Could you please shut the door? Yeh Mumbai hai, yahan machchar nahi, helicopter hote hain,” says a voice to our photographer who’s standing by the open balcony door. We don’t have to turn around to see who it is. A voice having the gravity that’s trademark of Bachchan men, with that typical mischievous tone, can belong only to one man — 
Abhishek Bachchan. Soon, the woman—whose beauty is perhaps written about more than the war in Afghanistan—stunning in a gorgeous dull golden dress, joins her man. We are with Abhishek Bachchan and his wife of two years, Aishwarya, in the living room that’s stunningly done up in shades of gold and red with an overall ethnic flavour.
What an accent sir ji
So how have the two blissful years of marriage been? “I still wake up in the morning and revel in the fact that I share the same room as Aishwarya Rai,” smiles Abhishek. She instantly echoes the sentiment, “Me too. Just to wake up next to each other is a blessing, an absolute joy.” The couple met for the first time in Switzerland when Ash was shooting for Aur Pyar Ho Gaya and Abhishek, all of 21, was visiting on work. Ash laughingly recalls, “When he started talking, I could not get a word of what he said.
| Power Profile |
Abhishek Bachchan, son of superstars Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan is a successful and critically acclaimed actor. The only winner ever of three consecutive Filmfare awards as best Supporting actor, he’s also recipient of the Yash Bharati Samman, the highest honour by the Uttar Pradesh Government.
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is a former Miss World and a successful Hindi film actress, apart from being the face of several national and international brands. She’s credited as being the global face of Indian cinema in Hollywood. She has graced the cover of Time magazine and appeared on the Oprah Winfrey show. Padma Shri Aishwarya Bachchan is a recipient of three Filmfare awards and Rajiv Gandhi Award for excellence in cinema. |
He had such a thick accent.” The couple fondly remembers how when common friend and makeup artist Micky Contractor introduced them, he pointed at Abhishek and although he meant to say ‘Abhishek has a great future in films’, the actual words to Ash were, “There’s your future.” Years later when Micky was doing Ash’s makeup on their wedding day, he said, “See, didn’t I tell you years ago this would happen?”
The ‘normal’ Abhishek
So what glue binds them together now? “Our common value system,” says Ash. “We were both from nuclear families. My dad was a marine engineer, so used to stay away from home a lot. Pa [Abhishek’s dad], was mostly away for work too. But still we both got a very cultured and grounded upbringing. Full marks to his parents for raising him and his sister in such a normal way.” “Oh, so finally you admit that I’m normal,” teases Abhishek and her laughter rings a thousand bells.
Ash —the grandma
Abhishek truly has a gift of gab. We ask him what he likes most about her and he counter questions, “How much paper do you have?” Plenty, we assure him and he continues, “Her ability to make you believe that you can set very high standards in your mind about your dream partner and it is still possible to get such a person.” “Awww,” says Ash, clearly moved, “I love this interview, can we go on forever?”
Abhishek continues, “My parents are most important to me in life. The way she has fitted into their lives, even before we got married, is amazing. I feel they think of her as more of a daughter than they think of me as a son. Also, she has an obsession of taking care of people. You are the luckiest if you are unwell when she’s around. When you come home in the evening, she’ll ask, ‘how was your day? Are you hungry? Shall I get you something? She’s the grandmother of the house. A close friend Srishti Arya, who’s like a sister to me, actually asked me on my wedding day on the stage, ‘how have you managed to marry your own mother?’”