Skip to main content

Spark missing from IPL 4 opening ceremony

The glamour and glitz of the 2008 IPL opening ceremony is a thing of the past.

The tournament may have grown bigger in stature, but the colour and the magic that was so much a part of IPL openings, seems to have vanished. Yes, there was a Shah Rukh Khan to get the crowd going, but the Friday night fever never reached that pitch of old. There was no shortage of the lights, sound, camera and action - but the magic was just not there.

The BCCI bosses may well disagree, but the most hated man of Indian cricket administration was sorely missed. The maverick Lalit Modi, with his brand of eccentricities, used to bring a sense of life to the opening ceremonies of earlier editions. But that was just not visible at the MA Chidambaram Stadium as the artists went through their routine.

Was the opening flop anything to do with World Cup hangover?

Probably yes, as far as the administrators are concerned. But the crowd showed they were ready for the fun. The 40,000 had packed in long before the opening ceremony started and just as the fireworks lit up the evening sky over the Chepauk, they went wild. It was time for the yearly ritual of T20 extravaganza and the Chennai cricket lovers made it sure that they are ready for it.

After a couple of low-key performances, Sunidhi Chauhan almost challenged the fans to get going with "Aa dekhe zara, kisme kitna hain dum." For the first time, the crowd danced to the tune, even though the sound-box conked off in one of the stands.

"Come on, we have paid money for this," the voices of dissent said just as SRK took stage. The champion performer knows how to get the crowd going and he did just that in the 15 minutes he was on stage.

Dressed in black, he danced to 'Chak de India', transporting one and all to the glorious moments last Saturday when India lifted the World Cup. And to get the Chennai flavour to the proceedings, SRK signed off with Tamil chartbuster 'Apidi Podu' with Shriya Saran dazzling the stage with him.

But even as the final moments of the opening ceremony were taking place, the players of both the teams had sneaked into the ground. Probably it was their way of saying, "Enough is enough, let's get on with the game now".

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/Spark-missing-from-IPL-4-opening-ceremony/articleshow/7921562.cms

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Being SRK: The ultimate reality TV show

It's a job most Indians would die for — shadowing Shah Rukh Khan wherever he goes. For the last two months, that's exactly what a TV crew has been doing, following the country's biggest star from South Africa to America to London to Mumbai — all for the making of a unique six-part series on the actor, to be telecast on lifestyle channel Discovery Travel & Living. "It's an inner world-outer world kind of documentary," said Khan, speaking exclusively to HT. "Hopefully, the parts that people will get to see of me — at work and at other places — will shed some light on how films and film stars work and offer an insight into how I do things." Khan said he has got to know the crew quite well ("They have been very unobtrusive"). For Discovery Travel & Living, this series will be one of the biggest global productions to come out of India and will be shown all over the world. "We haven't yet decided when we're going to telec

Aishwarya Rai and Shah Rukh Khan appreciate Fiji

Former Miss World and Bollywood actress – Aishwarya Rai says Fiji is always close to her heart. Rai was present at the recent Zee Cine Awards in Singapore which was covered by the Fiji Broadcasting Corporation – and thanked Fiji citizens for their support of the Bollywood industry. Rai told FBC's Mirchi FM Programs director – Shammi Lochan that the support from Fiji means a lot to her. "It is a great opportunity to tell all the listeners of Fiji- thank you so much for all your love, good wishes, the blessing, your emails, and the overwhelming support you all extend to me and my family. It means a lot to us as actors, as the audience are the ones that complete our lives." Bollywood King – Shah Rukh Khan, who visited Fiji in 1998 says he has fond memories of Fiji and is fascinated with the hospitality. " It was a great experience to come there and meet every one there so basically it was very wonderful experience there." Shah Rukh Khan is expected t