Abhishek Bachchan is as charismatic as ever, as the 40-year-old co-owner of the Chennaiyin FC football team visits the city for his team’s home game. The Dhoom star is in a gung-ho mood; and he has every right to be, as namma ooru are the reigning champions in the ISL! As the new season progresses faster than ever, AB Junior finds time for a quick interview...
How do you connect with Chennai?
I have been visiting the city since I was a kid! I’d often tag along with my father when he used to come here for shooting. And when I became an actor, I came here for the shooting of about five films... in fact, I worked with Mani Ratnam sir here. So, my connection with the city has always been there. Now with Chennaiyin FC, the roots just got deeper.
Was Chennai your first choice, when you decided to own an isl team?
When my partner Vita Dani (co-owner of the team) and I decided to get into ISL, Chennai was the only team that wasn’t there. We inherited the team! I wanted to do something for Indian football... and I was very happy when Chennai came up — because we knew that there is an emerging and fresh market here. A market, which is not traditionally a footballing one. There was a lot of potential to create something new here.
How do you feel about Chennai not having a team in the pro kabbadi league, despite the game being very popular here?
My first-ever coach of the Pink Panthers (which he owns) is from Tamil Nadu. In the last season, we had a huge amount of support from this state. So, I would like to believe that Tamil Nadu also has a team in Jaipur playing for them. (smiles)
Coming back to Chennaiyin FC, what do you do to bond with your players?
What do I do? I go and wake them up in the morning (laughs). No, I spend a lot of time with them. That’s the way Vita and I would like to function. We stick with the players... eat with them, travel with them and hang out. We are family.
Who do you suspect to be the toughest rival for Chennaiyin?
I think all the teams have had very good offseason assignments this season — and all of them will be tough to play against. It’s not just one team this time around.
Has ISL really helped in developing new talents in Indian football?
I have seen the quality of Indian football improve after ISL. Thankfully, the ranking of Indian football team has also improved. Since season one, I have seen a huge difference and more Indian players benefitting from the event.
Very few players from here are part of the city’s ISL team; what do you do to groom more local talents?
We have a new player, Mohanraj from Chennai, playing in the team now. We have an extensive grass root programme, which is being handled by our assistant manager Pasha, who is a local, and a respected national level player. So, we are looking forward to pool in a lot of local talents.
