Heard this?? Aishwarya Rai, the gorgeous Bachchan bahu and her dashing husband Abhishek Bachchan have been paid a whopping Rs 25 crore to shoot for a soap commercial.

The mega deal with a giant corporate entity was finalized around four days ago and the shooting is likely to take place abroad very soon.

Sources close to Bachchans reveal that Aishwarya and Abhishek Bachchan had been in negotiations with various product makers for a mega endorsement deal to enhance the value of Bachchan brand, but things took a bit longer to fall in place.

However, now everything has been finalized and deal is through for the first ever Aishwarya Rai-Abhishek Bachchan endorsement deal. The sources close to the corporate house reveal that they agreed to pay the huge amount to Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan as it was for the first time that the couple would be endorsing a product together. Aishwarya Rai’s appeal amongst the masses can not be ignored even after marriage, and presence of Abhishek Bachchan will only boost her appeal to family audiences.

In any case, the endorsement market is soaring with mega deals with big Khans—Aamir Khan and Shah Rukh Khan-- and so it was not very surprising if the soap makers chose to go for the most glamorous couple of bollywood for their products.

It may be recalled that even Shah Rukh Khan had not found anything objectionable in shooting for soap commercial, and in fact had endorsed a brand. King Khan even went for tub bath in the ad to showcase the best qualities of that beauty soap.

Whatever, but this soap endorsement deal by Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan, has certainly made Bachchans the biggest brand of bollywood. This is especially so when it is calculated that Amitabh Bachchan still rules the roost with numerous products from reputed Indian companies and now AbhiAsh too have joined the bandwagon.

Abhishek-Aishwarya branding power is likely to be enhanced further after the release of their mega-budget flick like Mani Rathnam’s ‘Raavana,’ where they will be seen together after ‘Guru’ and ‘Sarkar Raj. The grapevine also has it that it was only to enhance their joint brand value that Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai always try to be present on filmi occasions-- like awards functions and film festivals (remember Cannes)-- happily together.