The Premier League's return to India is being fronted by an unlikely trio: a Bollywood action star, a Rajasthan Royals cricketer and a young Indian all-rounder.
JioStar has brought together Tiger Shroff, Sanju Samson and Riyan Parag for its new campaign, 'Humara Long Distance Love', as it looks to build anticipation around the 2026/27 Premier League season.
But the bigger story is not simply the launch of another football campaign. It is the way JioStar is leaning into the personalities and fan identities surrounding the Premier League in India, rather than selling the competition only through its football.
Shroff and Parag are both Manchester United supporters, while Samson is a Liverpool fan. Their involvement gives JioStar three recognisable
Indian faces through whom it can sell the idea of Premier League fandom to an audience that may have little geographical connection to the clubs they support.
The campaign launches just days before the new Premier League season begins on August 22.
Why Tiger Shroff, Sanju Samson and Riyan Parag?
The choice of the three celebrities is central to the campaign.
Shroff brings Bollywood star power and a well-established public association with Manchester United. Parag offers a younger sporting voice from Indian cricket, while Samson represents another prominent cricket personality with a strong connection to Liverpool.
Rather than having the three simply appear in conventional promotional material, JioStar has built the campaign around their personal relationships with their clubs.
That distinction matters.
The campaign's premise is that supporting a Premier League club from India is essentially a long-distance relationship. Fans deal with different time zones, late-night kick-offs, heartbreak and long periods without seeing their team in person, yet continue to turn up every week.
For JioStar, the celebrities become a way of putting a face to that experience.
Tiger Shroff's Manchester United connection takes centre stage
In 'The Workout', Shroff appears to be dealing with the frustrations of a difficult relationship as he channels his emotions during an intense gym session.
The eventual reveal is that his frustration and devotion are linked to Manchester United.
Shroff's message is straightforward: supporting a club is not supposed to depend on whether it is winning.
That makes his involvement particularly relevant to the campaign's broader idea of loyalty. Manchester United supporters in India have had plenty of reasons to test that loyalty in recent years, making the long-distance relationship comparison an obvious one.
Shroff himself describes the relationship between a fan and a club as one built around the highs and lows rather than simply success.
Riyan Parag brings a younger Manchester United fanbase into the campaign
Parag's film, 'The Date', takes the concept in a more playful direction.
He appears to be preparing for a romantic date, only for the apparent love interest to be replaced by something very different: a group of friends in Manchester United shirts arriving to watch the season opener.
It is a deliberately simple joke, but it also allows JioStar to tap into the social side of football fandom.
For many Indian fans, Premier League matches are not necessarily solitary viewing experiences. They become group events, often built around WhatsApp groups, late-night watch parties and friendships formed around opposing clubs.
Parag has described Manchester United as the definition of a long-distance relationship, referencing the early mornings, hope and heartbreak that come with following the club from India.
His presence also gives the campaign a direct link to Indian cricket's younger audience.
Sanju Samson represents Liverpool
Samson's 'The Long Wait' is built around a different problem: constantly being on the road.
As a professional cricketer, Samson spends much of his life travelling. The film uses that reality to create the impression that he is trying to maintain a relationship across different time zones.
The reveal is Liverpool.
His hotel room eventually turns into a Liverpool watch party, with friends arriving in the club's shirts ahead of kick-off.
Samson has said Liverpool matches are non-negotiable for him regardless of where he is in the world.
That makes him an effective fit for JioStar's central argument: Premier League fandom does not disappear simply because the supporter is thousands of kilometres away from the club.
The campaign is really about Indian fans, not just the celebrities
That is where 'Humara Long Distance Love' is more interesting than a standard celebrity-led sports advertisement.
JioStar is not trying to convince Indian viewers that Tiger Shroff likes Manchester United or that Sanju Samson likes Liverpool. Those associations are already part of their public identities.
Instead, the broadcaster is using those identities to mirror the experience of millions of Indian supporters.
The campaign specifically leans into the rituals around Premier League fandom: staying awake for matches, dealing with different time zones, watching games with friends and continuing to support a club through bad seasons.
The celebrities are essentially entry points into that larger fan culture.
A big season for the Premier League in India
The campaign also arrives at a particularly interesting point for the competition.
The 2026/27 Premier League season begins on August 22, with Arsenal entering as defending champions.
There are 380 matches across the season, all of which will be available live and exclusively in India on JioHotstar and the Star Sports Network.
The football itself also comes with plenty of fresh storylines.
Nine Premier League clubs have appointed new managers during the summer, while five managers are set to take charge of a Premier League match for the first time.
Arsenal will begin their title defence against newly promoted Coventry City on the opening night.
The Gunners are also the only club entering the season with a manager who has been in charge for more than five seasons.
That gives JioStar a competition with plenty of change to sell to an audience that already has established emotional connections with its clubs.
JioStar is selling the emotion around the Premier League
The more significant takeaway from the campaign is therefore the strategy behind it.
JioStar is positioning the Premier League as something Indian fans have incorporated into their own lives rather than simply a foreign football competition being broadcast in India.
Tiger Shroff's Manchester United fandom, Riyan Parag's Manchester United obsession and Sanju Samson's Liverpool loyalty provide three different versions of that relationship.
And that is ultimately what 'Humara Long Distance Love' is trying to capture: the fact that for a huge number of Indian supporters, the Premier League may be played thousands of kilometres away, but the attachment to the clubs is anything but distant.
