It isn't often that Aishwarya Rai Bachchan lets fans past the velvet rope of her personal life, which is exactly why a new family photograph from this year's Raksha Bandhan celebrations is making the rounds online.
The actress is surrounded by three generations of her family in the photo that her sister-in-law Shrima Rai shared on Instagram: mother Vrinda Rai, brother Aditya Rai, daughter Aaradhya Bachchan, and the two boys of Aditya and Shrima, Vihaan and Shivansh. A day before, Aditya had posted his own version of the image with the simple caption "Rakshabandhan2026."
True to form, Aishwarya kept things understated. She wore a simple white ethnic suit, left her hair open, and finished the look with a pair of sunglasses pushed up on her head. Aditya matched the relaxed mood in an off-white collared T-shirt and blue checked trousers, while Shrima opted for a green ensemble. In the frame, Vrinda Rai is seated with the children gathered around her, with Aaradhya and her young cousins seen embracing their grandmother.
For a long time, Aishwarya has maintained a strict distance from her family life; aside from infrequent photos taken at the airport or on the red carpet, she hardly ever posts candidly. This image has resonated in part because of its shyness. Fans have been speculating about her connection with her brother and his family for years, in part because Shrima hasn't often posted photos of Aishwarya or Aaradhya. This is an uncommon, candid glimpse at that bond.
Aditya, notably, has stayed almost entirely out of the spotlight his sister occupies. He works as an engineer in the Merchant Navy and has only one real brush with the film industry: he co-produced the 2003 film Dil Ka Rishta, which starred Aishwarya and had their mother, Vrinda, on board as a co-writer.
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