IPL 6 opening ceremony - An average curtain raiser

Image courtesy IANS

Bollywood took the centre stage and Pitbull left an impact. Amidst lights, camera and glamour, the cricketing punch was missing at the opening ceremony of the IPL6.

Musicians, actors, dancers and of course, players from across the globe converged to put up a high voltage show at the opening ceremony of the IPL 6. The melting pot, Indian Premier League, during the ‘curtain raiser’ tried to cater to its followers everything they could, to justify the international stature of the tournament. From Shah Rukh Khan to Pitbull and Mamta Banerjee to Ricky Ponting, all were present to witness the other side – glitz and glamour – of the IPL. Surely, there was nothing extraordinary about it. It was riveting only in patches though. The defending champions KKR’s skipper Gautum Gambhir put the trophy back into play. Hopefully, the first game of the tournament between Delhi Daredevils and Kolkata Knight Riders will create the thrill and open the tournament with a bang, unlike the opening ceremony.

THE BEST

A cricket fan religiously sits and books his television hours to watch an IPL opening ceremony in the hope to catch off-the-field sight of their favourite players and the teams ahead of the biggest T20 tournament and some entertainment. And more importantly, to get the feel of the two month long high-octane cricket extravaganza. The best moment of the ceremony was when the captains of all the nine teams were called on stage to take the pledge and promise to play the tournament in the spirit of the game. It was truly and the only cricketing moment, the most wonderful moment of all.

Amidst all the light, colour and glamour, it was Pitbull who stole the show. The international rapper was another to take the stage. Out of all the performances on the stage, he was the one who lifted the bar when the opening ceremony looked nothing more than an insipid Bollywood show. ‘Give me everything tonight’ and ‘I am sexy and I know it’ rocked the evening at Salt Lake stadium in Kolkata.

THE GOOD

The show that went on for around 75 minutes had some spectacular fireworks and performances by flying drummers, gymnasts, stilt-walkers, air-tumblers and dancers. The moment when a flying acrobat brought the coveted IPL trophy and placed it in the middle was not a stunt to take your breath away but was well done.

THE INSIPID

The owner of Kolkata Knight Riders, Shah Rukh Khan, who dominated the entire ceremony, was the biggest disappointment. It was obvious that he wanted to make the show look as if it was his event and it was his sole right to dictate everything on the stage and off the stage, but his was an uninspiring show all the way.

A strip that was run in the hope to create a ‘déjà vu’ moment for all the fans and players left no impact. The presentation had in it the most cherished moments from the past five IPL seasons.

THE BAD

No doubt, IPL is all about entertainment. But entertainment in the form of Bollywood’s ‘grooves n moves’ was not at all pleasing to the eyes. The scores performed by Bollywood divas Deepika Padukone and Katrina Kaif along with Shah Rukh Khan were a big yawn. Viewers deserve better.