Gulab Jamun: 7 Movies in Which Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan Worked Together and How They Fared at the Box Office

After a gap of 8 years, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan are coming together to recreate their real-life marital romance on screen. The stars have agreed to play the leads in Gulab Jamun. The movie will be produced by Anurag Kashyap, who has recently directed Abhishek in the upcoming Manmarziyan.

Aishwarya had confirmed the news to Mid-Day, where she spoke, "AB and I have agreed to do Gulab Jamun. I told AB that he needs to decide what he wants to do after Manmarziyan. We had agreed on the idea then. However, it was around the same time that AB decided to take a time-out. After the hiatus, he returned with Manmarziyan, which coincidentally is directed by Anurag Kashyap. That’s when the chatter around Gulab Jamun began again, and we finally came on board. It is a beautiful script, and we fit the narrative perfectly."

While Aishwarya and Abhishek make for an adorable pair both on screen and offscreen, their movies have not lived up to their chemistry. Let's look at the films that had Aishwarya and Abhishek in the lead and how they fared at the box office. (PS -not counting Bunty Aur Babli, where Aishwarya had a cameo)

Dhaai Akshar Prem Ke

BO Status: Flop

Interestingly, in their first movie together, Abhishek and Aishwarya were nothing more than co-stars. At that time, Abhishek was in a relationship with Karishma Kapur, while Aishwarya was seeing Salman Khan. Salman even had a cameo in the movie.

Kuch Na Kaho

BO Status: Flop

In this sort-of remake of Sleeping with My Enemy, Abhishek falls for Ash's character, even after learning she is already married. Arbaaz Khan played her abusive husband in the film.

Dhoom 2

BO Status: Super-hit

This is the first hit starring Ash and Abhi, but they were not paired opposite each other. Abhishek's character was married to Rimi Sen's, while Aishwarya romanced Hrithik Roshan in the Sanjay Gadhvi film. The movie came after it was announced that Abhi-Ash will get married soon. So it was rumoured that the liplock between Hrithik and Ash in the movie displeased her future in-laws the Bachchans.

Umrao Jaan

BO Status: Flop

This remake of the classic Rekha-starrer failed to bring in the audiences.

Guru

BO Status: Hit

Finally, it was Mani Ratnam that gave the Abhi-Ash romance a much-needed hit. Guru is still considered as a milestone in the careers of both the stars. This was also their first movie after their marriage that happened in 2007.

Sarkar Raj

BO Status: Hit

Sarkar Raj worked well on the goodwill of the first film, even though it was weaker than Sarkar. This was Aishwarya's only film in the franchise.

Raavan

BO Status: Flop

The last Bollywood film starring Aishwarya and Abhishek. Despite the huge hype, Mani Ratnam failed to recreate the Guru magic with the lead couple in the modern reinterpretation of Ramayana. Chiyaan Vikram made his Bollywood debut with the film.

So it has been four flops and three hits for this jodi. Can Gulab Jamun balance things out by being a hit? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 31, 2018 05:53 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).