IPL 7 to return to India on May 2
After hosting the first part in the United Arab Emirates, the seventh edition of IPL will return to India on May 2 with a high-profile clash between past winners Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders in Ranchi.
The UAE was awarded the hosting rights of the first 20 matches of IPL starting April 16 due to clash of dates with the general elections.
The UAE was awarded the hosting rights of the first 20 matches of IPL starting April 16 due to clash of dates with the general elections.
The organisers today released the fixture for the remainder of the 40 games, including the final with all the matches being held in India. Bangladesh was kept as a stand by to host the second leg in case the government declined permission to hold the matches.
A total of 10 cities -- Ranchi, Mumbai, New Delhi, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Cuttack, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Chennai and Mohali -- will host the remaining 40 matches of IPL 7.
While the Qualifier 1 and Eliminator will be held at Chennai's M A Chidambaram Stadium on May 27 and May 28, the Qualifier 2 and the summit clash will be staged at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on May 30 and June 1.
While the Qualifier 1 and Eliminator will be held at Chennai's M A Chidambaram Stadium on May 27 and May 28, the Qualifier 2 and the summit clash will be staged at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on May 30 and June 1.
Each franchise will play nine matches in India, with five of the eight teams playing at least four matches in their home stadium. Chennai Super Kings will play two matches at Ranchi, while Kings XI Punjab will play two games at Cuttack. Rajasthan Royals will play four matches at Ahmedabad. There will be no matches on May 1, May 16 and May 17.
"After discussions with the authorities in India, the BCCI is pleased to announce that a total of 36 regular season matches, plus the four playoffs of the Pepsi IPL 2014, will be played in India, starting Friday, 2 May 2014," BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel said in a statement.
The organisers also made two changes to the UAE leg of the schedule. The evening match on April 26 in Abu Dhabi, between Kings XI Punjab and Kolkata Knight Riders, will now be designated as a home match for Kolkata Knight Riders while the match April 28 in Dubai, between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kings XI Punjab, will be designated as a home game for Kings XI Punjab.
"Following on from the launch of ticket sales for the UAE leg today, I am pleased that we are now able to confirm the dates for the rest of the season. It is great news that the fans back home in India will be able to watch a large part of the Pepsi IPL 2014. Given the various challenges and the logistical complexities, we have spent a considerable amount of time in crafting a balanced schedule," said interim president of BCCI-IPL, Sunil Gavaskar.
Ranjib Biswal, chairman of IPL Governing Council, said "We are delighted to have the season back in India at the start of May. Organising an event of this scale at multiple venues in two countries is an enormous organisational undertaking and we are very grateful to the Government of India, the Ministry of Home Affairs and the police authorities in the various states for their support." The first leg of IPL 7 was forced to shift out of the country after the government refused to provide security as its schedule was clashing with the general elections, scheduled to be held in nine phases from April 7 to May 12.
This is the second time the event has had to be forced out of the country due to elections. In 2009, the entire tournament had to be shifted to South Africa, a country which was in contention to host the event even this time.
Due to the lesser number of teams, the duration of the league has also been shortened this time to 47 days and 60 matches -- much less than the 76 games played last season which was spread over 54 days.
Mumbai local train catches fire at Dadar station, trains delayed
There was panic and pandemonium among commuters at Dadar station after the motorcoach of a local train caught fire and started bellowing out huge plumes of smoke on Thursday evening. The motor-coach - the one with electrical systems- from the Kalyan end of the S34 local train coming from Karjat to CST had caught fire some moments after it entered platform no six of Dadar station at 5:32pm.
The fire brigade was called in and local railway staff also got down to controlling the fire. The fire was completely a few minutes later but the train continues to remain on platform number 6 leading to the stalling of several fast trains that also use the same line on their way to CST.
"We have diverted five fast trains to other lines so that evening peak hour is not affected. There are no injuries from the fire. A team is heading to Dadar to find out what might have caused the fire on the train," said a senior Central Railway official.
Trains running towards CST are running late and the spill-over is expected to affect the evening peak hour.
Oops: Kajol needs to visit a dentist soon
She did stun all in her enchanting white dress by her designer
friend, Manish Malhotra at the Mijwan Fashion Show 2014, which was recently held
in Mumbai, but actress Kajol was caught in a rather awkward moment, when she was
clicked with a cavity in her teeth.
