Aishwarya Rai recalls sudden engagement with Abhishek Bachchan, says she didn’t know what ‘roka’ meant

Actor Aishwarya Rai Bachchan recalled her whirlwind engagement to Abhishek Bachchan in a new interview, during which she revealed that as a south Indian, she had no idea what a ‘roka’ ceremony is.

Aishwarya will appear in an episode of Famously Filmfare, and according to a Pinvilla report, the actor spoke about her sudden engagement in 2007 and the ensuing excitement. “He proposed, which was amazing! And it happened like really suddenly,” she said. “I didn’t even know there’s something called a ‘roka’ ceremony. We are South Indians, so, I don’t know what a ‘roka’ is and suddenly there is this call from their house to ours; ‘we are coming’.” To make matters more nerve-wracking, her father was out of town.

She added, “Abhishek was like ‘we are all coming and I can’t stop dad. We are on our way. We are coming to your place’. I’m like, ‘Oh my God!’ So, this ‘roka’ is happening with a call to my father, who is out of town.” But, she said, “Mum is here, we are here. They’ve all arrived home, they are emotional and all. I’m like, ‘Oh my God, it’s happening.’ Then it’s like, ‘come on, let’s go home’. I’m like, ‘Mom, okay... is this...is this an engagement? Like, what just happened?’”

Aishwarya previously spoke about the moment Abhishek proposed to her in another clip from the episode. Recalling the ‘surreal’ moment — she was on the sets of Jodhaa Akbar —Aishwarya said, “Ashutosh (Gowariker) is like ‘you are engaged’ and I am like ‘yeah,’”. Meanwhile, ‘Duggu (Hrithik)’, gave her an excited thumbs up. “We’re doing Khawja Mere Khwaja, sitting as a bride, and I am like, oh my god this is surreal, all happening on-screen, off-screen, this is bizarre,” she continued.

Aishwarya and Abhishek made their relationship public only after announcing their engagement in 2007. They were married shortly afterwards in a private ceremony at the Bachchan residence in Mumbai. Aishwarya and Abhishek have worked together on numerous films, such as Dhoom 2, Guru and Raavan.

After the ‘roka’ ceremony, Aishwarya said that she was summoned to the Bachchans’ Juhu home. “And AB is like, just come home. Then we go home, and I’m sitting in Jalsa. The whole town has arrived, visited us that night. There is this full-on party going on in Jalsa and I’m like, Okay, so now this is happening.’ AB was like ‘yeah. You have no idea what is going to hit you further’. I’m like, ‘Okay!’ It’s just like on. Yeah, so it was quite a whirlwind.”

These days Aishwarya and Abhishek are frequently spotted with their daughter, Aaradhya, whose pictures both parents share on their social media.

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