Amitabh Bachchan welcomes Aishwarya and Abishek's new baby girl

The newborn girl in Bollywood's first family resembles daughter-in-law Aishwarya Rai, revealed a proud grandfather Amitabh Bachchan, hours after he brought the new family member home to their bungalow in suburban Mumbai Tuesday evening.

Amitabh Bachchan holds his granddaughter walking with Aishwarya Rai Bachchan as they leave the seven hills hospital in Mumbai.

The newborn girl in Bollywood's first family resembles daughter-in-law Aishwarya Rai, revealed proud grandfather Amitabh Bachchan, hours after he brought the new member of the family to their bungalow in suburban Mumbai.

"A newborn's features always keep changing, but I felt she looked like Aishwarya," said Bachchan. "Some other members of the family felt she also had Abhishek's features."

He was sitting beside his actor son Abhishek -- both men dressed in sparkling white kurta-pyjamas -- at a press conference in the open courtyard at the Amitabh Bachchan Corporation office in Juhu Tuesday evening.

The 38-tear-old new mother and her as-yet unnamed baby girl, who was born on  morning of November 16, were discharged from Seven Hills Hospital around 3.30pm and brought to the Bachchan residence at Jalsa, located in the suburb of Juhu.

The elder Bachchan said the baby girl was first taken to Prateeksha, the family's second residence in Juhu, to seek the blessings of his late parents, poet Harivansh Rai and Teji Bachchan. The couple once lived in the bungalow, just metres from the Bachchan corporation office.

"We also have a small temple in the house and according to our family tradition, we took her there also," said Abhishek Bachchan.

The new dad had launched a Twitter appeal earlier in the day to fans, asking that they suggest names for the newborn. Until a name is chosen, he has nicknamed the child Beti B, suggested via Twitter by a friend.

Amitabh, who completed the fifth season of the popular TV show Kaun Banega Crorepati last week, has taken to calling the baby "little one".

"All suggestions are welcome and we are receiving so many already," he said. "He added there was just one stipulation. "Aishwarya and Abhishek want the baby name to start with the alphabet 'A'."

Looking cheerful, the 69-year-old veteran actor, said: "Like they say, life changes when a new person comes into your home. Lakshmi [the Goddess of Wealth] has come to our house. We are all happy."

The baby girl, who he had carried from the hospital earlier ahead of his son and daughter-in-law, is his third grandchild. Bachchan and his actress-politician wife Jaya became grandparents in 1997 when daughter Shweta, who married into the Delhi-based industrialist family of Nandas, gave birth to a daughter, Navya Naveli, who was later followed by a son, Agastya.

Bachchan also praised his daughter-in-law Aishwarya for showing the courage to make the unusual decision to opt out of a C-section and go for a natural delivery – which stretched over two days – without any painkillers.

Earlier, speculative news reports had said Aishwarya had opted for C-section and chosen the 11.11.11 as date of delivery. However, Bachchan had laughed them off on Twitter.

"Aishwarya wanted a normal delivery," he said. "She did not use any epidural injections or any pain killers. She was in acute labour pain for nearly three hours."

A beaming Abhishek said: "Ash is tired and very happy. The baby is very sweet and obedient. She does not cry much. She is quiet and behaving well…I think the best blessing that a child can get is that the entire family was there when she was born. Both my parents and my in-laws were present."

Although he has a new film "Players" due out in early January, Abhishek said he would have more than enough time in his film schedule to devote to his daughter.

"I am the child of two actors," he said. "Neither of them had any problem spending time with me. I do not remember any occasion – school day functions, plays, sporting activities -- when my father and mother were not there for me. I never felt lack of parents' love while growing up. I had very good training from my parents. I think I will be able to cope," he said smiling widely.

The Bachchans regaled the media with their humour and unique camaraderie. Asked how long would the actors take time off from their film commitments, senior Bachchan, the "angry young man" who has produced several hit films purely doing comedy, said: "I am unemployed now. After finishing Kaun Banega Crorepati, I have no work. That's why I am home."

Son Abhishek quickly intervened, joking: "He is not unemployed. He is on full duty of his granddaughter now."

Senior Bachchan thanked the media for showing restraint in its coverage of the pregnancy and birth and respecting the family's privacy. He continued to deny reports he had any role in censoring the coverage in the form of a detailed circular issued to media ahead of the birth.

"I had no role to play in media underplaying the event," he said. "It was the Broadcast Editors Association that had decided that way. I had never told anyone at the Information & Broadcasting Ministry."

Their restraint was set aside during the press conference, however, as TV crews and photographers jostled during the press conference to catch every word from the actors, trampling a portion of the well-maintained garden.

A fresh round of chaos prevailed minutes after the Bachchans had finished addressing the media, when two street urchins who had clambered upon the 10 feet high wire mesh fence yelled "Aishwarya!"

Media crews, who had been packing up their equipment, rushed to catch a glimpse of the new mother inside the house. Dressed in a peach-coloured salwar-churidar and visibly tired, Aishwarya was held affectionately by her husband as the pair obliged the media with a much-awaited photo-op.