It is said that marriages are made in heaven. But when it comes to our Bollywood biggies tying the knot, there is a series of broken relationships and media frenzy that is followed by a mega media event in the form of a wedding celebration. The most talked-about couple of recent times and one of the most successful names of Bollywood will walk down the aisle amongst a huge gathering of Bollywood celebrities and distinguished guests this Friday. As we gear up for the fanfare and hoopla to unfold as the wedding day approaches, let’s take a close look at the couple’s high and low times in Bollywood and their much-highlighted love affairs of the past.
The most successful would-be couple of Bollywood had their kitty full of accolades and honours at an early stage of their careers. On one hand, if Ash has been hailed as the global face of Bollywood in the international circuit, Abhishek is touted to be another Big B in the making. Aishwarya Rai made her Bollywood debut in Rahul Rawail’s Aur Pyar Ho Gaya which bombed at the box office. After a not-so-successful start to her film career, Rai managed to get a foothold in the film industry after working in highly successful films like Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Taal and Devdas. She was critically acclaimed as an actress after her Bengali film Rituporna Ghosh’s ‘Choker Bali’. The actress went on to become a global ambassador for Indian cinema and was a member of jury at Cannes in 2003. She was on the cover of Times Magazine in 2004 and also featured on the ‘Late show of 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 prestigious Madame Tussaud’s wax museum.
On the other hand, we have a rising star and an actor who has come out of the shadows of his superstar father and has earned a place of reputation for himself in the industry. In 2000, Abhishek Bachchan made his debut in J.P. Dutta’s Refugee, which again sank at the box office. After a series of unsuccessful films, Chhotta B finally got noticed in Mani Ratnam’s Yuva that won him his first Filmfare award. The actor has since delivered hits in the form of Dhoom, Bunty and Babli, Sarkar and Bluffmaster.
The Abhi-Ash pair worked at an early stage of their career in films which were unsuccessfull at the box office. These include ‘Dhai Akshar Prem Ke’ and ‘Kuch Na Kaho’. More recently, J.P. Dutta’s ‘Umrao Jaan’ was their last failure together. But since then the couple has delivered two hits in a row. In the multi-starrer Dhoom 2, the actors were not paired opposite each other but the film was a huge success. Then came Mani Ratnam’s ‘Guru’ that earned Abhishek his first big solo hit and Abhi-Ash finally got a hit working opposite each other playing a married couple onscreen.
In their personal lives, both have had their share of heart-breaks and lows in personal relationships. One of the most closely followed-up Bollywood gossip story was Ash and Salmaan Khan’s public spat and media intervention in their matter. Aishwarya dated Salman, her co-star of ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’ in the late 90’s. She broke up with him and blamed Salmaan’s rash behaviour as the sole reason for it. In 2004, she began dating industry newcomer Vivek Oberoi, only to part ways with him in 2006, when she felt that he was using her name for his benefit.
On the other hand, the rising hearthrob of Bollywood, Abhishek was smitten over popular actress Karishma Kapoor and he soon got engaged to her, though the engagement was called off after a rift between the two families. Since then, Abhishek Bachchan has been linked to his co-stars and especially to Rani Mukherjee who is still a close family friend of the Bachchans. But in no time, rumours of Ash and Abhi link-up started doing the rounds. There were allegedly caught marrying secretly in Madurai and then spotted together at social dos. The couple began dating each other and got the national media speculating over their impending marriage. The couple finally got engaged on January 14th and will tie the knot on April 20th this year.
But the big question is that will this marriage survive? At a time when Abhishek’s career got a major booster with Guru, he has a lot to prove in order to get any way closer to his dad. And then, Ash is evidently more popular and successful than him. Her international projects can keep her away and she may not be a free bee then. There have been rumours about Ash leaving the industry which will not go down well with her fans and producers who hope to sing her. A lot of speculation has been made regarding the couple’s contrasting attitudes and their compatibility but we seldom realise that they are at peace with each other and that all’s well that end’s well… hopefully their search for love ends here. Amen!
Tanushree Chatterjee
|
H0-hum..yawn…ZZzzzz..duh, Say what??? Oh, Aish & Abhi…Who dat???