The actress, who looked elegant like never before in her white
chikankari dress at the event was caught on cam with a teeth problem, when she
could not curtail her excitement at seeing Jaya Bachchan, who kissed the actress
since she was apparently meeting her after long.
Click further to know why Kajol needs to visit a dentist on an
urgent basis.
Dimple, Khurshid, Hema Malini file nominations
Lucknow, April 3: Dimple Yadav, Hema Malini and Salman Khurshid were among the high-profile political leaders who filed their nomination papers from the Lok Sabha in Uttar Pradesh Thursday.
Dimple Yadav, wife of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, filed her nomination papers from Kannauj, from where she is the incumbent MP. She arrived with husband to the district magistrate's office to file her papers.
Speaking to reporters waiting outside the office, she said Kannauj has always stood by the Samajwadi Party and she hoped that the voters will send her to the Lok Sabha again.
Promising more development if elected, she also warned the people against "false and tall promises" being made by certain political parties.
Cine star Hema Malini also filed her nomination papers from Mathura as the Bharatiya Janata Party candidate. She was however handed over a notice by the election commission after her supporters raised slogans in her favour in the collector's office, while the nomination process was on. Sloganeering in the premises is against the model code of conduct.
Filed his nomination papers as a Congress candidate from Farrukhabad, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid asserted that his party was the best bet for all-round development.
Irrfan: Deadpan, dead right
The believable actor, now has brands seeking him out, but he will lend his credibility selectively
A good role is one that gives him a trip, he says, while rolling tobacco into a thin, long cigarette. “If you’re stuck in a groove, your ability and sensitivity as an actor gets lazy.” On a day off, this busy 47-year-old actor still bears the demeanour of a National School of Drama (NSD) student. His eyes, once described by his father as chalices, seem tired but aware. Dressed in a white linen shirt, grey pants and bearing a hint of black stubble, Irrfan looks significantly younger than the middle-aged characters he memorably plays on screen.
The melancholic Saajan Fernandes of The Lunchbox and sombre Pi Patel of Life of Pi is now a brand. Six companies, including Dabur, Ceat, Priya Gold and 7Up, have roped in Irrfan to be the face of their products. When it comes to straight talk, the actor’s credibility is considered on a par with Amitabh Bachchan and Sachin Tendulkar, says Nitish Bajaj, vice president, marketing for Ceat. “The audience sees him as someone who will call a spade a spade.” It also helps that Irrfan is not as popular as some other major actors because “that means he’s not overexposed”. Going by Irrfan’s own account, there seems to be another advantage for brands that hire him. He rates fresh content higher than compensation.
After the popular Vodafone commercials some years ago, where he played a common man delivering witty monologues, he was flooded with similar offers that led him to stay largely away from doing ads for a year. If the idea and director interest him, he is willing to bargain. “Before saying yes, I prefer if they bring me the script; it’s easier for me to decide about the money,” he says. There are also differences in how he approaches commercials and cinema. “In a film, you are not selling anything but in an ad you are, so you have to keep your focus on communicating that message to the audience.”
Cinema allows him a more immersive experience as an actor. The process begins with Irrfan searching for ‘an entry’ into the story and character. He found Anurag Basu’s Metro and the recent Gunday simpler to grasp than The Namesake and the US TV series In Treatment, which disconcerted him. The Namesake’s Ashoke Ganguli was envisioned as a man so unobtrusive that if he is sat in front of you, you would not take heed of him. “What Mira Nair described and what Jhumpa (Lahiri) had written, I had never seen that kind of a person before,” he says. “But when I met Jhumpa’s father, suddenly a bell rang in my head -- kling.” Irrfan then surreptitiously recorded Amar Lahiri’s voice and would listen to it before the shoot. Other parts, like Paan Singh Tomar, required going through 30 DVDs with accounts from locals and acquaintances from the athlete’s village.
His wife Sutapa Sikdar, also an NSD graduate, said in an earlier interview that Irrfan was always keen on studying the art. Even now, he is reported to stay awake until 3 am, going through scripts and making notes. Observing people and life becomes second nature for an actor, he says. “If I’m crying at my father’s death, there is a second Irrfan watching and telling me how I’m behaving.” He lives by his drama professor Robin Das’ advice -- a good actor lets his emotions go but still keeps an eye on which light is on him. “You go through the emotion but you’re also detached from it. So there is both a person and a partition.”
