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Film-crazy public invites itself to private Bachchan-Rai wedding
what happened inside Prateeksha was a wedding. Two young people vowed, in an elaborate ceremony performed by 11 priests and witnessed by an intimate circle of family and friends, to officially share their lives.

  No different from any other wedding, inside. Outside in Juhu, the police used batons to control thousands who broke through barricades, climbed trees and did everything possible to catch a glimpse of the couple.

When the couple is Abhishek Bachchan, the only son of Bollywood’s definitive icon, Amitabh Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai, who some call the world’s most beautiful woman, it’s natural that the whole film-crazy country considers itself invited.
 
“There is no monarchy in India, but there are the Bachchans,” said Jagdeep Kapoor, chairman and managing director of marketing consultancy firm Samsika. “This is a dream wedding happening for real. Everyone wants to participate. To even catch a glimpse of the couple, is to share in their fame.

That’s why, although the invited guests hid behind curtains of a bus as the baraat departed, the band’s members waved to the cameras.

That’s why five women from a village near Hyderabad came to Mumbai, swearing not to leave before they caught a glimpse of the couple. “The village is waiting for news,” they said.

Outside Prateeksha, the country celebrated. Inside the bungalow, two young people got married. Just like any other couple in love.