhishek Bachchan's film Dus in 2005. She claimed they had a year-long affair and that he had promised to marry her. She was arrested and taken to hospital, where she received 40 stitches.
Bachchan and Rai, who have starred in five films together, became engaged in January and their courtship has been the subject of intense media speculation.
Newspapers hinted at a break-up in March because neither had time to get married. There were also reports that the Bachchan family had been angered by Rai's lingering on-screen kisses with another Bollywood actor in the action movie Dhoom 2.
