Aishwarya Rai Bachchan greets paps with "Merry Christmas" at Mumbai airport

MUMBAI: Actor Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and her daughter Aaradhya Bachchan were seen leaving Mumbai early on Monday morning.

Videos captured the duo stepping out of their car and heading towards the airport. When approached by the paparazzi, Aishwarya politely said, "Excuse me," and extended holiday greetings, saying, "Merry Christmas and Happy New Year."

For the airport look, Aish and Aaradhya opted for matching black hoodies, pants, and sneakers, keeping their outfits casual yet coordinated.

Earlier, Aishwarya and her husband, actor Abhishek Bachchan, were spotted at the annual function of Dhirubhai Ambani International School, where Aaradhya is a student. The couple attended the event along with Aishwarya's mother, Brindya Rai, to support Aaradhya. Aishwarya was seen walking into the school, holding her mother's arm, while Abhishek accompanied them.

On December 19, Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan also joined the family. In one clip, Abhishek was seen holding Aishwarya's hand protectively as they entered, even taking care of her dupatta to prevent her from stepping on it. The joint appearance of the couple, alongside Amitabh, quelled speculations that had been circulating for months about their marriage.

Rumours about tension between the two reportedly began in July this year, when Aishwarya and her daughter attended Anant Ambani's wedding without the Bachchan family. The rest of the family, including Amitabh, Jaya, Abhishek, Shweta, Agastya Nanda, and Navya Naveli, attended the event together leading to speculation about their separation.

On the work front, Abhishek was recently seen in 'I Want to Talk', directed by Shoojit Sircar. The film was released on November 22.

Aishwarya, on the other hand, was last seen in Mani Ratnam's 'Ponniyin Selvan: Part 2', for which she won the Best Actress in a Leading Role (Critics) award at the South Indian International Movie Awards (SIIMA) in Dubai earlier this year.