It’s common knowledge that Bollywood’s most romantic couple, Abhishek and Aishwarya Rai, pine to spend quality time together.

But the way they were stranded together on Wednesday in the jungles of Athirapilly in Kerala was anything but romantic.

The day started normally and ended up as one of the most calamitous in the couple’s life. Says a source, “Abhi and Ash left with Mani Ratnam in the morning to check out an elephant which was supposed to participate in the shooting. Little did they know what was in store.” During the monsoon season, elephants are given a month off by their owners to relax and go for an Ayurveda treatment, but for the greedy owners, film shooting means Rs 5,000 per animal.

The elephant went berserk, killing the mahout. It went amok, forcing Abhishek, his wife and the director to hide until people who could rescue the trio could reach.Says the source, “For ten hours, Abhishek, Aishwarya and Mani went without food or water. They just hid from the elephant. Finally, they were rescued late at night. But until then, there was no news of their safety. Abhishek and Aishwarya’s parents were delirious with worry.”

When contacted, a shaken Aishwarya Rai simply said, “All is well, by God’s grace.”

- Timesofindia.com