The brief opening ceremony, which lasted little over 45 minutes, was star-studded.
The crowd at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium went berserk as Tamil superstar Rajinikanth made a grand entry. He rode around the stadium in a buggy before entering the stage.
Nita Ambani, the Chairperson of Football Sports Development, declared the season open when Rajini handed over the official Hero ISL football to her.
While Sachin Tendulkar was given a rousing welcome, Bollywood also made its presence felt with some powerhouse performances by Aishwarya Rai and Alia Bhatt. The host of the evening was also a Bollywood star -- Arjun Kapoor.
Aishwarya danced to some of her hit numbers like Dola Re and Dhoom. She looked stunning in a heavily embellished wine red outfit.
Her family members - father-in-law Amitabh Bachchan, mother-in-law Jaya Bachchan and husband Abhishek Bachchan -- were seen cheering for her from the VIP box.
Alia Bhatt grooved to some of her super hit songs like 'Radha' and 'Disco Deewane' before matching steps to the ISL theme song, 'Let's Football'.
Music maestro A.R. Rahman sparked patriotic fervour when he gave a soul-stirring rendition of the National Anthem.
The inaugural match was played between Chennaiyin FC and Atletico de Kolkata.
Image source: Manav Manglani