👍👍👍 On Sat, 10 Apr 2021 at 10:01, 'venkat giri' via iyer123 < [email protected]> wrote:
> *Respected Sir/s* > > *படித்ததில் ருசித்தது . Just read and relished to SHARE* > > [image: The Indian Express] <http://indianexpress.com/>IPL seeps into pop > culture > Sandip G 1 day ago > <http://a.msn.com/02/en-in/BB1frult?ocid=sf> > > <https://twitter.com/share?url=http%3a%2f%2fa.msn.com%2f02%2fen-in%2fBB1frult%3focid%3dst&text=IPL+seeps+into+pop+culture&original_referer=http%3a%2f%2fa.msn.com%2f02%2fen-in%2fBB1frult%3focid%3dst> > > <https://web.whatsapp.com/send?text=http%3a%2f%2fa.msn.com%2f02%2fen-in%2fBB1frult%3focid%3dsw> > > <?subject=IPL%20seeps%20into%20pop%20culture&body=I%20thought%20you%20would%20be%20interested%20in%20this%20story%20I%20found%20on%20MSN%3a%20IPL%20seeps%20into%20pop%20culture%20http%3a%2f%2fa.msn.com%2f02%2fen-in%2fBB1frult%3focid%3dse> > > > *In the frantic build-up to the state polls in Kerala, MS Dhoni made an > unobtrusive entry into a discussion table of solemn political analysts. A > television anchor casually predicted an unfancied Congress leader to > perform a Dhoni-like heist to which a partly bemused analyst quipped: > “Let’s see what Dhoni could do in this year’s IPL.”* > [image: a group of baseball players standing on top of a field]*© > Provided by The Indian Express* > > * There were other IPL allusions too. A new-fangled political party > in Kerala goes by the name Twenty20. Though its founders insist it was not > inspired by IPL or the shortest format of the game, it has not prevented > their adversaries from often reminding them that: “Elections are not like > IPL, it’s Test cricket.”* > > *The state, unlike its neighbors, is largely immune to IPL-frenzy. Apart > from Sanju Samson, it has little stakes too. Yet, the league has > subconsciously intruded into the psyche that references and metaphors are > quite common and frequent, emphasising that IPL, even where it’s not madly > followed or deeply entrenched, has seeped seamlessly into the popular > culture.* > *Some distance away, in Maharashtra, where COVID-19 cases are mounting, > the government believes that the cases will subside as soon as the IPL > begins. They are convinced that more people will stay indoors in the > evening, thus reducing the chances of virus transmission. There needn’t be > night curfews. * > *The games in Mumbai, the hotbed of the recent wave, needn’t be shifted > either. The assumptions are not bereft of logic or evidence either, as > there indeed was a relative slump in the number of cases during the last > IPL season. **More people watched IPL games in the UAE than ever before — > 405 millions viewers (24 per cent increase from 2019), that is half of the > Indians, according to BARC viewership data.* > > * Thus, while IPL may well not be the opium of the masses > yet, along with the pandemic, death and taxes, it too has become an > inevitability of our times. Not just for the two months that it plays out > on the television screen, but beyond that. Not just as a tool for > entertainment or as a commercial force but a defined cultural, social > construct. Be it the realm of trolls or memes, sphere of movies or songs, > platform of fiction or shows on YouTube, the league has not just barged > into the common Indian’s psyche, it has blended into his sensibilities.* > > * It was always bound to be, says James Astill, > former Delhi correspondent of the Economist and the author of 'The Great > Tamasha', a story of cricket becoming Indianised. “Cricket in India was a > religion even before IPL came. Cricketers and cricket had close ties with > politicians and businessmen, it had also ties with the Bollywood. IPL > brought all these ingredients together and a great package was born. It was > just a matter of time before they combined to form part of the popular > culture. It’s an irresistible combo,” he explains.* > > It gave birth to what he calls the “casual audience.” *Those > who watch cricket for pure fun, like watching a commercial movie. “It’s > like a family occasion, the television is always when the game is on. > Initially, **I was suspicious of the franchise model, whether it would > take time to seep in, but IPL became a part of the culture in a quick time. > It created a new audience, a larger cross-section of society, and thus > brought a cultural shift in how the sport is consumed in the country,” he > says.* > * Inevitably, the IPL streamed into the public imagination > with as much as pace as the format itself. One of the more popular episodes > of **the long-running TV show Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashma -*तारक मेहता > का उल्टा चश्मा (topsy-turvy spectacles of Taarak Mehta or te wrong > spectacles of Taarak Mehta) > *it's been on air since 5th Oct '2008 - happens to have an IPL storyline. > The 'always happy' residents of a gated community in suburban Mumbai get > divided into teams led by the tele-series' two popular female characters. > The Daya Daredevils vs Babita Blasters front yard game in Gokuldham Premier > League has a CSK vs MI feel to it. Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala's song > 'Ho TV utte rahein IPL dekhdi' (You keep watching IPL on TV) is a sort of > lament to his beloved but this time around it can connect to the many > home-bound IPL fans.* > > * In 2013, just months before the fixing scandal shook the > IPL, Rajiv Rajendra wrote a crim-cric novel of a similar trope named The > League — a billion-dollar cricket league in a fictitious island called > Palmyra and run by a filthy rich Arab sheik called Abdel Rafter al Rafter. > Non-fiction works too have sprung up. “There is a sudden surge in > readership, so we stock a lot of books on IPL. Even cricket books, > unrelated to IPL, would sell,” says P Joseph, a second-hand book-seller in > Kottayam, a sleepy town in central Kerala.* > > * A year later, Tamil director explored the cricket-league > theme in the movie Jeeva, where a sidelined middle-class youngster nearly > quits cricket because of politics before he gets a chance break to play > franchise cricket (called CPL) and then breaks into the national team. The > movie’s director, Suseenthiran, had then said that the movie was inspired > by the alleged politics in cricket boards as well as the IPL’s knack of > spinning rags to riches story every other year.* > * Songs and shows too sprouted, like Kaathal Cricketil > Vizhinthiruchu .....காதல் கிரிக்கெட்டில்விழுந்திருச்சு விக்கெட்டு* > * (loosely translated as wicket has fallen in love’s cricket game) from > the movie Unnaipol Oruvan( *உன்னைப் போல் ஒருவன் > *-1969 Tamil movie starring கமல் ஹாசன், மோகன்லால் ), while overseas > cricketers like Dwayne Bravo sang and shook his legs in a couple of movies > (Yendi from Chithiram Pesuthadi 2). Several mash-ups too have inundated the > web, mostly featuring CSK favourite MS Dhoni; three local singers— > Velmurugan, Ve Madhan Kumar, Srinath Pichai — penned, composed and sang a > tribute titled Thalaivar Song.* > * Even in not-so-IPL-frenzied Kerala, certain IPL > contexts resonate in movies and life alike. Like a reference of * > *S. Sreesanth is not far away when it comes to mocking crybabies. Or a > reference to Dhoni, when it comes to the guy who runs away with the bounty > at the last moment. Sometimes, there are grimy anti-heroes who have heavily > invested in a murky cricket franchise, or the super-cop getting an SOS from > a cricketer, who is threatened by match-fixers of a shady league, or the > cricket-crazy father telling his son that he would one day play in the IPL. > Or the staple: “Malinga mandai vechu Ishant Sharma maathiri potite irukku, > dei paar....“മലിംഗ മണ്ഡായി വെച്ചു ഇഷാന്ത് ശർമ മാതിരി പോറ്റിറ്റ് ഇരുക്കു, ഡീ > പാർ* > * (With the curls of Malinga, you are bowling like Ishant!)* > > *There are the cheeky political trade-offs too. Before the 2016 polls in > the state, Sreesanth, who was a BJP candidate, had referred to one of the > party talismans as “Sachin Tendulkar of Kerala BJP”, to which noted writer > NS Madhavan retorted: “Then people will become Harbhajans.” The reference > was obvious — Harbhajan Singh slapping Sreesanth, who broke down, during an > IPL match.* > > ********* > > * Then came the game-changer in the form of the first-ever > Indianised web-series, Inside Edge Season 1 in 2017. A blend of back-room > drama, behind-the-door games, and the big, bad world of fixing and betting, > the movie was the "perfect storm. “There was so much of interesting > information that makes for great drama in that world of 'cricket meeting > entertainment' that it was very easy to weave a nice sharp show,” its > creator Karan Anshuman said during the launch.* > > * Television ads too have spun cricket into their storylines > during the IPL — like Lenskart on the comedy of run-out errors during a > game. So had Swiggy and Bingo during the last IPL. To Astill, these are > more tangible signs of the IPL invading into public consciousness, > seamlessly and unforced. “Now IPL inhabits the minds of the audience for > not just two months, but even beyond it. It has become part of what > constitutes their consciousness. That is the real success,” he says.* > > * However, it’s still largely a "metropolitan > fantasy" as Tamil writer R Abilash Chandran reflects. “The influence of IPL > is obvious in memes, trolls and maybe a line in a song or a joke in a > movie. But it’s mostly confined to metros and those that have IPL > franchises. At least in Tamil Nadu, it has not quite travelled to the > villages or other towns to really call IPL a part of popular culture,” he > points out.* > > * But there is scope, he says. “Like if T Natarajan continues > to perform well, there would be more fanfare for IPL in Tamil Nadu’s rural > corners,” he says. The rural landscape, then, would be IPL’s final frontier* > *Regards* > *V.sridharan* > *Trichy* > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "iyer123" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/iyer123/147095492.308405.1618029054707%40mail.yahoo.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/iyer123/147095492.308405.1618029054707%40mail.yahoo.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/CAL5XZory0ZH4jt5zE-4MfG%2BE7O_A5bfhj3uVAp3dbWNruVDjNg%40mail.gmail.com.
