Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, Jaya, Karisma Kapoor
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, Jaya, Karisma Kapoor

Karisma Kapoor and sparks flew between the two. Even though Karisma was a couple of years older to him, tit did not deter their relationship. The duo dated for five years before officially announcing their engagement on Amitabh Bachchan's birthday. However, their relationship perhaps was not meant to be.

While there were many theories floating around which cited various reasons for their breakup, it was apparently, Karisma Kapoor's mother, Babita, who had seen enough hardships bringing up her daughters, took this heart-breaking decision. As per a report in Cosmopolitan, Babita was worried about the Bachchan's financial status and crunch looming over their head at that point of time. Moreover, her daughter was not only a known star but also earning pretty well. Babita wanted to guarantee a financially sound future for her daughter and thus, decided to intervene and call off the engagement.

Talking about how she wants their family values to rub off on people who would join the family like Aishwarya Rai, Jaya Bachchan had told People magazine in a 2008 interview, "Yes. That is why I wanted my son to marry a girl who has those values, who has that tradition, that culture."

Karisma Kapoor, Abhishek Bachchan, Sanjay Kapur
Karisma Kapoor, Abhishek Bachchan, Sanjay Kapur

Further talking about whether Karisma lacked those family values, Jaya said, "She has the blood and genes of the Kapoors. They have the tradition. Her father and I were buddies, they had good relations with my husband. So one must not always blame the families.

While there have been many exes in Bollywood who engage in ugly mudslinging after a break-up, Karisma and Abhishek maintained a stoic silence over the matter and never disrespected the other partner. We recently saw Karisma Kapoor dancing with Abhishek Bachchan's wife, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan at the Ambani wedding. On the other hand, Abhishek too shares a warm and friendly equation with Karisma and her family now.