‘Aishwarya and I started dating here’: Abhishek Bachchan reveals why Jaipur became his Pink Panthers home
Here's the latest relationship update doing the rounds:
When Abhishek Bachchan decided to venture into owning a sports team in 2014, investing in kabaddi was still a rather novel idea in the Indian sports. For the star, however, joining hands with the Pro Kabaddi League by purchasing a team wasn’t a mere business venture either. Each step taken had a personal angle to it. In an interaction with the chairperson of PwC India, Sanjeev Krishnan on his podcast show Future Unplugged, Abhishek revealed the story behind his franchise.
Adding to this, Abhishek Bachchan reveals the Aishwarya Rai Bachchan connection behind his choice of Jaipur for Pink Panthers. Why Abhishek chose Jaipur Jaipur has always held a special place in Abhishek Bachchan’s life. It was one of the locations where he shot his debut movie Refugee, and it was also the city where his relationship with Aishwarya Rai Bachchan began, making it an especially meaningful choice for him. Explaining his decision, Abhishek shared, “I picked up the Jaipur team. Jaipur is where I shot a part of my first movie. It was an auspicious thing to start something new. It was also a city where Aishwarya and I started dating, it has an emotional part.”
Meanwhile, Even the name of the team has some sweet family significance to it. Abhishek mentioned that his daughter loved the color pink at that point, whereas Pink Panther was inspired by Aishwarya who played her role in The Pink Panther 2 in 2009. Thus, even the name carried a piece of his family with it. He added, “Pink because it was my daughter's favourite colour at that point of time and 'Pink Panther' was a movie which Aishwarya made. If you see, our Pink Panther has blue-green eyes which are the same as my wife's. So there is a personal connect to everything about Jaipur Pink Panthers.”
Notably, View this post on Instagram About Abhishek's teams Jaipur Pink Panthers was founded in 2014 as one of the eight original franchises of the Pro Kabaddi League. Abhishek became the owner of the Jaipur-based team and revealed the franchise ahead of the league's inaugural season.
As per the latest buzz, That passion eventually expanded beyond kabaddi. Abhishek is also associated with Chennaiyin Football Club in the Indian Super League and is a co-founder of the European T20 Premier League, which is scheduled to begin in August 2026.
In further updates, Abhishek Bachchan will next star in Shah Rukh Khan starrer King, which is scheduled for Christmas 2026 rollout. He is as per reports playing the antagonist. The movie also stars Deepika Padukone, Jackie Shroff, Suhana Khan, Anil Kapoor, Arshad Warsi, Raghav Juyal among others.
On top of that, Monica Yadav is a senior entertainment journalist with Hindustan Times Entertainment, based in Mumbai, with nearly 11 years of experience covering Bollywood, Hollywood and Asian entertainment, including Korean, Chinese and Thai cinema, television and music. She is among the few Indian journalists in India with a dedicated focus on Korean entertainment, including K-pop and K-dramas, and has interviewed some of the industry's biggest stars while closely tracking the rise of global pop culture. Her reporting has also taken her beyond India, where she has covered travel, culture and entertainment. Alongside her work at Hindustan Times, her bylines have appeared in several international publications. Known for her in-depth interviews, feature stories and engaging storytelling, Monica enjoys exploring the human side of entertainment. From breaking news and long-form features to music coverage, explainers and on-camera conversations with artists, she is passionate about telling stories that connect with audiences across the world. Read More
Source: Hindustan Times