Sunday April 19, 2009
Celebrity cricket
Entering its second year, the Indian Premier League cricket tournament has not lost its lustre or star power.
IT is said that despite its famed multi-cultural and pluralistic ethos, India follows only two religions – cricket and cinema. So naturally, when the two coalesce in the form of the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket championship, there’s explosive action.
The tournament, in its second edition, kicked off last Friday and will go on till May 24. It is outsourced this year to South Africa due to security concerns as it clashes with the Indian general election (from April 16 to May 13).
Interestingly, all the eight IPL teams – Rajasthan Royals, Kings XI Punjab, Chennai Super Kings, Delhi Daredevils, Mumbai Indians, Kolkata Knight Riders, Bangalore Royal Challengers and Deccan Chargers – have a strong Bollywood connect.
Shilpa Shetty signing cricket bats during a match between South Africa and Australia in Johannesburg, South Africa, on March 27. The actress is disappointed that her team won’t get to play on home ground this year. – AP If the Indian film stars don’t own the teams – auctioned publicly last year for eye-popping sums – they’re endorsing them, performing at live shows to promote them or starring in films which feature the IPL players.
With top film stars batting for different teams, cricket fever is ratcheting up like never before. Here’s a lowdown on the glamour game in IPL.
Shah Rukh Khan
A sports freak and consummate businessman, the flamboyant star – conferred the civilian honour of a Datukship by Malaysia’s Malaccan government last year – won the bid for Kolkata Knight Riders for a gasp-inducing US$75.1mil (RM270.4mil) last year.
Shah Rukh Khan announcing the members of his Kolkata Knight Riders team in Mumbai on April 5 for this year’s Indian Premier League in South Africa. – AFP So what if his team had had mixed luck on the field? Shah Rukh’s devotion to his Knights is irrefutable. He’s always there as a pillar of support – shouting, dancing, cheering for them, even getting his wife (Gauri) and kids (Aryan and Suhani) along to augment the on-field excitement.
And in between his gazillion assignments, the 43-year-old king of Bollywood also launched a reality TV show to select the best cheerleaders to rouse his team in South Africa.
Shilpa Shetty
The sultry actress, who co-owns the Rajasthan Royals with her London-based husband-to-be Raj Kundra, has expressed her deep disappointment over the fact that her squad won’t be able to play on home ground – India’s pink city of Jaipur, Rajasthan – due to the change of venue.
“It’s sad that we’re not going to be able to play in Jaipur, which happens to be our home ground. But I’d like our fans to know that it was a decision that wasn’t left to us to take,’ Shilpa, 33, posted on her blog recently.
All the same, the lissome lass isn’t about to let the venue issue hamper the promotional activities for her team. The winner of Britain’s Celebrity Big Brother series in 2007 has just shelled out a hefty amount to shoot the rousing team anthem Halla Bol.
She can afford it. After paying US$16.4mil (RM59mil) early this year for a 12% stake in the Rajasthan Royals – champion of last year’s inaugural IPL tourney – Shilpa went on to launch a luxurious spa in Mumbai.
The Bollywood beauty, who is said to be tying the knot with jewellery tycoon Raj in October, is also busy working on the joint Indian-Chinese production, The Desire. In the film – her first in English – Shilpa portrays an Indian classical dancer who falls in love with a Chinese artist played by Xia Yu.
Preity Zinta
With her film career seemingly on the decline, it’s a smart move on the actress’ part to plump for an extension of her public life through the IPL extravaganza. Last year, the 34-year-old and her industrialist boyfriend Ness Wadia bid for and won the Kings XI Punjab team for US$76mil (RM273.6mil).
Preity Zinta being interviewed before a cricket match between India and New Zealand in Napier, New Zealand, on March 3. Her involvement in the sport has elevated her profile. – Reuters Known to be a hands-on owner – quite literally – Preity hugs, kisses, pats and consoles her boys in full public glare. She even wiped the tears off Sreekanth’s face when the latter was given a resounding slap by the intemperate Harbhajan Singh at one of the matches last year!
Clearly, here’s a maiden who bowls people over.
Juhi Chawla
Another classic example of fading fame heading the IPL way. Last year, Juhi, 41, and her industrialist husband Jay Mehta joined forces with Shah Rukh to win the bid for the Kolkata Knight Riders squad. The actress-TV presenter has acknowledged openly that while Shah Rukh handles the team’s business aspect, she’s there to up the glamour quotient.
Akshay Kumar
Akshay Kumar may not be the proud owner of an IPL team but what can stop him from endorsing one? The 41-year-old actor has been signed on as the brand ambassador for Delhi Daredevils as he hails from the capital city.
“I belong to Delhi and this is my team,” Akshay said at a recent press conference in Delhi. “I’ve always liked cricket and I am a firm believer in the sportsman’s spirit.”
Rani Mukherjee
With dwindling film offers and her hush-hush romance with film director Aditya Chopra not heading anywhere, the hazel-eyed star is pursuing other interests. Cheering for IPL teams is one of them. Rani, 31, has been brought in to pep up industrialist Mukesh Ambani-owned Mumbai Indians.
While her participation ensures she remains visible in public, the team gains by capitalising on Rani’s star appeal. A win-win deal indeed.
Hurman Baweja
Priyanka Chopra’s former boyfriend may not have had rich pickings in Bollywood so far (Love Story 2050 and Victory both flopped), but that didn’t prevent his rich dad (Harry Baweja) from trying to cash in on the IPL fanfare in his last commercial outing, Victory. The movie – which got a tepid response at the Indian box office – starred the 28-year-old Hurman and Amrita Rao in lead roles.
Further eye candy was provided in the form of cameos by iconic cricketers like Simon Jones, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Brett Lee, Shoaib Malik and Chaminda Vaas.
Others
Apart from A-listers, many minor Bollywood actors too have jumped onto the IPL gravy train. Shamita Shetty, Amrita Arora and Diya Mirza, for instance, have performed at IPL venues to popular Bollywood numbers.
Then there was Shah Rukh who roped in Rani Mukherjee and Bipasha Basu to plug his team through a music video.
Meanwhile, Preity’s team is being cheered on by the entire Deol clan – brothers Sunny and Bobby and their father Dharmendra – while tycoon Vijay Mallya has got Katrina Kaif to be the brand ambassador of his Bangalore Royal Challengers.
In the world of IPL, sport and showbiz go hand in hand as the perfect match.
>Neeta Lal is a freelance writer based in New Delhi, India.
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