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When Alexander Isak arrived at Liverpool, the striker got a welcome that was part football, part Bollywood. The music playing in the background was lifted straight from the scene in Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham where Shah Rukh Khan runs to meet Jaya Bachchan.
“Alexander Raichand,” the official Real Madrid Mumbai unit cheekily captioned the clip.
Football clubs around the world are increasingly using Indian filmi and pop music in their social media feeds. These are not India-only accounts but global ones followed by fans across continents.
Dominik Szoboszlai’s debut came with Student of the Year’s Kukkad as the soundtrack. Less than a week ago, Manchester City welcomed Gianluigi Donnarumma with the Shah Rukh Khan hit, Main Hoon Don.
One clip even imagined how Gigi’s presentation would have looked in India, complete with audio of paparazzi directing the star on where to pose.
La Liga has gotten in on the act too, using the 1988 Marathi song Ganpati Majha Nachat Aala from Anand Shinde to highlight its clubs and stars. Borussia Dortmund’s Instagram feed could easily convince anyone that its admin spends more time with Bollywood than Bundesliga.
India is the largest Instagram market in the world, with around 362 million users in 2025, and Reels is the most engaged format. Coupled with the global virality of Bollywood tracks, clubs can use culturally relevant content to boost engagement, loyalty, and commercial opportunities like merchandise sales and sponsorships.
Here are some of the best examples we’ve come across.
