Mumbai, Jan 15 (IANS) Dad Amitabh Bachchan is thrilled with the engagement of son Abhishek with Aishwarya Rai, a decision that was hanging fire for more than a year, and said Monday that the wedding date for Bollywood's hottest couple has not been decided yet.

Asked when the marriage would take place, the Bollywood superstar said: "Not right away. But yes, very shortly. Like every father I'm over the moon, specially at this juncture when Abhishek has delivered such a sledgehammer performance in 'Guru'."

The wedding is expected to take place in February.

"Amitabh Bachchan is so happy with this alliance that he himself called up a journalist and said, 'Congratulations, Abhishek proposed to Aishwarya and she has accepted'," a source close to the family told IANS.

The engagement Sunday evening of the industry's most talked about and written about couple puts at rest all speculation on whether the marriage will happen or not. Close friends feel that their love has withstood the long, rigorous test of time.

A day after the high excitement of the engagement, Amitabh told a news channel that he was "feeling lonely" as his son and wife had left for a shoot early morning and wished they could have relished the celebrations longer.

"Abhishek and Jaya are in Rajasthan shooting. They flew this morning itself. So, after all the excitement, the house is empty right now and I am feeling lonely," Amitabh told CNN-IBN.

Commenting on the speculations by the media on his son's relationship with Aishwarya all these months, he said: "They are young and determined people (media) and they are doing their job. As a celebrity we have certain commitment towards media and we try to fulfil it."