Bollywood Cricket

Many seasoned cricketers have already expressed their disappointment over the cricketers ‘auction’ ceremony for the IPL, saying the auction projected the reputed cricketers as some saleable commodities which they are not! The Cricket enthusiasts are not liking Bollywood’s undue interference in their Cricket too! However, Bollywood is not paying any heed and are giving their hundred percent to promote their respective teams!

Shah Rukh aka chief of Kolkata Knightriders
When Shah Rukh does business; he does it like no one else! Have we forgotten his excessive promotional strategies for OSO? Apparently the star was even accused of promoting his film by attending T20 Cricket matches by the BCCI! But a king that he is, SRK is leaving no stone unturned to promote his Cricket team by using his ‘star’ status to full capacity! From making music videos featuring himself to launching his team’s mascot and logos... King Khan has become the face of Kolkata Knightriders more than Saurav Ganguly who happens to be the team’s captain!

For all these years, cricket in India had a unique aura and charm, stood by itself, and was bringing cheer to the masses. It was never held on a commercial footing and players who played the game all these years, had true love for the sport. Money was never the center of attraction, hence cricket lovers in India and world over enjoyed the game to the fullest.

With the present generation of players, Money has taken precedence over enjoying the sport. Indians now witness a new era where the sport is mixed with Bollywood. Frankly speaking, the “acting” fraternity comprises of those who are at the lowest ebb of the social strata. They are not “real” people; they are “reel” people. They do not have the slightest clue or imagination of this wonderful game. In their typical style, they of their own sweet will, take a swipe at great players – current and the past, taint the game with their own “filmy” imagination, and bring Cricket at par with the low status of Bollywood.

Better late than never. Once bitten, twice shy.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India should wake up and keep the sport away from the Hindi film industry - Bollywood. No matter the money. I join all Indian cricket lovers who only want to enjoy the sport..... not Bollywood. Save it.

Bollywood’s cricket encounters

Get ready for mind blowing and exciting cricket as the third season of the IPL kicks off from 12th March. It is truly a unique extravaganza as cricket meets entertainment. As the cricket fever is on, we give you a list of the films, which are based on cricket in the Hindi Film Industry.

Victory
After a disastrous debut in Love Story 2050, Hurman had a second chance to prove himself with Victory. Directed by Ajitpal Mangat, Victory however failed to impress the critics and audiences alike and was a huge disaster. Though many international cricketers were part of the film it didn’t get audience’s support.

Jannat
Based on match fixing, Jannat released during the first season of the IPL and was a huge hit. Emraan Hashmi played role of a bookie who gets involved in the match fixing as well.


Lagaan
With Lagaan, director Ashutosh Gowarikar cashed in on two important aspects; cricket and patriotism. Aamir Khan played an uncharacteristic farmer in the film with perfection. Set in the Victorian period of the British Raj, the film was a huge success receiving critical acclaim and awards at several international film festivals. The film was also nominated for the best foreign language film at the Academy Award nominations ceremony. Before Lagaan cricket as a theme for the film was not considered ideal because all the previous films with cricket in the center didn’t fared well at box office. But success of Lagaan changed the scenario.

Iqbal
Shreyas Talpade made a perfect debut with Iqbal in which he played a deaf and mute character. Without delivering a single dialogue, he stole the hearts of the audience with his exceptional performance. Iqbal was a rag to riches story in which Shreyas played a cricket-obsessed deaf-mute boy from a remote Indian village. The film was appreciated by the critics as well as the audiences and became the highest grossing low budget film of 2005.


Stumped
Raveena Tandon’s first attempt as a producer was a disaster. Released during the year of the cricket world cup in 2003, the film ran on two tracks simultaneously; cricket and war. The film had an interesting plot, but failed because of a poor script.

Hattrick
Trying to cash in on the cricket world cup fever in 2007, a lot of films based on cricket were released. They included Nana Patekar, Kunal Kapoor and Rimi Sen starrer Hattrick. It was a major disaster at the box office.

Say Salaam India
Starring Sanjay Suri and Milind Sonam, Say Salaam India revolved around a group of 4 boys and their passion for the game. Their passion was not enough to bring in the crowds and the film turned out to be a major flop.

Chain Kulii Ki Main Kulii
Even the Rahul Bose and Zian Khan starrer Chain Kulii Ki Main Kulii had cricket as its central theme. However, none of the films were able to strike a chord with the audiences and performed poorly at the box office.

Preity’s King’s XI
Following SRK’s footsteps is none other than Preity Zinta! The dimpled beauty is desperately proving that she is no less than SRK when it comes to promoting her team Mohali. From hiring famous designer Surily Goel to design her team’s jerseys to roping in Daler Mehndi to sing for her team’s anthem, Preity too has herself become her team’s lucky charm. “I don’t think I need some other actor to promote my team. I am the lucky charm myself”, says she.