SRK’s Dugout Dilemma

Some years ago, Niranjan Singh Virk made headlines by asking chief minister Narendra Modi to leave the precincts of the Team India dressing room as he didn’t hold a pass for that area at the Motera Stadium.

The Gujarat strongman wasn’t too pleased, but obliged. That earned Virk, a former Central Bureau of Investigation officer involved with the match-fixing probe in 2000, kudos from his employers — the International Cricket Council (ICC).

Virk is the ICC’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit’s regional manager and has helped train the Indians recruited by the Indian Premier League (IPL) to act as anti-corruption officers.

The world body’s Code of Conduct and protocol are in operation in the IPL.

On the face of it, though, Virk got it wrong last night when he asked Kolkata Knight Riders’ owner Shah Rukh Khan — whose photograph features next to the team’s dressing room door at the Eden Gardens as part of the squad — to refrain from visiting the dressing room and the dugout area.

According to The Telegraph’s sources, Virk conveyed that during the break between innings of the Knight Riders versus Chennai Super Kings clash.

While one source maintained Virk had been somewhat offensive in his tone, another pointed out that he’d only tried to “educate” the megastar on the “dos and don’ts” of dressing room protocol.

Shah Rukh wasn’t around when the mandatory anti-corruption briefing for the teams was conducted in Bangalore, before the IPL got under way on April 18.

The interaction between Shah Rukh and Virk took place in the match officials’ chamber adjacent to the Knight Riders’ dressing room. Also present, for some time at least, were match referee Farokh Engineer and the anti-corruption officer on duty, C.P. Singh.

Engineer, for one, declined to comment.

The Knight Riders team management insisted Shah Rukh had a valid “visitor’s pass” for the area, but why was one necessary when his photograph figures among the Sourav Gangulys and the John Buchanans?

Moreover, why was he not provided with a red (all-area) accreditation card?

As strange, one of the sources maintained that a photograph on the team board outside the dressing room “didn’t guarantee” entry into the players’ domain!

That source added: “Normally, a visitor’s pass is issued on a need-basis… The computer analyst could need the help of a technician or an electrician may be required… Such passes have absolutely nothing to do with anybody’s status and stature.”

Virk, apparently, explained to Shah Rukh that he wasn’t casting any aspersion at all, but “expected” a role model like him to follow rules and regulations to the hilt. Also, that it wasn’t exactly proper for his son (Aryan) and personal bodyguard (Yasin) to follow him into the dressing room.

Whatever, that interaction upset Shah Rukh so much that (according to a member of the Knight Riders’ team management) he even contemplated walking out of the Eden.

“Shah Rukh, who goes to the extent of knocking on the dressing room door before entering, had to be pacified by people from the IPL, who apologised for what had happened… It’s only then that he went back to the dressing room and the dugout,” said that member of the team management.

The megastar didn’t say anything at the Eden, but got emotional at a function at the team hotel before flying back to Mumbai on a private jet.

“Don’t tell me I’m corrupt… I’m really disappointed (at being barred)… Nobody can stop me from coming… The CBI… ICC Code of Conduct… Anybody, anybody dare try to stop me from being at every match in Calcutta,” are excerpts from what Shah Rukh said.

Yesterday, incidentally, was Virk’s first visit to the city during the IPL. What’s intriguing is why C.P. Singh didn’t have a one-on-one with Shah Rukh during the first match itself, a month back?

With the issue generating so much heat, the IPL has now decided to issue all-area passes to one member of each franchise.

Vijay Mallya (Bangalore Royal Challengers) and Preity Zinta (Kings XI Punjab) already have it.

Clearly, there are lessons which the IPL needs to learn from this inaugural edition. There are issues which need clarity and Shah Rukh Khan, who has raised the level of interest in the competition truly phenomenally, shouldn’t be slighted.

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ICC Resctricting SRK

The Kolkata IPL team’s performance may have hurt Shah Rukh Khan, but what is more embarrassing for the owner is the stricture passed by the ICC officials asking him not to enter the team dressing room.

As per the ICC code of conduct, only the players and the technical officials can be on the ground or in the dressing room. But Shah Rukh has been mixing with the boys on the ground quite regularly. The ICC allowed him to be on the ground for the match on Sunday but had requested him not to be with the team on the ground during the course of the match.

Reacting to this, Khan said, “ICC thought that I was not abiding by their code of conduct. They probably believed I was mixing too much with the boys. So they asked me not to go to the dressing room,” adding, “but they are my boys and I’ll always go and meet them. No one can stop me from meeting my boys. Neither the ICC nor the CBI.”

