Junior Bachchan was in his element as his team Chennayin FC played against the defending champions Atletico De Kolkata at the first match of the Indian Super League. His signature lungi act at halftime received huge roars from the crowd. “That’s tradition and every half time I put on my lucky lungi,” he laughed. The first edition of the Indian Super League in 2014 had seen Abhishek Bachchan break into a lungi dance with the co-owner of Chennayin FC, Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
Though Chennai lost to Kolkata, Abhishek Bachchan said that this was just the first match and he is motivated for winning the next ones. “It’s a good start. Like, I say, it’s good to get the first loss and win the rest of it,” he said.
Expressing pride in being associated with Chennai’s team and also delighted about hosting the inaugural on the home ground, he said, “We feel very proud as the owner of Chennayin FC. It feels good and it’s a moment of pride that we have the honour of hosting this ceremony. I thought it was a beautiful show and was well conceptuliased. It is a very proud moment. And Chennai’s supporters are always the best. We have some of the best fans.”
The actor made his presence felt at the match by cheering for his team and even read out the names of his team’s line-up himself. The whole Bachchan family was present at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium at Chennai on Saturday to support the team. His wife and Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s performance added to the glitz at the ceremony. Ask him what he thought about the performance, he said, “I thought she was brilliant. Didn’t you?”
Delighted with Sachin Tendulkar’s presence at the match, who is also the co-owner of Kerala Blasters, Abhishek said, “Kerala Blasters is a great team and Kerala is one of the loudest stadiums I have been to. They have great support and it is a very intimidating place to go to as an away team. We have played there three times and we lost to them in the semi finals. He was there for our first game last season as well and he is here today. This means a lot to me.”
All geared up, the Chennayin FC will now head to Delhi for their next match on October 8. Ask Abhishek, about his most favourite thing about Chennai? “Well, the Chennayin FC,” he signed off.
