Why Abhishek Missed Aishwarya's Birthday

When Aishwarya Rai Bachchan celebrated her birthday solo in Dubai on November 1, the speculation regarding the Abhishek Bachchan-Aishwarya marital rift ran even higher.

But Abhishek had an urgent family commitment to attend to.

The actor, who has Shoojit Sircar's I Want To Talk coming up for release, has stationed himself in Bhopal to be near his ailing nani.

A member of the Bachchan parivar tells Subhash K Jha that Abhishek insisted on being with his maternal grandmother Indira Bhaduri, as his parents had to attend other engagements.

"They were all in Bhopal with Jayaji's mother a week ago when they nearly lost her. After she was in stable health, Jayaji and Amitji had to fly back to Mumbai for pressing engagements. Abhishek insisted on staying back, cancelling his engagements in Mumbai. This is exactly the way it was when Amitji was losing his mother. He would shoot the entire day and then head to the hospital."

In a recent conversation, Abhishek had told Subhash, "For me, family always comes first. It's the way it has always been for all of us."

Abhishek plays one of the toughest roles of his career in I Want To Talk, which will release on November 22.

"I don't want to give away too much of what we have done in the film, but my director Shoojit and I have redefined the feelgood space. Shoojit has so far worked with my dad in one of their finest films Piku. It is my turn now. I had a ball shooting with Shoojit. I hope he enjoyed himself as much as I did."