Aishwarya Rai arrives at 'Prateeksha' for her wedding

Mumbai, Apr 20 (UNI) Bollywood beauty Aishwarya Rai, who weds actor Abhishek Bachchan today arrived at the Bachchan residence 'Prateeksha', the venue of the marriage this afternoon.

Sources said Ash as she is popularly called, reached 'Prateeksha' at 1425 hrs from her residence 'La Mer' at Bandra, accompanied by her family. The baraat will begin from 'Jalsa', the other Bachchan bungalow in the vicinity after 1630 hrs.

The groom's family, friends and relatives are presently at Jalsa. The entire stretch between the two bungalows will be cordoned off for a hour before the wedding. Apart from family and friends from both the families, select top politicians, industrialists, film personalities are expected to attend the wedding billed as the 'marriage of the year' attracting headlines in India and abroad.

The marriage is scheduled to be solemnised between 1730 hrs and 1800 hrs. 'Prateeksha' has been tastefully decorated with flowers. A huge pandal has been errected in the compound and a 'doli' for Ash has been kept ready.

Earlier in the day, a model turned starlet Janhvi Kapoor alleged that Abhishek had married her in December. She had slit her wrists and tried to commit suicide last night in front of the Bachchan residence.

There was a minor scuffle outside the marriage venue when a group of 'fans' tried to forcibly enter 'Prateeksha' and were thrown out by the security gaurds and the local police.

Ash (33) and Abhishek (31) were engaged on January 14 this year two days after their film 'Guru' was released.

The families have kept the preparations a closely guarded secret but this did not deter the media - print and electronic to devote volumes of newsprint and prime time to the marriage and the lives of the bride and the groom named as 'Abhiash' after Brangelina (Hollywood superstars Brad Pitt and Anjelina Jolie).

The media devoted enough space to the invitees and debated why actors like Rani Mukherji, Hrithik Roshan, Shah Rukh Khan were kept out of the guest list.

Initial reports quoting 'sources' said that UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, who was once very close to the Bachchans was invited only to be denied by some other newspapers.

The marriage preparations were personally supervised by the groom's father actor Amitabh Bachchan while the guest list was finalised by mother Jaya.

However, the ceremony will be a low key affair in view of ailing Teji Bachchan, mother of Amitabh Bachchan.

UNI