One of the most glamorous sporting events in the Indian Subcontinent, The Indian Premiere League popularly known as The IPL was recently flagged off in enthralling style at the Wankhade stadium in Mumbai on 8th of April. The IPL opening ceremony continues to get bigger and better every year and this season, the 11th edition of the Premier League was all about entertainment. Some of the most popular biggies of Bollywood such as Varun Dhawan, Prabhu Deva, Jacqueline Fernandez, Tamannaah Bhatia, Mika Singh entertained the crowd with their mesmerizing performances but it was Hrithik Roshan's super energetic moves that had the crowd swooning like crazy.
The IPL is truly a mélange of the two most popularly worshipped forms of entertainment in our country- Cricket and Bollywood. As if the cricketing action wasn't exciting enough, this format of the game has half the entertainment industry participating in it as team owners, supporters or just for entertaining the crowd. The 11th season of the IPL was officially declared open by IPL Commissioner Rajeev Shukla and along with Shukla were BCCI acting President CK Khanna, CoA members Diana Edulji and Vinod Rai and BCCI acting secretary, Amitabh Choudhary. The opening ceremony was hosted by Cricket commentator Jatin Sapru.
The opening act was by actor Varun Dhawan's who made an impressive, grand entry to the stage. He performed on popular tracks from his movies such as 'Judwaa 2', 'Badri Ki Dulhania' and many others. The 30-year-old star dazzled in a pink-ish silver jacket, red T-shirt and purple trousers during his performance.
After Varun's performance, it was Prabhu Deva's turn to entertain the audience with his signature dance moves on various songs.The two got together after that and their dance off on 'Muqabala Muqabala' was a highlight of the evening.
Actress Jacqueline Fernandez looked absolutely ravishing when she entered the stage, riding on a floral chariot carried by men. She set the stage on fire with her performances on 'Sau Tarah Ke' from 'Dishoom', 'Dil Disco Disco' from 'A Gentleman', 'Lift Teri Bandh Hai' from 'Judwaa 2' and her very recent hit track 'Ek Do Teen' from Baaghi 2.
Her performance was followed by Southern Siren Tamannah's smoldering act on various Indian and South Indian songs in a hot pink blouse with dhoti. Her Bahubali themed entry on a lion chariot was very glorious.
Mika Singh entered the floor with the superhit song ‘Damadum Mast Kalandar’ and Salman Khan’s ‘Aaj Ki Party’.
Actor Ranveer Singh's injury, who was supposed to close the opening ceremony had to opt out last minute but his exit became a blessing in disguise as Hrithik Roshan, who stepped in instead definitely took the tempo of the ceremony many notches higher .His act couldn't have been a more befitting replacement and left the crowd grooving.
The stars all came together for one final act before Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma brought out the IPL Trophy and along with the other seven captains reiterated his commitment to ‘The Spirit of Cricket’ pledge. Mumbai Indians are also the defending champions of the IPL after winning the trophy for a historic third occasion by defeating Rising Pune Supergiants in the finals last year.
The IPL’s Spirit of Cricket pledge is an important aspect of the opening ceremony and it emphasizes to play the game in the right spirit, play fair and respect the opponent. The opening ceremony was followed by the first match between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings. We are all looking forward to an exciting season of cricketing and entertainment with the IPL SEASON 11 in full swing.
