| frenzy.Being
an Indian, cricket is expected to run in
your blood and as said earlier with 20-20
coming up, the difference between cricket
and movies has slimmed down to a fine line.
This might be wishful thinking, but the
day might not be far off when combo tickets
for a 20-20 cricket match and a movie afterwards
on the stadium giant screen would be available
at the TNCA counters.
Getting down to the IPL. It has been a
roaring success. And while its success is
a matter of great pleasure for anyone who
loves cricket, it might also serve well
to look into how it has affected other trades.
Having come during the summer holidays has
saved the IPL the wrath of parents with
children who just can’t concentrate
on anything but cricket when a match is
telecast on TV. But the film industry, though
not complaining, surely has not had the
best of summers. Bulk of the blame for that
might rest on the quality of movies being
churned out but there is no denying the
pull of cricket-India’s common religion.
Honestly, who would care to drag themselves
out of their houses, brave the traffic,
high parking rates and even higher ticket
rates to watch a movie that has received
average reviews when one can, in the comfort
of their drawing rooms watch Sanath Jayasuriya
pick a Shoaib Akthar ball off his pads and
send it to row Z in the stands. And that’s
not all, Sachin Tendulkar watches from the
non-strikers end while Sourav Ganguly is
at mid-on with his hands on his hips. Or
take this, Sachin and Sourav walking out
together for the toss. This kind of thing
does not happen, even in the overcrowded
international cricket calendar.
After the release of Om Shanthi Om, Shahrukh
Khan has not canned a shot for any major
movie; he just started a couple of days
back for Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi. All this while
he has been busy bidding for the likes of
Akthar, Ishanth Sharma and others, shooting
music videos for the Kolkata Knight Riders
and playing the role of CEO cum most energetic
cheer leader for his team. The crowds have
loved him and no wonder that his special
appearance for Bhoothnath has not done anything
special for the movie - you get to see him
on TV every other day in a Knight Riders
jersey and on weekends hosting his game
show. Same goes with Preity Zinta who even
got herself badly injured during one of
the promotional campaigns. Also on the industrial
side, Mukesh Ambani has never been so visible
in the recallable past, being regularly
seen at the Mumbai stadiums cheering his
team on. Meanwhile, Mallya has yet again
shown what he thinks is the way business
should be carried out, perform or perish
as Charu Sharma would know. Pressure is
not the best thing to drive performance,
especially in cricket and Mallya might be
discovering that after an already on the
slide team turned to punching bags after
his public outbursts. But one can’t
help admiring the man for finding the time
to be at games despite his breweries, airlines
and the new Formula 1 team.
The point here is that the IPL is a roaring
success. It has taken a lot from other industries-
money, time and face value. The question
is whether the IPL will be able to return
all that to the sources. Reports suggest
that most franchisees are still far from
seeing profits, especially those at the
bottom of the table. Shahrukh already sent
five of his players back home to cut costs.
Yes, there is a bit of uncertainty as there
will be with any new venture but looking
at its mass popularity and demand, the IPL
will sure come out trumps, at least in the
coming seasons, it is nearly sure that the
IPL will find a regular place in the cricket
calendar. And if it becomes a regular fixture,
our summer blockbusters might have to find
another window to do their best business.
For the majority of India- cricket is first
love.
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