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Colour,
confusion and crowds... It was every bit the grand filmy wedding as
Abhishek Bachchan, astride a horse, wearing an off-white sherwani and a
white turban bedecked with flowers, arrived on a hot Friday evening to
wed . Bollywood's
power couple finally tied the knot in a grand ceremony that held much
of the nation in thrall - never mind if the only details of the closely
guarded event that filtered out were grainy zoom shots from TV cameras
stationed across the road.
Aishwarya reached the Bachchans' Juhu
residence Prateeksha in a silver Mercedes decorated with flowers along
with her mother and brother.
At almost the same time, the
barat left the other Bachchan bungalow Jalsa nearby, with a visibly
anxious Amitabh Bachchan, complete with a saffron turban, ushering his
guests into the waiting Volvo buses that would take them to the wedding
venue.
His face covered with a sehra of white flowers,
Abhishek did a small jig before getting off the bus and waving cheerily
and then getting on to his horse again at Prateeksha.
While
photographers scrambled to train their cameras at the goings-on,
curious stargazers climbed up trees, railings and even hoardings to get
a first-hand view.
Amid the sea of saffron turbans sported by
the baratis, several close friends like yesteryear actor Danny
Denzongpa, industrialist Anil Ambani and director Goldie Behl could be
seen.
The Bollywood celebrities who arrived to bless the couple
also included Sonali Bendre, Preity Zinta, Karan Johar, Ajay Devgan and
Kajol.
With so many high-profile guests, including Uttar Pradesh
Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav and Samajwadi Party leader Amar
Singh, at least 1,000 security personnel swarmed both the flower
bedecked Bachchan homes. The road outside Prateeksha was blocked.
Friday's
wedding was the climax of three-day festivities that included a sangeet
and a mehndi ceremony that were equally secretive.
The buzz
around the Abhi-Ash marriage started last year and had been steadily
getting louder even though the Bachchans never announced it officially
because they wanted to keep it a private affair.
TV shots and
newspaper pictures of guests, who kept floating in and out of their
house from Wednesday, were the only proof that the big fat Indian
wedding was finally taking place.
Both the Bachchan residences were turned into fortresses and for the uninvited, getting in was next to impossible.
The
Bachchans not only took care of their own privacy, they were thoughtful
enough not to disturb their neighbours - the lawns at the venue were
covered with soundproofed, air-conditioned tents.
Members of
the film fraternity who made it to the guest list showed cooperation
towards the first family of Bollywood - none of the invitees breathed
out a single detail about the wedding.
"They have invited all
those people who are emotionally close to them," Amar Singh said in an
interview to a TV channel in an apparent explanation for some
conspicuous absentees like neighbour Hrithik Roshan and all the Khans.
Fans
and mediapersons who had logged on to Aishwarya's official site also
faced disappointment as they found it temporarily closed.
"This
site is temporarily unavailable. Please do not call or e-mail but check
back again next month. Thank you," said a message apparently posted by
Aishwarya.
Whether the wedding of the year was accessible to all
or not, the couple's many fans just hope that they live happily ever
after...
Indo-Asian News Service
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