PTI
 
Mumbai, Jan 15: Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai and actor Abhishek Bachchan on Sunday night got engaged to each other at a quiet ceremony in Mumbai, setting the stage for the marriage of the film industry's most talked-about couple.

The engagement between Abhishek, who turns 31 on February 5 next, and 33-year-old Aishwarya, was held at the residence of the Bachchans in suburban Juhu, actress's Secretary Hari Singh said.

The event, attended by family members and close friends of the Bachchan and Rai families, took place between 8.30 pm and 9 pm, hours after Aishwarya and Abhishek returned from New York from the promo of their just-released film Guru directed by Mani Ratnam.

The engagement came nearly one and half months after Abhishek and Aishwarya Rai, accompanied by Amitabh and Jaya, offered prayers at the Kashi Vishwanath Temple and Sankatmochan Temple in Varanasi on November 26, heightening speculation about a marriage between the younger Bachchan and the actress.

There had been considerable speculation in the media about marriage between Abhishek and Aishwarya but neither family had confirmed it before the engagement ceremony on Sunday evening.

Amitabh said in London in November 9 last year that he wanted Abhishek to settle with a "good girl" of his choice.

Abhishek and Aishwarya have starred together in Hindi films like Dhai Akshar Prem Ke, Kuch Na Kaho and Umrao Jaan.

After the unimpressive viewers' response to Umrao Jaan, a remake of Muzaffar Ali's highly-acclaimed movie of the same name in early 1980s, the critical appreciation of Guru had boosted the careers of Abhishek and Aishwarya, Bollwyood analysts said.

Mangalore report

Aishwarya, daughter of Kotetadiguttu Krishnaraj and Vrinda Rai who have their family roots in Konaje here, was born just over three decades ago in the Glen View Nursing Home (now defunct) near Jyoti cinema in Mangalore. A few months after winning the Miss World title a few years ago, she had been honoured by the Bunt community in Mangalore. On the occasion, she had promised that she would marry within the community.

This was a matter of great disappointment, said a prominent Bunt community leader, speaking to Daijiworld on Sunday night.