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Bollywood actors Hrithik Roshan, Shahid Kapoor and Anushka Sharma are set to enthrall audiences at the glitzy opening ceremony of the eighth chapter of the league at the Salt Lake Stadium on Tuesday. Even music composer Pritam landed in the city on Monday to perform at the star-studded Indian Premier League (IPL-8) inaugural — and said it felt good to be back home. “Landed in Kolkata. Performing in @IPL opening ceremony. Always feels good to come back home,” Pritam wrote on social networking site Twitter. However, according to the Met Office forecast, rain and thunderstorms could play spoilsport at the event. [caption id=“attachment_2188219” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]
Hrithik Roshan. BCCI[/caption] Notwithstanding the downpour on Monday evening, the Bollywood stars were spotted practising their moves with a troupe of background dancers for the two-hour-long programme on Tuesday. Some of the dancers, which included foreigners, were attired in hooded jackets for protection from the rain. The stadium was covered in a haze of blue light and was abuzz with activity as the two showed up. A thunderstorm on Sunday affected Kolkata Knight Riders’ practice at the Eden Gardens which turned soggy. The Knight Riders’ cricketers had to be content with a workout at the Pankaj Gupta indoor stadium located within the Eden Gardens premises. KKR, the defending champions, and the rest of the league teams will participate in the grand opening show. During the two-hour long show, actor-director Farhan Akhtar will belt out songs with his band while actor Saif Ali Khan, Indian cricketing legend Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi’s son, will host the show and introduce the cricketers and stars. Pritam who is incharge of the overall music of the ceremony will also be performing live. In addition, Ash King (born Ashutosh Ganguly), the London-based Indian-origin singer, will also be part of Pritam’s act. “Hello Kolkata. Im back thanks to Pritam, for part of his IPL Launch performance which is showing LIVE across the WHOLE WORLD tomorrow!,” King tweeted. He made his playback singing debut in director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s movie “Delhi-6” and has belted hits for movies like “Aisha”, “Dum Maaro Dum”, “Bang Bang!” and others. IANS
As it happened: Hrithik only saving grace in lacklustre IPL opening ceremony
FP Sports
• April 7, 2015, 23:00:36 IST
Live updates and tweets as the IPL kicks off with a glittering opening ceremony.
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April 7, 2015, 22:50:50 (IST)
That’s it from us for tonight. As Ganguly said earlier, ’the serious cricket will start from tomorrow’. Don’t forget to follow live IPL updates and analysis on our sports page! Goodnight.
April 7, 2015, 22:47:04 (IST)
April 7, 2015, 22:43:30 (IST)
April 7, 2015, 22:40:07 (IST)
Saif Ali Khan signs off with ‘badhai ho’ and ‘from tomorrow we’ll see India’s favourite passtime on primetime’. The fireworks go off and it’s goodnight for now. Back to Sidhu.
April 7, 2015, 22:38:13 (IST)
Sandip Roy from Kolkata: I was RIGHT. Didi gave him that scarf. And he wore it with his tanktop on stage!
April 7, 2015, 22:37:35 (IST)
Hrithik manages to pep up the crowd after some, let’s say, not so impressive performances by the rest. Hrithik lives up to expectations — the crowd wants more but looks like this event is over.
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April 7, 2015, 22:31:39 (IST)
Sandip Roy from Kolkata: Aah the show had basically become #WaitingForHrithik, The wait is over. Interesting big hair. He was not lying about that.
And Hrithik is clearly worth it. Even Saurav Dada is smiling
What’s that golden scarf around his neck though? Did Didi present it to him?
April 7, 2015, 22:31:17 (IST)
Hrithik Roshan does a couple of walks around the stage before breaking into the trademark ‘Ek pal ka jeena’ dance step.
April 7, 2015, 22:29:05 (IST)
Saif Ali Khan is clearly struggling with the script. Maybe the teleprompter is too far or there is a delay in the feed from the producer in his ear-piece — but something is clearly wrong.
April 7, 2015, 22:16:47 (IST)
Lots of Rock On numbers by Farhan — he’s looking exhausted and rips off the jacket for the signature tune from the film.
April 7, 2015, 22:14:58 (IST)
Sandip Roy from Kolkata: Suddenly Kolkata is missing its own Didi Usha Uthup as Farhan Akhtar and co. launch into Senorita with a fraction of sexagenerian Usha’s energy.
April 7, 2015, 22:09:27 (IST)
Sandip Roy from Kolkata: Make some noise says Farhan Akhtar as well. Kolkata needs to step it up clearly. He sounds rather tuneless though he looks cool with headband and beard
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April 7, 2015, 22:07:00 (IST)
Sandip Roy from Kolkata: Come on you can do better than that says Saif to a crowd that’s not cheering loudly enough as camera pans to Sourav not looking that excited. But he quickly realizes he’s on camera and smiles politely.
