Ash-Abhi shaadi?

Let’s clear two things. One, Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan have no plans to marry, as yet. And two, Amitabh’s brother, Ajitabh, is in no way involved in bringing the couple together. Sources close to both the families point out that the prospect of them getting married in the immediate future is extremely bleak. “All this talk about formal announcement being made on Valentine’s Day and their folks rushing them into marital bliss, is completely false. Abhishek and Aishwarya have a long, long way to go,” said a source close to Ash.


A source close to the Bachchans added, “The relation between Amitabh and Ajitabh is strained. There is no way he would be involved in getting Ash and Abhishek together. In fact, he is never a part of the Bachchan family functions and is not asked for opinions on personal matters.” While aides on the sets of J P Dutta’s Umrao Jaan confirm the romance between Ash-Abhishek, they denied there was a wedding in the offing.“I doubt they will publicly acknowledge their relationship at this stage. At the moment, I can confidently say there’s no marriage on the horizon,” added a close friend of Abhishek.

And finally, there’s Rani. Abhishek and the Bong beauty may be good friends, but her prospects of becoming a Bachchan bahu are fairly dim. It is learnt that Rani has shown more than a ‘friendly’ interest in Abhishek, but he considers her a pal. Equally important is that she hasn’t got the much-needed approval from Jaya Bachchan, so it’s unlikely that Rani will wed baby B.

Tushar Joshi Mumbai Mid-Day, February 13, 2006