It was a match made in Bollywood heaven when the son of two of the biggest Bollywood actors married the most beautiful woman in the world.

Abhishek and Aishwarya Bachchan are celebrating their 9 year wedding anniversary today and to mark the occasion I thought we could take a look back at their love story.

Abhishek and Aishwarya first met on the set of her first Bollywood movie ‘Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya’ in 1997 where she was working with Abhishek’s good friend Bobby Deol. At this time Aishwarya was dating Salman Khan and Abhishek was engaged to Karisma Kapoor. Eventually Aishwarya broke up with Salman and started dating Vivek Oberoi and Abhishek ended his engagement.

The two eventually worked together in the movie ‘Dhaai Akshar Prem Ke’ in 2000 and later worked together on anther film ‘Kuch Naa Kaho’ in 2003 but nothing sparked between the two until the two shot the item song ‘Kajra Re’ for the movie ‘Bunty Aur Babli’ in 2005. After that they started working a lot together, shooting 3 films ‘Umrao Jaan’, ‘Guru’, and ‘Dhoom 2’ around 2006-2007. They eventually started dating during the making of ‘Guru’.

How did he propose?

“I used to stand on the balcony of my hotel room and wished that one day wouldn’t it be nice if I was together with her, married. Years later, we were there (in New York) for the premiere of Guru. After the premiere, we were back in the hotel so I took her to the same balcony and asked her to marry me.”

When he did propose, Abhishek gave Aishwarya the ring they used in Guru and not with an actual diamond ring. They flew back to Mumbai and got officially engaged on January 14, 2007 at the Bachchan’s residence.

The Wedding

The couple got married on April 20, 2007 with a big Bollywood wedding and have become one of Bollywood’s power couples and a fan favourite.

So what’s the secret to making their relationship work?

According to both of them, it’s friendship!

Aishwarya has often said in interviews that Abhishek is her source of inspiration and how he is always so supportive. “There has never been a single instance when I have been upset over anything. Of course we have had tiffs for fun and he has done things to pamper me…I think it’s fantastic when you have this incredible friendship with your man.”

Abhishek gives credit to their strong friendship. “Aishwarya is my anchor. She is my buddy, my closest friend. I can discuss anything with her. She is really my best friend.”

Even though the couple travel a lot for work, they make sure to spend quality time together. “We like to hang at home, really spend time with each other, with family and friends.”

Baby Makes Three.

Abhishek and Aishwarya welcomed a baby girl, Aaradhya, on Nov 16, 2011. We haven’t seen a lot of Aishwarya since then but now that her daughter is older, Aishwarya is back making films. First it was with Jazbaa and now it’s with Sarbjit.

My Own Experience.

I covered the red carpet at the TOIFAS when the show came to Vancouver and with some luck and timing, I got to interview Abhishek and Aishwarya. I remember Abhishek was answering questions while Aishwarya stood quietly beside him. I was dying to ask her a question but could sense she was feeling shy. So I moved my microphone over to her and asked her what it was like being a mother.

Aishwarya’s eyes lit up and she answered softly how blessed she felt and how much she missed her daughter. Aaradhya was with them in Vancouver but back at their hotel so Aishwarya mentioned how she was looking forward to getting back to her little girl.

I should mention that as soon as Aishwarya spoke, Abhishek stopped speaking to the other reporters and listened to Aishwarya answer my question. I remember glancing up at his face and he was gazing down at Aishwarya. He was beaming with pride and I remember thinking, ‘wow what a lucky woman’. Isn’t that what we all want? A partner who feels lucky to be with you? We may watch love stories on the big screens but it’s so wonderful to celebrate love stories in real life. Aishwarya and Abhishek’s deep love and respect for each other is such an inspiration to us all. Happy anniversary you guys and here’s to you two celebrating many more wonderful years together!