Abhi-Ash: Happily ever after??

Even before the sun sets on Juhu Beach tomorrow, the curtains will have come down on one of the most-awaited events of the year.

It's been a hectic few months for the media, and the star-struck millions, who have been agog with anticipation ever since the Abhishek Bachchan-Aishwarya Rai (Abhi-Ash) wedding was announced.

What, however, is a little disconcerting is that the interest is not likely to wane even after the couple tie the knot. It will, instead, intensify and speculation will be rife about the couple's plans and personal life.

Will they be able to hold on under the pressures of time and tide, glamour and glitz and not succumb to these like many other celebrity couples?

Cynics, however, feel it will be tough for them to make the marriage work. The Bachchan family is steeped in its traditions and values. Aishwarya is a celebrity in her own right, a thorough professional who is set in her ways. It will be interesting to see how the two mesh.

Also, the biological clock is ticking away for the oh so beautiful green-eyed belle! So will she give her career a pass and concentrate on producing the Bachchan heir?

Family support will be a big help for the couple – Abhi-Ash already have this in abundance. She is older than Abhishek, and she has gone through two failed long-term relationships. So, she might want the marriage to succeed.

Last, but not least, Abhi-Ash can have the whole world (read Salman and Viveik) eating their words if they are lucky in love and survive life's pitfalls. That could be the only sure-shot recipe for success which could silence all the wagging tongues.

Together forever

Forget the cynics - this is a union that won't be divided easily.

Public acceptance of the Bachchan family is widespread and corporate honchos are tripping over each other to sign up Amitabh and Abhishek for product endorsements, and now with Aishwarya in the family, their net worth has risen. Understandably, the Bachchans plans to cash in with a World Performance Tour while memories of the wedding are still fresh in the minds of of fans worldwide. So, more stage shows, more money, more glamour and more publicity. And it will all be in the family. Aishwarya has had her share of glamour and fun in the past and she's also not getting any younger. With two failed relationships in her past, she is settling down with the most adorable bachelor in the country. So, she surely has reason to keep the marriage going. Abhishek too has landed up with one of the most beautiful women in the world, and he is surely currently the envy of many men. He would definitely like to keep the marriage going to prove that he deserves her.
• As Aishwarya Rai's husband, Abhishek will get a lot of international attention which he has not been able to acquire for himself. Would he give all that up?? Nah!

Expect a rift soon

Serial splitters can't find romance in each other's arms for long.

Abhishek and Aishwarya are not babes in the woods. They have had their share of relationships, break-ups and scandals, Aishwarya a tad more than Abhishek perhaps. Chances are that they are the incompatible type and maybe cannot stick around with anyone long enough. Despite Jaya Bachchan screaming at the recent Filmfare Awards about how lovely Aishwarya is and how she loves her son's bride-to-be, chances are that she might just not turn out to be a great mom-in-law, something like, as rumour goes, her own mother-in-law. Family pressure on Ash to produce an heir might not be a good idea. She might want to take her own time to start a family as she has loads of work commitments. She might not enjoy living as a typical Bachchan bahu (bride)…. after all, People magazine once voted her as one of the 100 most beautiful women in the world and she just might not fit into a strict and traditional Bachchan household.
• When a wife is more successful and better-known than her husband, then things could go wrong. Chances are that jealousy could possibly mar the relationship. And Aishwarya is definitely more popular than Abhishek at home and abroad.