It was not clear whether Shah Rukh would henceforth abide by the ICC code of conduct by not coming to the dressing room.

When asked about the rumours doing rounds that the team might lodge a complaint with the IPL committee against umpire Asad Rauf’s decision to call a legitimate L. Balaji delivery a dead ball, he said, “I’m not a technical person. I don’t know what the technical committee of the team is going to do. I leave it to them.”

HT found out from sources that the Kolkata IPL team officials might not take up the issue. “I don’t want to look back. I don’t want to punter over what could have happened, what could have been done. The net result is we have lost the match,” says Shah Rukh. Despite his team’s poor show in the tournament, Shah Rukh said that his team has been the most profitable and successful brand amongst all the IPL teams. “I would like to thank the people of Kolkata for making this possible and we have actually earned twice the amount we have invested.”

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SRK’s Cricket Expenses

 

Shah Rukh Khan, Preity Zinta and Vijay Mallya, celebrity owners of Indian Premier League (IPL) teams, on Wednesday said it was natural that Indian players went for huge premiums as they were in a position to attract huge crowd to the playgrounds.

The IPL tournaments open in Bangalore on April 18 and the final will be held in Mumbai on June 1.

India’s young stars like Rohit Sharma, Robin Uthappa and Ishant Sharma emerged brighter than the bigger and more established players from across the cricketing world. They were sought after like hot cakes by the eight-franchisee owner-bidders at the auction here Wednesday.

At a jam-packed media interaction in Hotel Hilton shortly after the end of the marathon auction sessions of IPL, the trio assured that the tournaments have been designed to ensure high international standards.

“This tournament will be in the same standards of the English premier league and it will be a huge success,” Mallya said.

Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh, who owns the Kolkata team, said he was not so much worried about the returns from his team. “I am not sure of what the returns will be. But it’s a passion for me and I have full faith in my instincts,” he said.

Preity, the bubbly film diva, appeared pleased with the outcome of her Mohali “catches” and endorsed Khan’s opinions while talking about her passion for the gentleman’s game.

In fact, even IPL chairman Lalit Modi expressed his pleasant surprise over the good rates commanded by Indian players vis-à-vis their foreign counterparts. “I can just say that this is good for the Indian players,” Modi observed.

Stalwarts like Ricky Ponting (Kolkata) and Stephen Fleming (Chennai) were bought for $400,000 and $350,000 respectively even as Indian youngsters far outpaced them in the bidding figures.

Several others like Glenn McGrath, Simon Katich, Justin Langer, Ramnaresh Sarwan and S Chanderpaul had to undergo the ignominy of remaining “unsold” in the initial rounds.

This is what Shah Rukh spend on his Kolkata team :

Sourav Ganguly India Icon
Ishant Sharma India 950,000
Chris Gayle West Indies 800,000
Brendon McCullum New Zealand 700,000
David Hussey Australia 625,000
Shoaib Akhtar Pakistan 425,000
Murali Kartik India 425,000
Ricky Ponting Australia 400,000
Ajit Agarkar India 350,000
Umar Gul Pakistan 150,000
Tatenda Taibu Zimbabwean 125,000

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Shah Rukh Starts Shaping Team

 

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly on Tuesday arrived here and headed straight to actor Shahrukh Khan’s residence to discuss issues related to Kolkata team, owned by the supterstar, one of eight city-based outfits competing in the Indian Premier League (IPL) in April.

Ganguly, one of the icon players at the newly launched IPL, will be playing for Kolkata, whose franchise has been bagged by Khan’s production house Red Chillies Entertainment.

Khan had yesterday played host to Pakistan’s paceman Shoaib Akhtar and seemed keen on keeping the speedster in his team.

The stylish left-hander and Khan are likely to hold discussion at the latter’s residence `Mannat’ in suburban Bandra regarding the team composition ahead of tomorrow’ auction of players here.

IPL’s Twenty20 cricket championship will be played between April 18 and June 1 among the eight city teams in various parts of the country.

Around 80 to 85 international players are to go under the auctioner’s hammer when team franchises – with owners ranging from top industrialists Mukesh Ambhani and Vijay Mallya to Khan and Preity Zinta – will bid for cricketers.

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Uncertainty Over Kolkata Team Status

 

Uncertainty has cropped up over the Kolkata team’s participation in the BCCI’s multi-billion dollar Indian Premier League, with the IPL and the Cricket Association of Bengal engaging in a war of words on the rules and regulations of the competition.

