If you are one of those star-struck movie buffs, then Nerul’s DY Patil Stadium was the place to be on Sunday. However, the closing ceremony of the third edition of the Indian Premier League wasn’t all that spectacular. Yes, it did have an impact on the excitable crowd but the show wasn’t mind-boggling or out-of-the-world by any standards.
The introduction was a lengthy one with rather ungamely noise accompanied by laser lights to kick things off. Then there were fireworks that we’re used to seeing after every game. A drum-beating legion then walked out. Well, we now knew it had started.
Anyone’s who’s learnt performing arts will recall that the first rule is to make full use of the stage. But when the stage is a sprawling stadium, then the rule needs to be tweaked. It is indeed pointless to run around the ground singing, dancing or pretending to be soaking in the atmosphere.
Oscar winner AR Rahman, Bollywood hottie Bipasha Basu and Shahid Kapur, the hunk, weren’t exactly ‘sizzling’ on the night. While Rahman was clearly lip-synching as he ‘crooned’ his way to Chale Chalo, Vande Mataram and Jai Ho — thank god the crowd sang the chorus — Bips and Shahid were lacking in fizz.
The Bengali bombshell, in a pair of hot pants and black leather boots, did raise temperatures with her ‘hips don’t lie’ moves but the Race title song didn’t quite bring the best out of her, neither on stage nor while she did the rounds on a hovercraft.
And yes, Lalit Modi’s promise (on Twitter) that melody queen Lata Mangeshkar would “honour us with a live performance” fell flat on its face. No wonder he was the only one smiling and applauding in the VIP enclosure.
All the performances were obviously and unfairly directed towards the VIP enclosure and not the crowd. And even as the superstars performed, there were groups of ‘extras’ on all sides carrying characters whose faces resembled relics from the Aztec and Inca civilisations. Why dilute focus when the crowd-pullers are doing their thing?
The closing ceremony did impress Sushmita Sen and her bunch of Miss India aspirants. Did she speak from her heart or was there a bit of PR involved?