The deadpan actor says some characters have stayed with him even after a film is completed, while there are others he could not wait to shed. He cherishes Paan Singh, who reminded him of his father. On the other hand, he was happy when his In Treatment part as Sunil Sanyal, a widower with insecurities, ended. However, one habit from that series has remained. That was where he learned to make his own cigarettes. He goes through a couple of these in the duration of an hour, leaning forward to light them and reclining casually to take drags. He is not someone many would call handsome but his tall, slender frame and sonorous drawl make him alluring.
Irrfan’s success took its time coming. The Jaipur-bred actor’s parents were not pleased with his career choice but he managed to trick them and do the course at NSD. When he came to Mumbai for work, the challenges multiplied. Irrfan, who enjoys quoting Bertold Brecht, had to unlearn theatre and adapt to the TV camera. Unlike Delhi, where people were exposed to many art forms, this city struck him as one obsessed with money. The star of Chanakya and Banegi Apni Baat felt left out in an industry where, for recreation, actors would party or play cards. He was never out of work but the wait for roles that excited him artistically was long.
The big break came with the Star Bestsellers series, which also gave a boost to such directors as Anurag Kashyap, Imtiaz Ali, Hansal Mehta and Tigmanshu Dhulia. It got him a role in Haasil and internationally, he was picked for Asif Kapadia’s The Warrior. His understated style often means he is not looked at as a star. “Once, somebody came to me and said with so much authority, ‘Why don’t you use your hands more in your performances?’ Because at the time Shah Rukh Khan was at his peak,” he recalls with a slow smile spreading across his face.
Over the last few years, the actor has had one foot in Mumbai and another in Los Angeles. He will be seen next in Vishal Bhardwaj’s Haider, Piku by Shoojit Sircar, Nishikant Kamat's untitled film, Sujoy Ghosh's upcoming film, and a comedy with Kunaal Roy Kapur titled Welcome to Karachi – Have a blast! On the international front, he has signed up for Jurassic World. While he has confidence in his ability to pick out stories and suggest collaborations between local directors and international studios, Irrfan does not think he has the temperament to be a producer himself.
His mild irreverence for commerce is also likely a theatre legacy. “In fact, when I do Hollywood films, I lose money,” he says, adding that he could earn more in India than abroad in a given period of time. About 60% of his international earnings are paid as taxes. He is taxed on the remaining 40% when he returns here. What has kept him going back and forth, he says, is the thirst for variety. In the interim, however, financial considerations did lead him to do undistinguished films such as Thank You and Knock Out. Irrfan looks forward to working with more interesting directors. “I am doing stories of my choice more than ever right now. I am viable enough for them now.”
His apartment on the fifth floor of an ocean-facing complex is filled with an eclectic collection of art and furniture, playing host to a light breeze and an incessant sound of crows. Books line the shelves and litter the tables of his study. During time off, he likes to play some sport or get away from Mumbai for a visit to Jaipur. His home, a bit like his acting methods, is part of Mumbai but still away from it, located in the distant quiet neighbourhood of Madh, near Aksa beach. “We might have to shift later,” he shrugs. For now though, Irrfan seems to be in a good place.
The melancholic Saajan Fernandes of The Lunchbox and sombre Pi Patel of Life of Pi is now a brand. Six companies, including Dabur, Ceat, Priya Gold and 7Up, have roped in Irrfan to be the face of their products. When it comes to straight talk, the actor’s credibility is considered on a par with Amitabh Bachchan and Sachin Tendulkar, says Nitish Bajaj, vice president, marketing for Ceat. “The audience sees him as someone who will call a spade a spade.” It also helps that Irrfan is not as popular as some other major actors because “that means he’s not overexposed”. Going by Irrfan’s own account, there seems to be another advantage for brands that hire him. He rates fresh content higher than compensation.
After the popular Vodafone commercials some years ago, where he played a common man delivering witty monologues, he was flooded with similar offers that led him to stay largely away from doing ads for a year. If the idea and director interest him, he is willing to bargain. “Before saying yes, I prefer if they bring me the script; it’s easier for me to decide about the money,” he says. There are also differences in how he approaches commercials and cinema. “In a film, you are not selling anything but in an ad you are, so you have to keep your focus on communicating that message to the audience.”
