Even as the engagement announcement pervaded the electronic and print media, both Abhishek and Aishwarya chose to maintain a discreet distance from and a deafening silence on the matter.

While Abhishek flew off the next morning with his mother Jaya to Rajasthan for the shooting of Goldie Behl’s Drona, Aishwarya chose to be with her family on Monday before heading for Karjat to shoot for Ashutosh Gowariker’s Jodha-Akbar, thereby leaving all the subsequent details including the wedding date to the parents.

Says a close family friend, “It’s almost like an arranged marriage, with love thrown in. We all knew Abhishek and Ash were getting close to each other for a long time. But neither spoke about it. And since they’re very private people we thought it unwise to probe beyond a point. We just let their relationship take a natural course. We’re genuinely happy to discover that the two of them have decided to be together.”

But their hands-off attitude has surprised many. “Ash has made it very clear that all marriage details will be decided by her parents. The same goes for the Bachchans. For a while now, Ash has been a dutiful bahu at their residence, so much so that Jaya has completely warmed up to her and has been telling friends for a while that Ash will fit wonderfully into their household.”

Now both the parties in the biggest wedding of several years are waiting for the parents to get together and select a date. Says a close friend of Ash, “Her Dad is out of town. As soon as he returns in a couple of days he’ll be meeting Mr Bachchan to decide a date. Both the families are eager to lock in on a date for the wedding.”