19 years to a union which saw the coming together of two high-profile individuals- one belonged to the most illustrious families of Bollywood. The other was one of India’s most celebrated names across the globe. Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s marriage was the talk of the town when it took place on April 20, 2007.
As the couple marks their wedding anniversary today, we take a look at what the couple has said about each other and their relationship over the course of so many years:
ABHISHEK ON MEETING AISHWARYA FOR THE FIRST TIME:
Abhishek revealed in a conversation with Ranveer Allahabadia on his podcast in 2021, “I first met her when I was a production boy. There was a film my father was making called Mrityudata, and I had gone for the location recce to Switzerland in August 1997… I had been there for a couple of days, all alone. And that’s when a childhood friend of mine, Bobby Deol, was shooting for his first film – Aur Pyar Ho Gaya. And he got to know I was there, and said ‘Hey, why don’t you come over for dinner?’ And that’s the first time, when they were shooting, when I met Aishwarya… Aishwarya tells me she couldn’t understand a word I said because of my British boarding school accent.”
AISHWARYA ON GETTING MARRIED TO ABHISHEK:
“Marriage means keeping the faith and it remaining, it is the institution both of us believe in. That’s probably why we felt at home immediately. We were at home, when we came together and we got married within a year of it (dating). The cliche which I don’t agree with is ‘Marriage? Not yet, I want to concentrate on my career’… I don’t agree with that,” she said in a joint appearance with Abhishek on Koffee with Karan in 2010.
WHEN ABHISHEK SAID AISHWARYA IS LIKE ‘SECOND DAUGHTER’ TO HIS PARENTS:
In a joint chat in 2009 as part of Hindustan Times’ Power Couple series, Aishwarya had confessed, “My parents love him so much, he’s totally the apple of their eye.” Abhishek added, “They were formal initially, that whole damaad thing, but I’m quite a charmer. I don’t call before I go over to my in-laws. I just hop over the bed and ask for food. Similarly, although no one can ever take my sister’s place, Ash is a second daughter to my parents. For a young girl who’s moved into a new home, it can be quite intimidating to have Amitabh Bachchan say ‘good morning’ to you every morning [imitates his father’s authoritative voice]. But today, my dad talks more with her than me.”
AISHWARYA ON WHETHER ABHISHEK FELT OVERSHADOWED BY HER AND DAD AMITABH BACHCHAN’S FAME:
He had told BBC in 2010, “No, not at all,” when asked, to which Aishwarya added, “I absolutely despise the term overshadow. I think it’s unfair that this question is posed and imposed on him (Abhishek) at each point in time because that isn’t it at all. His body of work, the kind of variety of roles… he is very, very well established and has carved a niche for himself.”
ABHISHEK ON BEING PROUD OF AISHWARYA
Abhishek was all heart as he told Vogue in 2016, “As a man, nothing gives me more pleasure than, well, my wife. No, seriously, as a man, nothing gives me more pleasure than putting my wife in front of me and seeing her be celebrated. Whether she receives the Padma Shri or goes to Cannes, the most amazing thing I can do is be supportive. Anyone who says it isn’t the manly thing to do – that’s bullshit. That’s really regressive.”
AISHWARYA ON WHAT SHE LIKES ABOUT ABHISHEK
Aishwarya had told Vogue, “I love that Abhi is this mix of a well-mannered, chivalrous boy and a knight in shining armour.” Asked the ultimate marital advice, she said, “Keep the faith. Believe in it, heart, mind and soul. The body will follow anyway! Be brutally frank with yourself. You are your own best friend. Experience everything for real, and you will cherish it forever.”
