Abhishek and Aishwarya choose to maintain a deafening silence

Even as the announcement of their engagement pervaded the electronic and print media, both Abhishek and Aishwarya chose to maintain a deafening silence on the matter. 
While Abhishek flew off the next morning with his mother Jaya to Rajasthan for the shooting of Goldie Behl’s ‘Drona’, Aishwarya chose to spend some time with her family on Monday before heading for Karjat to shoot for Ashutosh Gowariker’s ‘Jodha-Akbar’ — thereby leaving all subsequent details, including the wedding date, to the parents.

Says a close family friend, “It’s almost like an arranged marriage, with love thrown in. We all knew Abhishek and Ash were getting close to one another for a long time. But neither spoke about it. And since they’re very private people, we thought it unwise to probe beyond a point.”

But their hands-off attitude has surprised many. “Ash has made it very clear to her parents that all marriage details will be decided by them. The same goes for the Bachchans. For a while now, Ash has been a dutiful bahu at their residence, so much so that Jayaji has completely warmed to her and has been telling friends for a while that Ash will fit wonderfully into their household.”

Now both parties in what will be the biggest wedding of the year are waiting for the parents to get together and select a date. Says a close friend of Ash, “Her dad is out of town. As soon as he returns in a couple of days he’ll be meeting up with Mr Bachchan to decide a date. Both families are eager to lock in on a date.”