IT was a big day for Bollywood's reigning royal family on Sunday.

First, superstar Amitabh Bachchan laid the foundation for a girl's college.

And his daughter-in-law, Aishwarya, had that same college named after her, reported the Press Trust of India.

The Daulatpur Village plot of land in India's northern state of Uttar Pradesh has been the centre of a controversial land deal that Amitabh had almost been prosecuted for.

He also made headlines for adopting two orphan girls in Patna who who had been abandoned by their parents apparently due to poverty, reported CNN-IBN.

This article was first published in The New Paper on Jan 29, 2008

Watched by a large number of people, Amitabh laid the foundation stone of Aishwarya Bachchan Girls Inter College which coincided with the birthday of Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh, a close friend of Amitabh.

Amitabh was accompanied by his actor son Abhishek, wife Jaya, Aishwarya and actress-turned- politician Jayapradha, bringing a slice of tinsel world glamour.

POLITICAL BIGWIGS

The function was also given a high-profile political touch by the presence of an array of political bigwigs.

The elder Bachchan said he was happy he was able to keep a promise after Mr Amar Singh had announced on this day last year that a girls college would be set up at Daulatpur.

Clad in a pink saree, Aishwarya and her husband Abhishek, wrapped in white kurta and pyajama with a shawl thrown over his shoulders, were lustily cheered by the villagers.

In a brief speech, Aishwarya said 'it is a dream come true... My family always wanted to do something for the education of girls'.

The Bollywood diva said she was taken by surprise when she came to know that the college was in her name but added it would have been better if it was in the name her late grandfather-in-law and poet Harivansh Rai Bachchan or his wife Teji.

'I was however convinced when the elders told me that the place of the bahu (daughter-in-law) in this family is very important,' Aishwarya said.

A large crowd was on site cheering the family on.

The function, which was organised by a Delhi-based Non-Governmental Organisation Nistha Foundation, whose chairperson is Jayapradha, also witnessed adoption of two girls by Amitabh, who announced to bear all their educational expenses.

The two girls adopted by Amitabh, Anjali Pandey, 8, and Rimjhim, 6, got to meet their benefactor and mentor for the first time.

'Amitabh has adopted two kids. All expenses will be borne by him and they can also complete their higher education from the school,' says Amitabh's representative Chandrama Prasad.

The Uttar Pradesh state High Court had about a-month-and-half ago cleared Amitabh of all charges in the land deal and also ordered that no criminal or civil prosecution could be launched against him.

The court had also accepted Amitabh's plea of giving up his claim on the land.

The school is to be set up on 14,164sqm of land bought by Amitabh.

It will impart education to girls initially up to a Junior College equivalent level.

It will later be expanded into a degree college and will have facilities for imparting computer education, the organisers said.

The classes were expected to begin from July 2008, they said.