Abhishek weds Aishwarya

kalpana Apr 22 2007

Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai, one of Bollywood's best-known screen couples, married on Friday following Hindu tradition.

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The ceremonies concluded three days of celebrations at the actors' homes- 'Pratiksha' and 'Jalsa' in Mumbai.

Bride is a former Miss World and the bridegroom is a leading movie-star and most eligible bachelor of film industry.

Fewer than 100 guests had been invited, most of them the cream of Bollywood, few politicians and friends from business class. Tight police security covered the venue.

Bachchan, wearing a gold and cream Indian suit, a silver-coloured turban and a veil of flowers on his face, rode a white horse as part of a custom along with his sister's son and waved to hundreds of fans gathered outside his house 'Jalsa'. Aishwarya Rai wore a gold sari for the marriage ceremony.

The groom's party then moved to another Bachchan residence 'Pratiksha' nearby where the marriage was solemnised by priests who chanted hymns from ancient Indian scriptures amid the blowing of conch shells and ululation, sources said.

The celebrations have transfixed Bollywood and sent India's celebrity-obsessed media into a frenzy even though the Bachchans have tried to keep the event strictly private and low-key because Abhishek's grandmother is ill.

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Thousands of fans packed the streets to try and catch a glimpse of the couple and their celebrity guests. Police briefly used batons to push back over-enthusiastic fans.

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 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.

Rai and Bachchan have worked together on at least five films, and both have been romantically lined in the past to other Bollywood stars. Rai, who has acted in over 40 films, was crowned Miss World in 1994. Bachchan too has acted in about 40 films.

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