After it emerged that the IPL would cut the quota of tickets for the CAB by a drastic 80 per cent compared to what the Assocation keeps for itself during international matches at the Eden Gardens, CAB chief Prasun Mukherjee sent an e-mail to IPL chairman and match commissioner Lalit Modi raising certain points.

According to Mukherjee, the clubs, various categories of members of CAB, and companies who have a contract with the Association for corporate boxes during all major matches at the venue would be affeced by the IPL stand.

“Clubs, who as members were entitled to a certaion quotas of Club House tickets, complimentary tickets and priced tickets; the 31,000 associate members, honorary members and life members, who used to get complimentary tickets as per CAB rules; and companies, with whom CAB has contracts for boxes would be affected,” Mukherjee said in the mail.

In reply, Modi said, “You will only get 20 per cent tickets against all categories.” Adopting a hard line, Modi indicated that Kolkata could be axed from the participants’ list as “we cannot and will not allow one city to derail the entire process”.

“CAB is not organising the event. We are giving Eden on rent for the period of IPL when seven matches will be held spread over 45 days. The IPL has promised us Rs 10 crore from its profits for the first year which we can use for renovating Eden Gardens,” Mukherjee told PTI.

Mukherjee said the clubs could be partially compensated with a grant of Rs one lakh each. He, however, said there was no crisis. “These mails are part of our internal communication which seems to have come into the open.”

CAB sources said it was not clear who would be organsing the matches, Shah Rukh Khan’s Red Chillies Entertainment (which owns the Kolkata team) or the IPL itself.

“As per the CAB constitution, we can sublease Eden in national interest, for reasons of charity and for holding exhibition matches. But both IPL and RCE are profit-making bodies. And hence they cannot qualify for getting sub-lease,” they said.

Faced with a tight situation, the CAB has convened an emergency working committee meeting on February 18, and a Special Geeneral Meeting on February 26.

“It is now upto the members to decide. They should remember that they at least stand to gain something if IPL is held at the Eden. If IPL is not held here, then they do not get anything,” he said.

The CAB bosses are likely to urge the members to accept an amendment to the CAB rules to make an exception to the rules for the IPL.

But time seems to be running out for the CAB, with Modi saying “If you need to call an SGM, then do it right away”.

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SRK Talks About the Current Buzz

 

“Pay attention to me, you will learn something,” said Shah Rukh Khan to a distracted journo in a rather heavy tone. The very next moment he started talking about how concerned he is about his son’s safety.

“Today, my son’s photograph has appeared in the paper and that concerns me about his security.” Trust the man to have enough words for all the controversies around him as well.

Smoking on screen:

Recently, Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss urged Khan to desist from smoking in his films.

“I have been trying to quit smoking in personal life. But it’s different when it comes to films. In films, a rape scene, alcohol or guns are not shown to inspire anyone. It becomes the part of the creative process. I believe there should be a leeway instead of a blanket ban on smoking in films.”

“I feel blessed that Allah has given me such status and some money that I can felicitate a change in the life of some aspiring sportsmen”

Cricket fever:

Talk about IPL, and Khan gets visibly excited. Ask him if it is gamble, and he refuses bluntly.

“It is big enough money that I can loose my roti, kapda aur makan, but everything is not just business in life,” says Khan. Now the franchisee of the Kolkata team, Khan says he has left the details to the experts.

“I have followed my passion for sports. I couldn’t pursue my career in soccer because of a back problem. I feel blessed that Allah has given me such status and some money that I can felicitate a change in the life of some aspiring sportsmen. I would call it constructive aggression.”

Fresh appeal:

This year Khan will be seen in Aditya Chopra’s third directorial venture after Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge and Mohabattein. Tittled Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, Khan will again be seen with a new comer. With last year’s Chak De India and Om Shanti Om, this will be Khan’s third film, opposite a new girl.

When asked where the Rani Mukerjis and Kajols have gone, he says, “Girls can’t handle me for long.” He adds, “Besides the director’s vision, it’s also about dates. It’s big enough for a director to have Shah Rukh Khan’s dates. With a newcomer around, the filmmaker doesn’t have to bother about the dates of any female superstar.”

Point taken Mr Khan.

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They Don’t Call Him King Khan For Nothing

 

Last year, the Bollywood badshah made headlines when he hugged the Men in Blue under the full glare of TV cameras after India had won the ICC Twenty20 World Cup.

There were murmurs that he was doing it for some free publicity for his mega-budget movie Om Shanti Om. The superstar had vowed then that he would no longer watch a cricket match.

