Fun-filled music and dance gala for Ash and Abhi

Mumbai: It is being billed as the wedding of the year with the three-day traditional Hindu nuptials starting today with the fun-filled Sangeet ceremony marked by song and dance involving relatives and close friends of the bride and groom.

Aishwarya Rai, 33, former Miss World and an accomplished actress, will marry the heartthrob of millions of young female fans - Abhishek Bachchan, 31, an equally good actor and son of India's best known actors Amitabh and Jaya. While the marriage will be solemnised on April 20, preparations for today's Sangeet went into full swing from morning at Prateeksha, the Juhu home where the Bachchan children - Abhi and sister Shweta - grew up.

Tents for guests

A huge air-conditioned and sound proof tent has been put up for guests on the Bachchan's lawns where close friends of Amitabh and Jaya will enthral guests with dance performances. Karan Johar, well-known film director and a friend of Abhi, has choreographed a dance sequence with tunes created by Shankar, Ehsan and Loy. Rishi Kapoor and his wife Neetu, Ajay Devgan and Kajol, Sunil Shetty and wife Mana, Sanjay Dutt, Rohan Sippy along with Sachin Tendulkar and his wife Anjali from the bride's side will take the floor tonight.

The hit song Bidi Jalaile‚ from the film Omkara will be one of the numbers for the guests to shake it out even as Ash and Abhi will step out for a Salsa for which they were trained by choreographer Sandeep Soparkar. Actor Riteish Deshmukh will do an "item number"‚ while Amitabh and Jaya are also expected to shake a leg.

For the past few days, hectic rehearsals were on in Jalsa, another Juhu home where the Bachchans now reside, going on from 9 pm till 2 am. Interestingly, noted artist M.F. Hussain has done a special but controversial painting for the occasion - of Abhi riding a horse and holding a sword in one hand and his lady love in the other even as a bare-chested Salman Khan is chasing them with a lathi or stick. It is not known whether he will present the painting to the bridal couple.

And it is still not clear whether the Bachchans have sold the video rights to cover the wedding to a foreign media house for a sum of Rs400 million (Dh33.3 million).