IPL is Responsible

A couple of days ago, a lady asked me, "What's this whole IPL thing going on? Why is everyone talking about it? I don't understand a word of it." Now I won't blame the lady for not knowing much about the Indian Premier League, since not every Indian loves cricket (yes, it's true!). And everyone is talking about it.

It's not just the cricket and the non-performing players that Indian fans somehow revere. And I don't think it's just because of the cheerleaders either. It's about everything else that has become associated with the IPL.

It's about glamour, in the form of Preity Zinta and Shah Rukh Khan, and all other "celebrities" who go to watch the game. It's about the drama involved. One player sledges another, the latter slaps him in anger. And thus, a major news story unfolds, and no one talks about anything else. And then, there's kicking of stumps, and telling umpires what a catch is or isn't, and lots of other things I don't even know about.

But what really gets my goat is how IPL is gradually becoming responsible for everything that happens. Poor TRPs for soaps and Panchvi Pass? Blame IPL. Poor turnout at malls? Blame IPL. Empty multiplexes? Blame IPL. Fed up of that once-cute Vodafone pug running behind a bus with a tie in its mouth? Blame IPL. Pakistani players in India? Blame IPL...

And so the list goes on.

What really needs to be seen is how the IPL will affect other (err... boring) forms of cricket like ODIs and Tests, and, more importantly, Indian sports itself. In India, there's cricket, and then there's other sports. The cash-rich are obviously attracted to investments which give them the greatest returns in the shortest time period possible. And, right now, IPL (T20 cricket) is doing that for them.

It's safe to say that the IPL is a major attempt by rich people to get richer (nothing wrong with that), while fulfilling the dream of a common man to watch Indian and international cricketers (and hot girls with short skirts) live in a stadium without burning a hole in his pocket.

So, while young Indian cricketers get the break they wouldn't get otherwise, what about aspiring tennis players? Chess prodigies? Atheletes? Boxers? Archers? Swimmers? Must they be confined to playing local tournaments and pawning their mothers' jewellery? (Sorry, couldn't resist the Bollywood-style hyperbole).

Flamboyant he may be, but Vijay Mallya is one of the few corporate honchos who is putting big money into other sports as well. Thanks to him, we get an ATP tournament in India, and India has a place in Formula 1.

Developing world-class sportsmen requires long-term commitment and unshakeable interest by the people who have the resources and power to do so. We need training centres, stadiums, tracks and fields, and good coaches, all of which we lack. What we don't lack is talent. And I think it's time we do something about it. Maybe we need a Chak De India every year, each film dedicated to a different sport?

Does she deserve it?

Am I an Indian? Technically, yes. I hold a passport, the cover of which reads "Republic of India". But am I really an Indian? Ummm... I think so.

Is Nivruti Rai an Indian? Who??

She was the first person to be given a Overseas Citizenship India card by Manmohan Singh. My question is- does she deserve it? She seemed overjoyed in the pictures in the Sunday papers, and has moist eyes during an interview.

In that story, Rai states that she planned to acquire US citizenship.

She volunteered for work in hospitals and other places to add qualifications to acquire US citizenship.

At the same time, her husband remains an Indian citizen. About that, she says:

"We always wanted an option. It was a kind of dual citizenship within our own family. Under this arrangement, if we wanted to work in India, we could and without any hassle, work in US too."

Wow, great plan. Worked well, too. Because in September 2005, she moved to Bangalore. As Indian as she can get, I'd say.

Rai says she "feel[s] very Indian" as well. Rai was born and brought up in India, later went to study in the US, and decided to settle there. To make things easier for herself, she took up American citizenship, implying that she gave up her Indian status voluntarily. So why should she want back her "Indian" tag, if she gave it up earlier? Convenience, I bet. As she states, "...[F]rom today I myself can work in both places" (sic). So she wants to eat her cake and have it too. Now that India is not Third World anymore, she's come back for selfish reasons.

If you love someone, you will stick to that person through sickness and health, through laughter and tears. So if you love your country, you would try to stick around whether it was backward, or Third World, or whatever. (Unless you fall in love with another country, and out of love with the first one, but I digress).

If she really was Indian she would not want to give up her Indian citizenship in the first place.

I know I'd never want to give up my Indian passport, because I would hate to get a visa or permit to travel to my own country. Yep, I guess that's what being an Indian is. This may be a distorted definiton of an Indian, but I think it works.

Dada's Fury

Once upon a time I was a die-hard Sourav Ganguly fan. Oh well, things change. People change. Ganguly changed (or rather, his performance).

If Dada's I-was-asked-to-step-down comment is true (and everyone says it is), then it just shows that this man worked when he felt his "secure" position was threatened.

As Ganguly has said ever so often, he doesn't really care about what people write or say about him. So the man simply ignored his criticism in the media and in the cricket world. He continued to be comfy in his seat as the captain of the Indian cricket team, and no one could touch him. It's quite possible that neither the Indian management nor his team-mates opposed his captaincy overtly. And if they did, they were probably the ones who didn't matter in the larger scheme of things (like the BCCI, top management, or the selection committee).

But when Dada perceived a real threat to his position and a possible end to his days of power, he pressed the panic button, and put up a match-winning century. I have a hunch that if the "step down" statement had not been made, there would have been no century, perhaps no runs at all. Should a team leader (in sports or elsewhere) have such a mental make-up?

Greg Chappell was Ganguly's choice for coach, and the coach is a man who doesn't hesitate to give his opinion. Ergo, dear Dada, you two have different working styles, and he refused to play the typical Indian political games by speaking his mind. Plus, he bruised your ego, so what? Get over it.

I earlier thought Greg Chappell was a decent coach. Now I think he's just awesome.

Rock on, Greg! (And speak up more often).

PS- Is there a Greg Chappell: Speaks his Mind fan club?

ToI apes BT?

September 13, 2005: The Times of India, Mumbai edition, Page 8:

Kareena replaces Rani as Aamir Khan's co-star

Randeep Hooda, Sushmita in int'l project

Yup, these are real headlines from a supposedly-real newspaper.

What a title!

I still haven't been able to figure out why Salaam Namaste is titled so. It's named after a fictitious radio station (I assume), but it still doesn't make any sense.

Why I'd not watch the movie again:

• Director Siddharth Raj Anand seems to be a Karan Johar disciple, with the "special effects" introductions, the cinematography, even the costumes. I'd rather watch the guru's film.


• Too much time was spent on introducing unnecessary people, and their background stories made me yawn. Sure, Javed Jaffrey was funny, but was that character needed at all? Of course, the movie could have been at least 45 minutes shorter then. Where are good editors when needed?


• Sitting through the melodrama in the last half hour was painful. Watching Preity Zinta overact was even worse.


• Question to Saif: Are you trying to be the next Salman? In terms of male "exposure", I mean. Saif, I'd say you have a great torso, but we're already bored of them, thanks to Sallu.

OK, I admit the movie was not that bad. But the story, the "turn" of events, the dialogues, were predictable. It could have been another Chalte Chalte or Saathiya, except, of course, that the couple wasn't married.

I'd rather watch Iqbal a second time.