Millions of Bollywood fans face disappointment after “the wedding of the year” failed to materialise when the Hindi film industry’s hottest couple opted for a low-key affair behind closed doors.

The guest list to celebrate the union of Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai this week is so exclusive that many of Bollywood’s Alist stars have not made it.

Only a select group of about 200 — modest by Indian standards — received the invitations embossed with two entwined A’s and accompanied by a box of chocolate meringues. The three-day celebration kicks off today with the sangeet, a traditional pre-wedding party. More than 500 police officers will be stationed at the Bachchan family house in Bombay, the venue for the wedding ceremony on Friday, to control the fans expected to gather for a glimpse of their idols. Private security guards have also been employed to keep out gate-crashers. Extinguishers will reportedly be on hand in case people set themselves on fire.

Preparations were in full swing yesterday. “I am very happy that Abhishek is getting married but I feel sorry that we, the fans, are being barred from the ceremony. I feel hurt,” one fan waiting outside the Bachchan residence told reporters.

Another wrote on a Bollywood website: “The list is so little that I think my baby’s birthday party is celebrated with more guests.”

Ever since Bachchan and Rai — dubbed Abhiash by the Indian media — announced their engagement in January after a short romance, the wedding plans have been closely watched. Bachchan, 31, is the son of the screen legend Amitabh, one of Bollywood’s leading men in his own right. Rai, 33, is a former Miss World.

The couple, likened to the Hollywood pair Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie for celebrity status, have appeared together in at least five films and are considered a blockbuster combination at the box office.

Contrary to expectations, the Bachchans are keeping the Hindu wedding ceremony strictly private. The reason is said to be out of respect for Teji Bachchan, Amitabh’s mother who is critically ill in hospital and is the one most desperate to see her grandson married.

A large-scale reception at a five-star hotel and a honeymoon are planned for later in the summer. The couple have received an invite from Tourism Ireland.

Some tantalising details of the wedding have been strategically leaked to an expectant press. Rai will wear dresses designed by Neeta Lulla while her henna for the mehendi ceremony tomorrow is being brought specially from Sojat, in Rajasthan. About 1,000 heliconia flowers will come from Kerala and the sweets from Kanpur.

Traffic police have agreed to close the roads around the house for half an hour so that Bachchan can ride a white horse for the final part of the journey on his wedding day, which astrologers have approved for being auspicious.

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