Cricket Movies

Bollywood (read Hindi movies) megastar Shah Rukh Khan or King Khan was very upset with an official of the Board of Control of Cricket for India (BCCI).

King Khan had a point. There is no dictate that a movie megastar cannot be a cricket fan. In fact, most of the film stars are avid cricket fans. They like to watch the one day internationals in particular and deservedly get a lot of attention and camera angles. They also pose with the cricket superstars in many commercials. It's a health competition between them-who can command the highest price.

The BCCI official had a point too. Movie stars come to watch matches to get a huge dose of free publicity. To make matters worse King Khan had just released a film which had been doing good business both at home and overseas. The official alleged that Khan came to the match only to promote his film. The rabid attention he commanded there added more hype to the film.

The BCCI is perhaps the richest cricket board in the world. It sells everything from the players' gears to the small screen spaces. Commercials are crammed into the tiny intervals in between the overs. Now, even micro intervals in between balls are not spared. The small screen gets smaller with brand names and logos clogging the sides. The screen gets back to normal size to accommodate the next ball. The cricket field boundaries are lined up with advertising boards over which the players often fall to save fours and tend to injure themselves. But the dough flows in continuously. That is what matters. So, the ticket price that Khan paid was a pittance and the hype he got was an unjustified reward.

Khan righteously cried hoarse. He said that after this he would never go to a cricket match. He went there for the sake of his children only and because he loved the game.

The media loved it. Satellite TV channels kept on breaking the news for more than twenty four hours. More controversies were created. Some old cricketers supported the bereaved Khan. Divisions were created in the hierarchy of the BCCI. More hype was generated and Khan's new film got mentioned all the time. The BCCI was forced to send in a fresh invitation to Khan to visit the next matches.

In India cricket and movies are tremendous crowd pullers, and so the big bucks, the cross current of sentiments, emotions, passions, rage and outrage.

The complaining board official must have rued his outburst because it was ultimately Khan who had the best of both worlds.

Buy one get one free. King Khan got one free without even buying the other. Well, we have a point too.