April 7, 2015, 22:04:16 (IST)
April 7, 2015, 22:02:17 (IST)
April 7, 2015, 21:57:59 (IST)
No glitches so far in this performance — showing Virat at the end of it doesn’t count as one, right? Either way, the India vice-captain managed a coy smile and looks like all is well.
April 7, 2015, 21:57:11 (IST)
Sandip Roy from Kolkata: Anushka looks very sportily attired in what looks like a trendy tracksuit as she jogs around the stage.
April 7, 2015, 21:55:47 (IST)
This question from Sandip Roy is worth mulling over: Is Virat going to pop up at the end of this Anushka number?
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April 7, 2015, 21:54:36 (IST)
Anushka Sharma is on stage now!!!
Sandip Roy from Kolkata: Anushka Sharma’s dancers seem to be carrying plastic ponchos as a precaution against the rain
April 7, 2015, 21:52:28 (IST)
Sandip Roy from Kolkata: The favorite players’ favorite moments being shown to the audience in Kolkata in case they forgot this was all about cricket and not a bollywood show.
April 7, 2015, 21:51:45 (IST)
This may sound harsh, but Saif Ali Khan seems quite lost hosting this ceremony. His ’loudest cheer for favourite cricketer’ game is a bit of a flop too. On the flipside, the crowd’s spirits certainly damp after that long wait.
April 7, 2015, 21:45:47 (IST)
The light which Rohit Sharma stepped on by mistake.
April 7, 2015, 21:41:37 (IST)
Shahid Kapoor goes into an extended version of Dhating Naach — he recovered well after that initial bike tumble.
April 7, 2015, 21:39:41 (IST)
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April 7, 2015, 21:38:20 (IST)
Sandip Roy from Kolkata: There’s certainly a lot of hairstyles to choose from at this IPL between the captains and the performers. And thus the ceremony veers from one Bengali legend to another. Tagore’s Anandalokey to Bappi Lahiri’s I am a Disco Dancer.
April 7, 2015, 21:36:00 (IST)
Shahid Kapoor makes an entry on a bike, almost takes a tumble and is singing into the mic it seems. The song is ‘Disco Dancer’.
April 7, 2015, 21:35:06 (IST)
Sandip Roy from Kolkata: Well Saif can’t pronounce Kolkata quite right despite his pedigree.
April 7, 2015, 21:32:34 (IST)
So the captains sign the spirit of cricket bat — starting from Dhoni and ending with Virat Kohli — two of India’s biggest cricket stars. Dhoni has a few chuckles as left-handed Bailey tries to sort out an angle to sign the bat.
April 7, 2015, 21:31:26 (IST)
Sandip Roy from Kolkata: Cricket should be played hard and played to win but not at all cost says Ravi Shastri. Is Srini listening?
April 7, 2015, 21:23:47 (IST)
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April 7, 2015, 21:22:52 (IST)
Sandip Roy from Kolkata: They showed Virat Kohli without zooming to Anushka for once
April 7, 2015, 21:21:28 (IST)
Not a very flattering start for Rohit Sharma, who doesn’t know his position near the stage and when he finally figures it out — he steps onto the Mumbai Indians light which almost gave away. He looks around, people laugh and finally finds his place. The rest of the captains learn from the mistake and are quicky introduced.
April 7, 2015, 21:17:33 (IST)
Saif Ali Khan takes quite a while to appear on stage. He finally has – the language of the opening ceremony seems to be Hinglish.
April 7, 2015, 21:15:11 (IST)
Sandip Roy from Kolkata: Mandatory Rabindrasangeet and red and white saris kick off the IPL opening. Pritham sings Anandalokey mangalalokey. Good that at least it’s not one of the poet’s monsoon songs.
April 7, 2015, 21:14:46 (IST)
The ceremony starts off with some soft Pritam music – and ladies dancing gracefully with mock diyas in their hands. We’re off finally off ladies and gentlemen!
April 7, 2015, 21:10:25 (IST)
Sandip Roy from Kolkata: Sourav Ganguly gets to play weatherman. And asked about his favorite performance he says diplomatically “All of them”. When asked which is his favorite IPL team, Sourav says KKR is special and then pretty much lists all of them.
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April 7, 2015, 21:07:05 (IST)
Sandi Roy from Kolkata: It’s going to be a cracker of an opening says Sameer. Hope they kept the fireworks dry.
April 7, 2015, 21:06:14 (IST)
After a round of highlights from last year’s tournament — the opening ceremony is FINALLY about to start.
April 7, 2015, 20:42:40 (IST)
So the rain seems to be petering out in Kolkata — there’s been more than an hour’s delay already.
April 7, 2015, 20:34:42 (IST)
Sandip Roy from Kolkata: “There is no gloom. There is no doom”: Honestly Navjot Singh Sidhu seems the only one not put out as he gets more time to ham for the cameras while waiting for the rain-delayed opening ceremony to begin. He’s actually enjoying the extra innings he’s getting to play.
End of Liveblog