Global media laps up news of Aishwarya, Abhishek engagement

New Delhi, Jan 15 (UNI) It is the engagement between two of the biggest celebrities of Mumbai's tinsel world - one is the biggest face of Bollywood worldwide while the other is the scion of the biggest star in the industry.

Not surprisingly then, the engagement between Abhishek Bachchan, son of one of the biggest Bollywood stars and Superstar of the millennium Amitabh Bachchan, and Aishwarya Rai, a former Miss World and the star having come to be known as the Bollywood's biggest bet in Hollywood, has drawn attention from media circles the world over.

Media publications from across the world - the US, UK, Europe, Australia, South Africa, South East Asia and the Arab world - have lapped up the news of the engagement between Abhishek and Aishwarya Rai, the speculation of which had been going on in the Indian media for the last several months.

Writing on the high-profile event, the Reuters News agency said, ''the hush-hush romance of Rai and Bachchan, the son of legendary actor Amitabh Bachchan, had transfixed the Mumbai-based Hindi film industry, despite denials by the couple of sharing anything more than a healthy friendship.

''On Sunday evening -- one of the most auspicious days in the Hindu calendar -- Bachchan and Rai were engaged in a private ceremony in which Abhishek reportedly placed a diamond ring on his girlfriend's finger.'' The Associated Press published a report of the engagement quoting former Miss World's manager Hari Singh.

''Rai and Bachchan exchanged engagement rings in a small ceremony before a small group of relatives and friends late yesterday,''Hari Singh told The Associated Press.

''Yes, it is true. Abhishek and Aishwarya are engaged," Singh said. ''The wedding will definitely take place this year,''he added.

The news of the engagement was carried by many publications in the United States like CBS News, Houston Chronicle, Globe and Mail and CNN.com as also the Hemelhempstead in the United Kingdom and CBC New Brunswich in Canada.

South East Asian dailies like Thanh Nien daily in Vietnam, the China Daily in Beijing and the Malaysia Sun in Malaysia carried the news of the engagement while the Sunday Times in Australia and the Tonight in South Africa also splashed the news of the high profile event.

Earlier, the news of premiere of their recently-released film 'Guru' in Toronto on Friday had made a splash in the US media with the prestigious New York Times carrying a huge report on the event.

UNI