It's SRK vs Mallya

B-Town brigade will turn up to cheer King Khan and the Knight Riders at the opening ceremony match against Vijay Mallya's Royal Challengers

Though IPL’s opening ceremony on April 18 at Bangalore will have performances by Zayed Khan and Katrina Kaif on behalf of Vijay Mallya’s team, Shah Rukh Khan’s team won’t be left behind.

Although Khan isn’t planning any acts, he’s carting B-Town’s glamorous brigade to boost the morale of the Kolkata Knight Riders. SRK’s Kolkata Knight Riders is being led by Sourav Ganguly while Mallya’s Royal Challengers is being captained by Rahul Dravid.

Event manager of BCCI, Venkat Vardhan of DNA Networks, admits, “Katrina and Zayed will be performing for both the Bangalore and Kolkata matches for the Royal Challengers while Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy will be performing at Bangalore. I don’t know about Kolkata Knight Riders’ plans. Being the home team, they will have an event in Kolkata.”

Says an actress on condition of anonymity, “SRK has invited lots of stars to attend the first few matches of his teams including the opening ceremony and the match at Kolkata on April 20. Karan Johar, Gauri Khan, Arjun Rampal and Mehr Jessia, Sanjay and Maheep Kapoor, Chunky and Bhavna Pandey, Riteish Deshmukh, Queenie Dhody, Kajal Anand, Karisma Kapoor and Malaika Arora will be attending the matches. Priyanka Chopra, Amrita Arora, Kareena Kapoor and Farah Khan were invited too.”

The Morani brothers were to do a grand event for the opening ceremony in Bangalore but that had to be cancelled after instructions from Bangalore franchisee. So the Moranis will only be doing firework displays.

Sanjay Gupta, who will be directing Katrina Kaif and Zayed Khan in Mallya’s IPL music video, sums it up, “I know Katrina is performing. I will be shooting the video with her on April 15 in Mumbai. She’s being presented as a rock star diva in it. She was No 1 on my wish list and Vijay made it happen. The opening matches are in Bangalore and Kolkata with the two most hyped and celebrated teams Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers it will be fun!”

SRK’s close buddy Farah Khan says, “I was invited too but I couldn’t go as my babies are too young at two months. I can’t leave them for 24 hours.”

Karan Johar says, “Yes I will be going for both the ceremonies to cheer Shah Rukh’s team. It’s like my own.”

Upala KBR

‘It's my team dude, and when I attend matches my team wins’

Shah Rukh Khan has reduced ticket prices for IPL matches in Kolkata, the cheapest ticket will be only Rs 100

Barely a few days before ticket sales start for the present season of Indian Premier League (IPL) matches in Kolkata, Shah Rukh Khan of Knight Riders Sports Pvt Ltd has managed to keep the ticket prices considerably low compared to other cricketing facilities in the league. Of all the team owners, Shah Rukh has been making constant efforts to make the matches, starting on April 20 at Eden Gardens, accessible to the students and the masses. While the most expensive ticket has been priced at Rs 5450, the cheapest available ticket is for Rs 100. Shah Rukh explains, “Ticket prices are kept like that because I was very clear that the matches should be accessible to everyone, especially the students. The idea is to encourage people and the audience to participate in huge numbers.”

The superstar and cricket enthusiast is hosting the matches at Eden Gardens, one of the finest and largest cricket grounds in the world, and therefore, he will ensure his profit from the bulk ticket sales. “Being a star we at Knight Riders like house-full. Our stadium is twice the size of any other in the country so our outlay is quite big anyway,” he says.

The bookings have just opened for members of the Cricket Association of Bengal, and the actor is hoping that the sales will be good once it opens to general public. Interestingly, the actor intends to personally interact with the 1000th individual buying the ticket. SRK tells us, “Right now the ticket sales have just started for cricket association people. I hope the sales will be good once it opens for the general public. Every 1000th ticket bought will be given personally by me.”

Shah Rukh wants the fast-paced three-and-a-half-hour Twenty20 match a complete paisa vasool for the audience. Apart from watching cricketing legends running between the wickets, the audience will indulge in star gazing and witness live gigs at the stadium. The actor, who will be present at the stands to cheer up his team, will be accompanied by his celebrity friends. Talking about his plans, he says, “I will be attending all the matches in Kolkata and will be present on the following day as well. It's my team dude, and when I attend matches my team wins. Always… My family and friends will also be present.”

Sandipan Dalal, Mumbai Mirror