A heavy downpour left the stadium and the stage drenched, deferring the ceremony by an hour-and-a-half. And the inauguration didn't quite live up to expectations, often turning into an ordinary song-and-dance routine.
It was not until 9.10pm that the show finally got off the blocks with musician Pritam singing Tagore's 'Anandaloke' as dancers matched steps to the tune with the traditional 'dhunuchi naach'. It was then time for show host Saif Ali Khan to step in and declare that "come rain or shine, India ka teohar will continue its march". It indeed did, with the team captains joining a lively parade. The loudest cheer was expectedly reserved for KKR skipper Gautam Gambhir.
The Bollywood bonanza started rolling with actor Shahid Kapoor riding into the stadium on a bike. "Kolkata are you ready to sing and dance with me? Are you ready for IPL?" he asked the audience, soon breaking into the popular Mithun number 'I am a disco dancer'. He followed it up by shaking a leg to the foot-tapping numbers "Gandi baat' and 'Kabhi chhor dia dil'.
Even though Shahid didn't quite sizzle on stage, Anushka Sharma slithered and wriggled with gusto. Looking resplendent in a flowing golden gown, she set the stage on fire with 'Char kadam' and 'Jiya re'. Virat Kohli's girlfriend then slipped into black trousers to swing to 'Lagale jasba'. The crowd went wild as she jigged, often shouting 'Bhabi!' as she gyrated on stage.
It was then 'Bollywood rockstar' Farhan Akhtar's turn to take the stage with his band. 'Mere yaaron suno suno' rocked the stadium with the actor-director-singer crooning passionately. He followed it up with the rollicking 'Senorita' that livened up the late night ambience. "This is exciting and I am liking Farhan Akhtar better than Anushka or Shahid. He rocks," said Anindya Ray, a youngster from Behala. Anjana Ray, a college student differed. "Anushka was ravishing on stage. Hers was a class act. But I was disappointed with Farhan Akhtar. He was not in his best form," she said. Akhtar rounded up his show with the number 'Rock on'.
The star of the evening, however, was Hrithik Roshan. The light-eyed Bollywood heartthrob made hearts skip a beat as he pranced to "Dhoom macha de". His deft moves and breathtaking steps left the audience craving for more. Clad in a dark vest and wearing shades, the handsome actor delivered more entertainment, wriggling to 'Ek pal ka jeena'. The show-stopping performance turned the clock back by 15 years, when Hrithik had made his first show appearance in the city at the same stadium. He followed it up with more popular numbers like 'Idhar chala'. "Kolkata kemon acho. Bhalo to?" Hrithik asked the audience and was answered with a thunderous affirmative cheer.
The blazing performance salvaged an otherwise ordinary show, that never quite matched previous IPL inaugurations. It didn't lack the glamour or the glitter, but the rain and the resultant delay had probably taken the wind out of its sail.
Earlier, scores of groundsmen worked on a war-footing to get the ground ready for the occasion. Soon after the rain stopped at around 8.15pm, they swung into action with pieces of cloth to soak up the water from the stage. Even as the spectators waited patiently, the lights were switched on, raising expectations. The Bollywood stars and the cricketers were nowhere to be seen, though. That was till the curtains finally went up well past nine.
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