January 28, 2007	Sunday	Muharram 08, 1428

NEW DELHI, Jan 27: Legendary Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan said in an interview broadcast on Saturday he considered his future daughter-in-law, leading actress Aishwarya Rai, “domesticated” and a “simple girl”.

When asked what it was that impressed him about Rai, Bachchan told the NDTV news channel: “I think she’s a lot simpler than what is made out of her. She’s a very simple girl, very traditional. She’s also very domesticated.”

Former Miss World Rai, 33 and Bachchan’s son, Abhishek, 30, are among the country’s top stars. They got engaged earlier this month, putting an end to feverish speculation about a hush-hush romance.

TV channels and newspapers said the marriage -- Bollywood’s biggest for years -- was likely to take place as early as next month. Some have even suggested Feb 19 or March 7 as possible dates.

The couple offered prayers in a popular temple in the Mirzapur district of Uttar Pradesh state on Saturday while attending the birthday celebrations of leading politician Amar Singh.

“Abhishek applied ‘sindhoor’ (vermillion) on Aishwarya’s forehead,” a local priest told reporters. “This is normally done only by married couples.”

“The prayer was also aimed at ridding Aishwarya of various effects of certain astronomical configurations,” he said.

Although there has been no sign of an astrological mismatch between the pair it is customary in India to try to eliminate any bad omens as a safety precaution.—Reuters