Cinema allows him a more immersive experience as an actor. The process begins with Irrfan searching for ‘an entry’ into the story and character. He found Anurag Basu’s Metro and the recent Gunday simpler to grasp than The Namesake and the US TV series In Treatment, which disconcerted him. The Namesake’s Ashoke Ganguli was envisioned as a man so unobtrusive that if he is sat in front of you, you would not take heed of him. “What Mira Nair described and what Jhumpa (Lahiri) had written, I had never seen that kind of a person before,” he says. “But when I met Jhumpa’s father, suddenly a bell rang in my head -- kling.” Irrfan then surreptitiously recorded Amar Lahiri’s voice and would listen to it before the shoot. Other parts, like Paan Singh Tomar, required going through 30 DVDs with accounts from locals and acquaintances from the athlete’s village.
His wife Sutapa Sikdar, also an NSD graduate, said in an earlier interview that Irrfan was always keen on studying the art. Even now, he is reported to stay awake until 3 am, going through scripts and making notes. Observing people and life becomes second nature for an actor, he says. “If I’m crying at my father’s death, there is a second Irrfan watching and telling me how I’m behaving.” He lives by his drama professor Robin Das’ advice -- a good actor lets his emotions go but still keeps an eye on which light is on him. “You go through the emotion but you’re also detached from it. So there is both a person and a partition.”
The deadpan actor says some characters have stayed with him even after a film is completed, while there are others he could not wait to shed. He cherishes Paan Singh, who reminded him of his father. On the other hand, he was happy when his In Treatment part as Sunil Sanyal, a widower with insecurities, ended. However, one habit from that series has remained. That was where he learned to make his own cigarettes. He goes through a couple of these in the duration of an hour, leaning forward to light them and reclining casually to take drags. He is not someone many would call handsome but his tall, slender frame and sonorous drawl make him alluring.
Irrfan’s success took its time coming. The Jaipur-bred actor’s parents were not pleased with his career choice but he managed to trick them and do the course at NSD. When he came to Mumbai for work, the challenges multiplied. Irrfan, who enjoys quoting Bertold Brecht, had to unlearn theatre and adapt to the TV camera. Unlike Delhi, where people were exposed to many art forms, this city struck him as one obsessed with money. The star of Chanakya and Banegi Apni Baat felt left out in an industry where, for recreation, actors would party or play cards. He was never out of work but the wait for roles that excited him artistically was long.
The big break came with the Star Bestsellers series, which also gave a boost to such directors as Anurag Kashyap, Imtiaz Ali, Hansal Mehta and Tigmanshu Dhulia. It got him a role in Haasil and internationally, he was picked for Asif Kapadia’s The Warrior. His understated style often means he is not looked at as a star. “Once, somebody came to me and said with so much authority, ‘Why don’t you use your hands more in your performances?’ Because at the time Shah Rukh Khan was at his peak,” he recalls with a slow smile spreading across his face.
Over the last few years, the actor has had one foot in Mumbai and another in Los Angeles. He will be seen next in Vishal Bhardwaj’s Haider, Piku by Shoojit Sircar, Nishikant Kamat's untitled film, Sujoy Ghosh's upcoming film, and a comedy with Kunaal Roy Kapur titled Welcome to Karachi – Have a blast! On the international front, he has signed up for Jurassic World. While he has confidence in his ability to pick out stories and suggest collaborations between local directors and international studios, Irrfan does not think he has the temperament to be a producer himself.
His mild irreverence for commerce is also likely a theatre legacy. “In fact, when I do Hollywood films, I lose money,” he says, adding that he could earn more in India than abroad in a given period of time. About 60% of his international earnings are paid as taxes. He is taxed on the remaining 40% when he returns here. What has kept him going back and forth, he says, is the thirst for variety. In the interim, however, financial considerations did lead him to do undistinguished films such as Thank You and Knock Out. Irrfan looks forward to working with more interesting directors. “I am doing stories of my choice more than ever right now. I am viable enough for them now.”
His apartment on the fifth floor of an ocean-facing complex is filled with an eclectic collection of art and furniture, playing host to a light breeze and an incessant sound of crows. Books line the shelves and litter the tables of his study. During time off, he likes to play some sport or get away from Mumbai for a visit to Jaipur. His home, a bit like his acting methods, is part of Mumbai but still away from it, located in the distant quiet neighbourhood of Madh, near Aksa beach. “We might have to shift later,” he shrugs. For now though, Irrfan seems to be in a good place.
