If director James Cameron were to make a sequel to Avatar, he should have been at the DY Patil Stadium on Friday night. The chorus of the one-hour spectacular opening ceremony of the Indian Premier League III looked like the characters of his Hollywood blockbuster.
The difference was the characters here were more electronic. The
opening extravaganza was a mesmerising show with a Bollywood touch but in Hollywood proportions. The highlight of the evening was an electronic reproduction of the new-age national anthem, Jai Ho. It would have made AR Rahman and Danny Boyle proud.
The evening was all about lights, fireworks and gizmos. The IPL heralded the pyrotechnics even before a ball was bowled. This show as visually stupendous, sumptuous and spectacular.An international line-up included performers like Lionel Richie, Ali Campbell of UB40 and Bjorn Again, but the Bollywood touch was unmistakable. Bollywood diva Deepika Padukone had everyone literally dancing to her tunes. The lanky starlet morphed the stadium into a studio and conjured up a performance that was full of zest, elegance and verve. She looked more energetic than some cricketers who performed later in the evening.
As has been the practice in the IPL, the opening ceremony started with eight captains taking the “MCC — Spirit of Cricket” oath to “respect their opponents, their teams and their umpires.”
The captains then signed the Spirit of Cricket Board as an
attestation to play the game within the spirit of cricket. The sprawling DY Patil Stadium was treated to a show that had all the mix that gives the Indians the kick - dance, music, Bollywood, cricket. A see-saw battle between the Knight Riders and the Chargers was a fitting start to the tournament.
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