[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwPUCtXaLyI]
They really know how to pack in just about everything the average desi loves into this season of the Indian Premiere League. Thursday’s opening parade featured all the razzle-dazzle of a star-studded parade through Cape Town. Nine floats, one for each of the eight teams plus one for the IPL, made their way along one of the main streets, accompanied by energetic Indian dancers and brass bands from the local community. More than 150 cricketers were in attendance, as were the Bollywood stars Shah Rukh Khan, Preity Zinta and Shilpa Shetty, part-owners of the (Kolkata Knight Riders, Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals.) Hundreds of people lined the streets to watch the parade, which launched festivities that will run until the grand final in Johannesburg on May 24.
Never one to shy from pushing the proverbial envelope the IPL commissioner Lalit Modi thrown a “Miss Bollywood South Africa” competition into the mix for fans attending matches. He says,”We’re looking for someone who has the star quality to stand out in a crowd, probably without even trying that hard. It’s that special, almost indefinable, quality that makes someone a star more than a beauty queen that we are looking for. IPL matches with their mix of fun and excitement are an excellent environment to identify the kind of person who is a natural stand-out in a big crowd.”
(Let’s face it, she’s going to have to be a hottie.)
One Miss Bollywood of the Day will be found at each of the 56 round-robin matches and stands a chance of winning a trip to India, a role in a Bollywood film and $5,590 (279,426rs.)
“Star searches like this are a really great way to find people who may never even have thought that they have what it takes to really make it big,” said Shah Rukh Khan. “The heart of our idea is to search the crowd at IPL matches for someone who has the attitude and appearance that automatically draws the eye. It will be the kind of person who is not necessarily showing off for the camera, but who can mesmerise even total strangers. The announcement of the winner will be shown during a ‘strategy break’ and will be declared Miss Bollywood of the Day.”