On a show titled Meet the Most Famous People in the World, Oprah Winfrey introduced a superstar couple of Bollywood: “They stopped production on eight major movies and flew eight thousand miles to be here for their first ever television interview together. The movie star couple more famous than anybody else in the world – even more than Brad and Angelina … anybody.” I will give you one guess, and if you said Abhishek and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, you get a gold star. The couple appeared on Oprah’s talk show on September 28 not only answering questions but giving a Bollywood dance troupe the surprise of their lives. Here are some highlights of the totally cute Abhishek and the gorgeous Aishwarya on The Oprah Winfrey Show.
Before they came out, Oprah introduced the couple to the audience with a few facts. “India’s Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan have five Billion, yes, I said five Billion fans around the globe. She has been called the world’s most beautiful woman and he is not so bad himself! They are husband and wife, and superstars of Bollywood.”
The couple came out holding hands. Abhishek looked very handsome, and Aishwarya was lovely in a traditional sari. Abhi, or ABee as Oprah called him, set the tone of the interview with a cute answer to her question, “You have never done this before, sat down together?” He responded, “We sit together quite often!”
Oprah then asked, “How did you pop the question to the most beautiful woman in the world? “I was filming in New York for a movie,” he said, “and I used to stand on the balcony of my hotel room and wish that, ‘One day, you know, wouldn’t it be nice if I was together with her, married’. So I took her to the very same balcony, and I asked her to marry me.” The audience sighed and Aishwarya said, “It was very sweet and at the same time real …” “Real?” Abhi queried, but Oprah had gone on to the next question and we will never know what she meant.
Talk turned to their wedding and Oprah showed some footage of the hundreds of fans outside the Bachchan residence trying to catch a glimpse of the stars. It also showed some people getting beaten up, and both Aish and Abhi cried, “Sorry” with Abhishek saying, “I didn’t know this was happening.” They also talked about the Indian wedding ceremony.
To Oprah, the fact that Aishwarya and Abhi live together with his parents (you may know them – Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan) was not something that could be readily understood by American culture and she asked how that worked. Aish turned to Abhi, “Go on, say it.” So Abhi, with a twinkle in his eye asked Oprah, “You live with your family?” “No,” she said. “How does that work?” They went on to explain that to them it is entirely natural. The couple revealed that Jaya has a rule that they all must eat together if they are all in town. “One of the rules in the house set by Mom is if we’re all in the city, we have to have one meal a day together.”
One of the cutest exchanges was when Oprah asked, “What is it like being married to the most beautiful woman in the world?
“Pleasant on the eyes” was Abhi’s answer to which Aishwarya totally cracked up!
“Nice to wake up to,” said Oprah.
“Yeah, and she looks exactly the same. No, it’s true, you wake up and you are like really, even in the morning?!?”
“You can see why I married him, he just makes everything funny,” said the laughing Aishwarya.
They also talked about how kissing is not part of Bollywood movies and Abhi explained, “For example, boy meets girl, they fall in love, they want to express their love for each other. So in the West, they would kiss, and they’re in love. In India, we have a song.” Adding, “Isn’t that more interesting? You have this intimate moment, and suddenly … snap, cut … you’re in the mountains singing and dancing!”
Charming Abhi was at it again when Oprah said, “So what do you do on a day off?” Abhi said with tongue firmly in cheek, “We fly to Chicago and come on Oprah.” He then explained that they don’t have a lot of time together since he is currently working on four films and she is working on four plus the one they are doing together. Aishwarya added, “But when we do have spare time it is just normal time. We just love to hang out at home, really spend time with each other and with family and with friends.”
Oprah said that it will be an international event when they announce that Aishwarya is pregnant, to which Abhi fervently responded, “I really hope not!” Ash said, “I have been proclaimed pregnant already a couple of times. I’m like, ‘Okay, is that a hint?’ People would be watching every little bulge, and I’m like, Oh my God. If you’re not in shape, you’re pregnant.”
Aish says being called the most beautiful woman in the world is sweet, but that she is just normal like everyone else. She has her bad and good days. And to that Oprah said, “Aish, Aish have you ever looked into the mirror and said damnnnnnn …”
“I have, I have! Cross my heart I have … “
“Damnnnn … I am really pretty, good looking,” Oprah continued.
“Oh no no no no,” Aish protested, “I am going like damn that doesn’t work but I gotta get back on the road. So, yeah it happens!”
Another fun segment was when Abhi and Aish gave the Dhoonya Dance Company the surprise of their lives. The Bollywood troupe thought they were just coming on Oprah’s show to perform their dance number to ‘Balle Balle’ from Bride and Prejudice, but unbeknownst to them Abhishek and Aishwarya were backstage and in the middle of their number they walked back onto the set. All the girls kept dancing at first, then they stopped and there were tears, hugs and lots of shocked and smiling faces!
One of the funniest moments was when the definition-of-hotness Nacho Figueras (Vanity Fair readers’ pick for number 2 Most Handsome Man in the World) was sitting next to Aish, and while he was talking about his passion for Polo he looked over at Aish and said, “Wow your eyes are amazing … ” Aish looked taken aback and then glanced over at Abhi. Nacho then said, “I’m sorry”…to Abhi who cracked his neck… “With all the respect in the world …” Nacho continued. AB then smiled and laughed after Nacho said,”You can say that to my wife, too.”
The show ended with Oprah talking about gifts and Aishwarya said, “I think time is the most precious gift we can give to each other.” Abhishek agreed, “I think that is the one thing you really strive for is your privacy and your time to be as normal as possible, because we do such an extra-normal job. You go out there… you sing… you dance…you beat up 50 guys. You know, we do things that might not be believable, so when you come back home normalcy is really what you look for.”
