Aishwarya will bring more bliss to family: Amitabh Bachchan ...

By Subhash K. Jha, Indo-Asian News Service

Mumbai,

April 30 (IANS) In the afterglow of the AbhiAsh wedding, Amitabh

Bachchan says he is looking forward to his new daughter-in-law bringing

more happiness into the family.

"We're happy that the union has taken place. I'm sure there'll be even

more happiness in the house because of Aishwarya. There were some truly

heart-warming moments during the wedding and I'd like to believe they

were moments that will remain with us for the rest of our lives," Amitabh

told IANS in an interview.

On the much-debated guest list, he said: "I really couldn't go beyond

the list that we had. And in any case everyone from Shah Rukh Khan and

Hrithik Roshan to Salman Khan have sent good wishes.

"If we invited all the friends of all the hosts, the guest list would've run

into 20,000 people. The family decided that an event like our children's

wedding couldn't be held in a hotel. It was too impersonal a venue. We

decided to have an intimate family gathering."

Excerpts:

Q: How does it feel to have Aishwarya Rai in the house?

A: It's wonderful! I'm sure there'll be even more happiness in the house

because of her.

Q: Will Aishwarya assume the Bachchan name on the passport?

Would you like a working daughter-in-law?

A: I've no problem with whatever name she keeps. As far as her

continuing to work is concerned, Jaya and I have no problem with that. It's

for Aishwarya and Abhishek to decide.

Q: Were you happy with the wedding?

A: Yes, by the grace of god everything went off well. We're happy that

the union has taken place. There were some truly heart-warming moments

during the wedding and I'd like to believe they were moments that will

remain with us for the rest of our lives.

Q: There were many people who felt hurt because they couldn't come

to the wedding.

A: Let me put my circumstances before you, and leave it to you and

the world in general to judge and sentence us. We were dealing with a

marriage and a guest list that was going out from seven privileged

personalities and celebrities - my late father, Harivanshrai Bachchan, a

literary giant who has his own admirers in the literary world... then my

mother, Teji Bachchan, who has relatives friends and associates going

back to 90 years.

There was Jaya, a personality in her own right with a large circle of

relatives and friends, there were Abhishek and Aishwarya and there was

Amar Singh and then finally there was yours truly... These were the hosts

to the wedding. Please tell me, how do we even begin to invite all the

people who are associated with these seven people?

Q: I can't imagine!

A: Neither could we. If we invited all the friends of all the hosts, the

guest-list would've run into 20,000 people. Where would we have

accommodated so many people in our home? In a hotel? No hotel in India

could accommodate 20,000 people.

In any case, the family decided that an event like our children's

wedding couldn't be held in a hotel. It was too impersonal a venue. So

should we have had the wedding at the Bandra Kurla Complex like the

Filmfare awards night? We needed two acres of land for such a guest list.

Where do we provide air conditioning to so many people in this heat? How

would I've accommodated and fed 20,000 people? I'd rather give that kind

of money to charity.

Q: Makes sense.

A: The most crucial factor while deciding the guest-list was my

critically ill mother. In the last year, we haven't celebrated Diwali, Holi or

my father's birth anniversary in Lucknow. We didn't want to have any

celebration when my mother is lying in the hospital. At the same time,

Abhishek is my only son and it was his only wedding and the happiest

moment in his life. How could we ignore that moment in his life? How

could we deny him that moment of joy? This is what the circumstances

were.

We decided to have an intimate family gathering. Aishwarya's family

and we decided to have a common wedding card and a common venue.

And we chose friends who were absolutely impossible to ignore. Whatever

we did, we did it with the concurrence of both our families. We're happy

with our decision. I'd like to believe that the industry too would share our

happiness.

Q: But some of your colleagues are hurt because they weren't

invited.

A: May be they are. May be they aren't. Either way I'm fine with it. I

respect their sentiments and I expect them to respect mine. If they're

offended because they weren't invited, then they weren't my friends in the

first place. I really couldn't go beyond the list that we had. And in any case

everyone from Shah Rukh Khan and Hrithik Roshan to Salman Khan have

sent good wishes.

Q: What about the accusation that a section of the media was

manhandled?

A: There was a virtual assault on our privacy. I had 40 cars following

us when I was driving Aishwarya and Abhishek home after the bidaai (leave

taking). We were bringing the new Mrs. Bachchan home. It was a big

moment for us. The auspicious time to reach home was 6.57 p.m. before

sunset. We were stuck in a traffic jam and desperate to make it on

time.

In the middle of this Amar Singh needed urgent medical attention. At

6.55 p.m., just when I'm about to enter Prateeksha, 50 photographers

charged towards us and wouldn't let us move. I had a sick person who

desperately needed a doctor and a bride who needed to get to her sasural

(in-laws'). And we couldn't move! Do you know what that felt like?

Q: That's a terrible situation to be in.

A: The worst was yet to come. After the wedding, late at night,

Aishwarya and Abhishek wanted to visit the hospital to take my mother's

blessings. But the couple was stranded in the car. They couldn't get out of

the car. I was reminded of the time when I fell ill and my stretcher couldn't

be brought out of the ambulance for nearly half an hour.

My mother is now oblivious to her surroundings. She wouldn't even

have known what's happening. But Abhishek and Aishwarya wanted to

touch her feet. I visit her every day and she can't even recognise me. Can

you imagine how frustrating it is? Every day I go to my mother and feel so

helpless. Then I've to change my mood to comply with the demands of

other activities in my life.

Does anyone know what a physical and psychological strain I'm going

through? And then to have people shouting and abusing me in front of my

own home! It's unfair.