Taking a cue from the Indian Premiere League (IPL), the Celebrity Cricket League (CCL) was started. It paved the way for additional income for the actors. Tasting success with the CCL, now yet another sport has been targeted by the big groups. At a time when India is shining in the sport of badminton at the Olympics, the country’s first Celebrity Badminton League (CBL) has been launched with all four south film industries’ actors taking part in it.
“It’s not about the money, it’s more a passion for the sport that is bringing us actors together”, reveals actor Arya to DC who heads Chennai Rockers team of CBL.
The other three teams include Kerala Royals, captained by actor Jayaram, Karnataka Alps headed by actor Diganth, and Tollywood Thunders, which has Sudheer Babu as its head.
Delving more into the details, Arya says, “The idea started last year, and since I am a sportsperson and I love Badminton, they approached me to head the K’town team. Actors like Bharath, Ramanaa, Shanthanu, Amrish, and Munna among others rigorously practiced during nighttime after their shoots. But due to unforeseen reasons, it never took off then. But it is happening now.” CBL is an initiative of JP Academy.
As misconstrued by many, we are not playing for money’s sake. It is also part of entertaining people, Arya adds. “Though it is a short game, with everything finishing in 20 minutes, it is very tiring. You need a lot of stamina.”
Quiz him if badminton has a similar fan-following to that of cricket, and he promptly replies, “Why not? Especially when we are rocking in badminton at the prestigious Olympic games, there’s a huge interest for the sport. More so, it is popular in the south, particularly in Hyderabad where most of the badminton stars come from. The other advantage for CBL is the glam quotient added by the team of women actors.”
Actors like Gayathrie and Rupa Manjari among others have been brought on board. “The process of selecting the players, both male and female, is going on,” the Avan Ivan star discloses.
On his career front Arya says, “After completing a hectic shoot in the dense forests of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Andhra for Kadamban where I am teaming up with Catherine Tresa, we are moving to the forests of Kerala for the final schedule.”
