“There was no way we couldn’t come to Pune”: Paresh Pahuja on his connection to the city | Exclusive

There’s a quiet, full-circle romance to Paresh Pahuja’s relationship with Pune. Long before the sold-out gigs, streaming success and growing popularity as the face of projects like Bandish Bandits and Nazdeekiyan, the actor-singer was discovering the city through the eyes of a pure cinema lover. During a conversation with us on his recent visit to Pune, Pahuja reflected on how the city slowly became an emotional and artistic marker in his life — from wandering through the iconic Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) campus years ago while visiting a friend, to stumbling into the city’s café and live music culture during the early Hard Rock Café era.

“I’ve actually come here a couple of times before and every time I’ve come here, I’ve seen the face of the city change for the better,” he says. “My first visit was because a friend of mine was studying at FTII and being a cinema lover, just spending time there and having chai on campus felt special.”

Over the years, Pune gradually evolved into something more personal for him. From Koregaon Park’s cultural energy to discovering live bands at Hard Rock Café nearly 15 years ago, Pahuja says the city always carried a deeply artistic identity. “Pune was always this extremely artsy city for me,” he adds, “and I think it continues to live up to that because one of my most streamed cities on Spotify, YouTube and Apple Music is Pune.”

That emotional connection eventually translated into a professional one too. When planning his current tour, skipping Pune was never really an option. “There was absolutely no way we couldn’t come here,” he says with a smile. “And this is actually my first proper performance in Pune, so I’m very happy to be back on stage here.”