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United we rule!
After calling the marital jinx on Ash for being manglik, Chandrashekhar Swami has advised the couple to wed on February 19, 2007. This may seem to be a marriage of love but it is, in fact a marriage of power and wealth as never witnessed before in Bollywood

By Aamna Haider Isani
 
Forget TomKat or Brangelina. As far as South East Asians and the billions of Bollywood addicts around the world are concerned, the marriage of Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan will be the union of the century. It won't just be an amalgamation of beautiful genes and glamorous names but it will in fact be a conglomeration of empires. It has been estimated that together, the family fortunes will be worth 700 crore rupees. It beats the Kapoors – the other big family in Bollywood – and the Yash Raj clan in a heart beat. Endorsements are the biggest way for stars, musicians, sportsmen and celebrities to make money and now the Bachchans have a monopoly that no Khan enjoys. Add that to the fact that they have political aspirations and this marriage will be enough to make the Bachchans the most powerful clan in the industry, exactly what Amitabh Bachchan probably aspired

to achieve in the first place. All turn of events in the past 19 months may seem incidental but they are definitely part of a well oiled plan, timed with the precision of a Breguet.

Here's a run down on how it was choreographed...

 
Plan A
In gods we believe

Isn't it odd that in the past one and a half years, Aishwarya and Abhishek have been covered time and time again at various pujas, visiting religious temples in search of blessings from the gods. There has been no mention of any parties, nights out or romance whatsoever. Are we to believe the two have sworn themselves to celibacy? Absolutely not. With Jaya sitting in the Parliament and the Bachchan clan having ambitious political plans in the pipeline, it was in their best interest to play up their religious devoutness and play down anything that may seem unchaste or offensive to the millions of conservative Hindu masses in India. So Aishwarya donned a sari and walked barefoot for aashirwaad, she spent holidays with the sasural, never alone with her beau and she turned up for Abhi's niece's
birthday like a perfect little aunt. The infamous kiss in Dhoom 2, the only kaala dhabba on her otherwise squeaky clean aanchal, was reportedly recently chopped out of new prints of the film. Salman Khan and Vivek Oberoi are as good as they never existed – with Vivek that's easy to believe anyway.
 
Plan C
Sweep the flops under the carpet

When Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bahaduri were married, they had a number of super hit films like Abhimaan to their credit and that certainly helped get the show on the road. In Ash and Abhi's case, the wedding speculations were played up with the right diversions to take all eyes away from the flop that was Umrao Jaan and the super hit Dhoom 2 that put the spotlight brightly on Hrithik. There were no hits until Guru came along.

Plan D
Perfect timing: Guru and the announcement

The Bachchans played it smartly – it was a calculated and a well etched ploy that worked in their benefit to the max. They announced Abhi-Ash relationship just after Guru released. Both Abhishek and Ash were looking for a co-hit and by announcing their engagement just before the premiere, they ensured that every hot blooded film lover would get up and go to see the pairs' on screen chemistry work its magic. As a result Guru has turned out to be one of the biggest grossing films of Bollywood at the foreign box office, beating out last year's Rang De Basanti and Krrish.

Plan E
Feed the media sharks

With the foreign press hyperventilating over TomKat and Brangelina, the Bachchans gave the Indian media an opportunity to work in the same kind of juggernaut. As a result of staying in touch with the press, websites dedicated to the story were created, articles dug up, blogs created and what not. Ash has had relationships before and so has Abhishek but this time, it was as if a collective effort was made to make this match the biggest story in India. It will die down, already has with the most unlikely candidate, Shilpa Shetty taking over media space, but not before the mission was accomplished.
 
Media has played an incredible role for the Bachchans and Ash. The constant buzz about the two has kept them in the news despite they not having hits to their name. Now with Guru, Big B is in the news with unending ravings about his son's performance in the film. "Abhishek is phenomenal," he spoke in an interview. "I have held myself back on many an occasion from commenting on my son's work, but this time I shall not. To hell with niceties and restraint. Abhishek is incredible! I have been choked with emotion ever since I have emerged from the theatre and still am. This is a role of a lifetime for him and he has given a performance of a lifetime. It's a role any actor worth his salt would die for and it's a performance that any actor worth his salt will envy. " If this isn't self indulgent, self promotion, then what is? As a result, some of the biggest directors in Indian cinema want Abhishek Bachchan. They'll want more of Aishwarya and Abhishek together. Advertisers would want to use them in numerous advertisements together. Their wedding pictures will be a media

circus, covered in every possible magazine and newspaper, foreign and local. And when they have children, their first child will grow up in the limelight, enjoying fanfare similar to the TomKat baby Suri and the Brangelina baby Shiloh. The attention will probably never end. They'll find ways of keeping the press involved.

Mission Impossible Accomplished!

The Bachchan family is huge in India but it is Ash who enjoys tremendous fame in the West. She has appeared on the cover of Time Magazine, she stands in wax at Madame Tussaud's, and she has rotated from going to the Oprah Winfrey Show to doing a film with Meryl Streep. Ash may be a manglik but she is far more prolific than Abhishek. She has also been a juror at the Cannes Film Festival as well as being one of the highly coveted faces of L'Oreal. She brings all this to the marriage and undoubtedly Abhishek's profile will go up thanks to her.

This year, Amitabh, Ash and Abhishek are set to go on a world tour that will rake in millions and millions. The lovebirds have already signed three films together and are cashing in on the media buzz that surrounds them. Whether Ash continues to act after marriage remains to be seen, but from what it looks like, she isn't going anywhere, anytime soon!

There is love, indeed but this isn't the love one sees in Hindi films. It's certainly no fairy tale. It is not just a marriage but also the creation of the most powerful family in Bollywood. The empire has just been created.