The Indian Wedding of the Decade
Aishwarya Rai, Miss World 1994, and one of India’s top actresses married Abhishek Bachchan, one of India’s top actors and the son of Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan on the 20th of April. All ceremonies save the reception, which will be in June, are through. Somewhere tired policemen and security guards are heaving collective sighs of relief. And everywhere, there are some highly disappointed fans.
Two A-list celebrities coming together is a big deal for the media and their innumerable fans, anywhere in the world. But this wedding was a monumental deal. To explain, not only is Abhishek a star in his own right, he is the son of Amitabh Bachchan. If you don’t know who Mr. Bachchan Sr. is you
a) don’t live in India Asia.
b) don’t know about India at all. To you its that hot country with the spicy food.
c) have been living underground for reasons best known to you
I do not say this patronizingly. It is simply fact. This is a man who is over the age of 60, but whose popularity is still extremely high, and grows, if that is possible, with multiple generations of Indians. He is amazing, charismatic and extremely classy. I have always loved to hear him speak, be it in Hindi or English, in the movies or in interviews. His acting prowess is sublime. To call him a good actor would be like saying Bill Gates is a rich man, it would be a vast understatement. He is well-educated, extremely well-read, inscrutable and commanding. Needless to say, I’m an ardent fan. Indians adore him. Though I draw the line at just being a fan, I know many Indians revere him. He has influenced and inspired every actor who came after him, whether they admit it or not.
Amitabh Bachchan with son Abhishek Bachchan
I live in San Francisco and meet people from all over the world. I’ve met people from Iran, Jamaica, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Australia and many other countries. They are from different places and of different ages. The first thing they tell me when they find out that I’m from India is that they know of Amitabh and his movies. They talk about how they stood in line to watch ‘Sholay‘, a famous movie of his and how they loved it. Sholay was a late 70s movie. There was no Internet and India wasn’t in the limelight the way it is now. This man has transcended barriers and won admirers amongst rival populations. He had thousands of fans with no Internet buzz. It is a feat rarely achieved.
And then there is the bride and groom. Aishwarya shot to fame as Miss World ‘94. She had an acting career since then and has moved on to become a very popular actress. (Sidebar: Why is that all Miss India winners go into the acting industry?). I can’t say I’m a fan of her acting. But I’m not a detractor either. And one cannot help but admire her beauty, grace and razor-sharp intellect. She was studying to be an architect before she tried out for Miss India, in the same college I graduated from. She won her crown the year I started architecture school. I remember thinking then that she probably would have been good at whatever she wanted to be. She has that kind of intensity.
Abhishek Bachchan is a good actor. He came out with a blast in his first movie Refugee. His father’s shadow is long and I thought he’d have a hard time coming out of it. But he has become his own actor. He inherited awesome genes (his mom also is a very good actress) but has developed a style of his own as well. He’s been convincing in every role. And song and dance being such a huge part of Indian movies, I have to say he is a much better dancer than his dad. And anyone who’s watched him from the beginning knows he’s worked hard at that. I’m definitely a fan.
So you can try to understand what a big deal this wedding was. Everyone wanted to know everything about it. I’m not a gushing fan. I’m more likely to be shocked speechless in the presence of people I admire. This may be because on some level, I register that these are people and they require their privacy. My wedding day was enough drama without me being even a little bit famous. So I can imagine what hell these two had to go through on theirs. Indian weddings are definitely a family affair. And if a parent is Amitabh Bachchan, that wedding just became mania central.
My elder sister shared the same school for a while with the Bachchan kids. My mom still remembers Jaya Bachchan coming in to leave her kids to school, occasionally at lunchtime with lunch. (on an unrelated note, my mom didn’t get me lunch everyday, even though my school was closer to home! I guess the first born was extra special. Hmpph!) She was as low-key as possible, given who she was and came in and left just like any other parent. This family has always maintained their privacy. So it was great to note that this wedding was conducted in the same vein. Quiet, low-key, given who they are and the carnival it could have been, and private. If there was any hoop-la (all Indian weddings have hoop-la) it was very toned down. But this means of course, that there are tons of disappointed fans.
I guess celebrities are establishing boundaries strongly between their public and private lives, which I think they are entitled to. I also see why many people would think otherwise. I’ve been out of India a while. I’ve known extreme movie fans when I was there. But the flurry of ill-will these two are garnering, given some comments on blogs I’ve seen, surprises me completely. When did the fans become this crazed? Was I blind and has it always been around? What’s with all the dire warnings of failure and ill-will towards two people on their wedding day? I guess I’ve been living under a few rocks myself. I didn’t think it happened in India, given our emphasis on matrimony and the good of it. I stand corrected. For my part, I wish ‘em happiness and good luck. Any marriage needs it.
This union has probably produced the First Couple of Bollywood. The one thing I do hope is that Aishwarya keeps working in her profession and manages to break the curse of the married actress. There is this awful hypocrisy that exists in the Indian film industry. Marriage does nothing to the actor’s popularity. Actresses however, have a very different time of it. Married Indian actresses are rarely leading ladies and get relegated to supporting roles. I always thought Kajol or Karisma Kapoor would be the ones to shatter the glass ceiling, being the good actresses that they are. But they haven’t been very successful. I sure hope Aishwarya wants to and is able to do it. More power to her.
nice detailed article on truly ‘the wedding of the year’ .. hope this high-profile one lasts, these ones are most delicate ones .. good work !
thanks!