Bollywoods most famous newlyweds visit temple

Bollywood’s hottest husband and wife are sticking to a killer schedule.

Two days after former beauty queen Aishwarya Rai wed India’s most eligible bachelor Abhishek Bachchan in a flamboyant ceremony dubbed the “wedding of the century” by the Indian media, the couple flew to a temple town in southern India today.

Television channels were flooded with images of the couple, both sets of parents and several close friends and relatives entering the famous Tirumala temple in Tirupati, in southern Andhra Pradesh state.

Rai, 33, was dressed in a red and gold traditional silk sari and wore a mangalsutra, a necklace of black and gold beads, and sindoor, or red vermillion powder in the parting of her hair. Both are considered auspicious for Hindu married women.

Her new husband, 31-year-old Bachchan, wore a white kurta-pajama, a loose tunic with baggy pants.

At the temple, crowds of fans, media photographers and reporters jostled for space as private security and policemen created a protective ring around the couple and their entourage.

There were reports that a photographer sustained minor injuries after a scuffle with security staff on Saturday, and the groom’s father, Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan, apologised to photographers on today.

“I apologise for the inconvenience caused,” he told reporters in a brief appearance. “The wedding was meant to be a private affair.”

After two days of pre-wedding ceremonies and parties, the couple were married on Friday in a traditional Hindu ceremony at Bachchan’s family home in suburban Juhu in Mumbai, the capital of India’s Hindi film industry.

That was followed by a bidai, or giving away the bride ceremony, on Saturday.

With both the Rai and Bachchan families reportedly asking their guests not to speak to the media, few details about the various events were available.

News reports have said that the couple are likely to head to Venice for a month-long honeymoon.

The media frenzy has surrounded the two stars since they were engaged in a ceremony in January.

Rai shot to fame when she was crowned Miss World in 1994 and is the brand ambassador for leading cosmetic companies. Bachchan is a popular romantic hero and comes from a famous Bollywood movie family – his father Amitabh is an Indian movie icon, and his mother Jaya is also a famous actress.