Email
Print
ShareMUMBAI: Bollywood star Abhishek Bachchan set off on a short journey from his suburban residence Jalsa to fetch his bride Aishwarya Rai, marking the start of their elaborate but private wedding here on Friday.
The traditional 'baraat' was flagged off at 5 pm with Abhishek riding a colourfully decorated white horse and his nephew Agastya his sister Shweta Nanda's son sitting in front of him.
Dressed in a gold-embroidered white sherwani and with his face covered with a frill of flowers, Bollwyood's "Bunty" set forth with family and friends led by his illustrious father Amitabh.
As the accompanying musical band played popular songs from Abhishek's movies like "Kajra Re" and evergreen tunes such as "Aaj Mere Yar Ki Shaadi Hai", the groom waved to multitudes of fans and onlookers who had gathered outside Jalsa, eliciting crazed cat-calls and shrill whistles.
While male members of the 'baraat' wore saffron turbans, the women were clad in richly embroidered sarees in dazzling colours.
Earlier, all the 'baraatis' or members of the wedding procession boarded six luxury buses that took them to Prateeksha, the Bachchan family's other residence, where the wedding would be solemnised.
Onlookers outside Jalsa were thrilled at getting a glimpse of Abhishek and some of the biggest names of Bollywood like J P Dutta, Vasu Bhagnani, Ajay Devgan, musicians Ayan and Aman Ali Bangash, Yash Chopra and Karan Johar, who were among the baraatis.
Even as the party prepared to leave for the evening's ceremony, organisers of the function treated the eagerly waiting journalists outside Jalsa to refreshments.
The three-day private wedding celebrations had started with a sangeet on Wednesday and culminate with Abhishek tying the knot with Aishwarya.
