Aaradhya Bachchan took Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek to see Ariana Grande live: ‘Didn't even know one song'

For once, it was Aaradhya Bachchan picking the evening's entertainment. During a summer holiday abroad, the 14-year-old took her parents along to an Ariana Grande concert, and Abhishek Bachchan walked out a convert. He admits he didn't know a single song going in. It didn't matter.

"On our summer break, we were abroad and she took us to see an Ariana Grande concert. I didn't even know one song, but that woman could sing. Oh my god! The quality of the voice… unbelievable, and to see the fandom that these young singers have is unbelievable," the actor-entrepreneur told BBC Asian Network.

He also had a word for anyone of his generation inclined to dismiss today's pop stars. "I think they are all so immensely talented, and I know as an older generation like, 'Oh no no, we don't want to listen to Taylor Swift.' No, they actually make great music."

A playlist with two generations in it

The concert came up while Abhishek was talking about the music he loves, a list rooted firmly in classic Hindi film songs. "Kishore Kumar is a personal favourite. I love listening to Hindi film music, especially the older ones: RD Burman, SD Burman, Kalyanji Anandji, Laxmikant Pyarelal, Bappi Lahiri, they are all just brilliant. I enjoy that."

Living with a teenager, though, means the speakers at home don't stay in the past for long. Abhishek credited Aaradhya with introducing him to a host of international artistes, and described her taste as "eclectic," which, he joked, works in his favour.

"I have a 14-year-old at home, so there is a lot of Olivia Rodrigo and Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande. But thankfully, she also loves 80s music and she is getting into Bon Jovi, and Van Halen and Metallica so that's fun. She has got an eclectic sense of music, so I am safe. I don't have to just listen to all these…"

What's next for Abhishek

On screen, Abhishek was last seen in Riteish Deshmukh's Marathi film Raja Shivaji. He is next set to play the antagonist in Shah Rukh Khan's King, directed by Siddharth Anand. The ensemble includes SRK's daughter Suhana Khan, Deepika Padukone, Rani Mukerji, Anil Kapoor, Jackie Shroff and Arshad Warsi, among others. King releases on December 24, a week after Avengers Doomsday and Dune 3, and marks SRK's return to the big screen after his three massive 2023 hits, Pathan, Jawan and Dunki.