Three years into their marriage and seven films together later, Abhishek and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan seem to have truly settled down now. In the promos of their seventh film, Mani Ratnam's Raavan which releases on June 18 this year, the two actors are looking like they have pulled out all stops for their performance.
Raavan is a modern version of the epic Ramayana. Aishwarya plays Ragini, denoting conscience, beauty and music, while Abhishek plays a version of Raavan called Beera Munda – the undisputed, unlawful, untamed tribal. Aishwarya's husband in the film is actor Vikram who plays Dev Pratap Sharma – the punisher, the law, the righteous man.
Raavan looks promising and probably would do for Abhi-Ash what they might have expected from Sarkar Raj – that audiences accept them as actors in a film together after their high-profile and hush-hush marriage April 2007.
Audiences don't take too kindly to real-life couples on screen in today's times. Gone are the days of Raj Kapoor and Nargis, Dharmendra and Hema Malini, Kishore Kumar and Madhubala, Dilip Kumar and Saira Banu, or Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Singh.
If we take recent examples of married or dating actors, none of their films together have done too well. A case in point – Salman Khan-Katrina Kaif, Saif Ali Khan-Kareena Kapoor and Ajay Devgan-Kajol.
If the Bachchan couple happens to click in Raavan, and it sure seems like it will, we shall finally see a 'power couple' in Aishwarya and Abhishek. This was imminent from the day they got married on April 20 three years ago. But the two seemed like they were taking steps holding the hand of their 'Pa' – superstar Amitabh Bachchan.
But with Big B's absence from Raavan, this could be a step ahead from Guru for the pair. They will finally emerge out of daddy dearest's shadows and shine. Abhi-Ash in the ad of a soap brand itself were so cool, it's like they were waiting for a film which would realise their potential.
True, in Raavan, Aishwarya is married to Vikram's character Dev. But eventually, she falls for Beeru, played by real-life hubby Abhishek – or so the story goes.
But it's pretty evident that the new power couple will have to work in unconventional stories for them to click. Before marriage too, Abhi-Ash in Dhai Akshar Prem Ke, or Kuch Naa Kaho just didn't click. Neither did their film Umrao Jaan work, even though they looked good together and acted decently. The film though also suffered because of its pace and an age-old story retold.
Guru was the first Abhi-Ash film to click, and knowing that they were dating then, added to the hype. Sarkar Raj also worked, but again, it was an unconventional film.
So, will the gamble of Raavan work? If the answer is yes, then Abhi-Ash could be the next power couple on screen too, with scripts being written to suit the kind of films they would look good in – also giving them ample chance to challenge themselves as actors.
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