But Shah Rukh Khan need not be apologetic any longer to go to a cricket match. For, he has, what some say, paid an obscene sum to buy the Kolkata team franchisee rights of the Indian Premier League (IPL) — promoted by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). His co-promoters in the $75.09-million deal were his long-time friends — actor Juhi Chawla and filmmaker Jay Mehta.

The BCCI’s first shot with the Twenty20 format in India is an uncharted territory for Shah Rukh, who has been dabbling with a few roles in the Bollywood space — from being a theatre artist to TV actor, filmstar to producer, TV host, and now the owner of an IPL cricket team.

King Khan started his career with theatre and made his first broadcast appearance through a television soap Fauji, and later with Circus, both aired on Doordarshan.

While he is often rated as the best actor in the Indian film industry, his stint as a producer has been disappointing with just three hits of the seven films he has produced.

In 2000, he produced his first Hindi movie Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani with Juhi Chawla under their production banner Dreamz Unlimited.

The film bombed at the box office, followed by another flop Asoka, a big-budget period film based on the emperor, in 2001. The only hit Dreamz Unlimited delivered was in 2003, Chalte Chalte, which featured Rani Mukherjee opposite Khan.

Shah Rukh formed yet another film production house — Red Chillies Entertainment —and the film company churned Main Hoon Na in 2004, which was an instant hit. However, the two films that followed — Kaal and Paheli — in 2005 weren’t crowd pullers.

Two years later, King Khan struck gold by being the first Bollywood producer to have recovered and made profit even before the release of his film Om Shanti Om.

The film, with a budget of Rs 35 crore, starred Khan and newcomer Deepika Padukone, and was sold to Eros International for a whopping Rs 74 crore, according to industry sources.

This apart, Shah Rukh earned another Rs 10 crore approximately from the sale of music rights to T-Series. If that wasn’t enough, Om Shanti Om was the first film to have released its entire music album digitally across platforms for full song downloads (mobile, online and digital media including i-Tunes) across 23 countries.

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Cricket Team Preps

 

Music composers Vishal-Shekhar, who composed the chartbuster music of SRK’s latest production Om Shanti Om, have been roped in to compose the song’s tune. Reportedly SRK’s favourite, Anahita Shroff, will design the uniform.

Our well-placed source from the industry tells us, “On Monday, Vishal-Shekhar met SRK at his office in Bandra. They had a long meeting and SRK briefed them about the kind of tune he wanted. The brief is that it should set the adrenaline flowing.”

Vishal confirms the news, saying, “Yes, Shekhar and I met Mr Khan on Monday. We have been given about a month’s time to get a tune ready for his IPL team. We’ve been told that the tune should be one that represents a winner. We all know that Mr Khan plays to win.”

Anahita Shroff
So which colour will SRK’s team sport? Our source says, “SRK’s favourite colour is black, but then cricket uniforms can’t be black. So, he’ll have to settle for a colour other than black.” SRK’s favourite designers are Anahita Shroff and Karan Johar. But currently, Karan is very busy with his show Shava Shava. So, Anahita it is. (Anahita is known for her work in Bluffmaster, Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna and Dhoom. Anahita has also designed the look for John Abraham and Vivek Oberoi in Kaal, Sushmita Sen in Zindaggi Rocks.)

When asked whether SRK has asked her to start work on his IPL team’s uniforms, Ananhita simply said, “Please ask Shah Rukh Khan about this. I don’t want to say anything. Yes, I am sure that he is taking a personal interest in the uniforms. He is, after all, a perfectionist.”

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SRK Bids on Cricket Team

 

Buoyed by Indian cricket team’s success at T20 World Cup, BCCI’s pathbreaking Indian Premier League (IPL) has received an overwhelming response from India Inc. The list not only includes business houses such as RIL, ADAG, GMR, DLF, Nirulas, Deccan Chronicle, India Cements, Videocon, UB Group, Deutsche Bank but also bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan, who has placed bid through his company, Red Chillies in a consortium with none other than IPL chairman Lalit Modi.

ET has a list of all the companies and consortia which have placed bids on their preferred teams. According to sources, the total bids will amount to over a billion dollar for all the teams, with the Mumbai team being the most sought after. Leading from the front are the Ambani brothers.

However, the most surprising name on the list is Red Chillies Entertainment, the company owned by Shah Rukh Khan, who has applied in consortium with IPL Chairman Lalit Modi and placed bids for five teams, Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai, Chandigarh and Jaipur.

Others in the fray are Deutsche Bank and ICICI’s Private Equity firm ICICI Venture. According to IMG India, which has devised the league for BCCI, the real revenues for the team owners will come from the corporate business tickets, which will form almost 50% of the revenues generated from ticket sale.

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