Chennai film buffs are in for a visual treat, for Kollywood stars including biggies Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan will unite for a cause on April 17. Yes, the Star Cricket match to be held on that day at the Chepauk Stadium is to raise funds for the Nadigar Sangam’s state-of-the-art building. Eight teams captained by eight A-list actors will play the game, and it is inspired by the Hong Kong Cricket Sixes tournament — each team will comprise of six players and will play only six overs! Amitabh Bachchan and Chiranjeevi are likely to attend the event. Actor Chiyaan Vikram unveiled the trophy recently.
The captains of the eight teams have been announced — Suriya will lead the Chennai Singams team, Vishal will captain Madurai Kaalais, and Kovai Kings will be headed by Karthi. Jayam Ravi for Nellai Dragons, Tanjai Warriors led by Jiiva, Ramnad Rhinos represented by Vijay Sethupathi as captain, Salem Cheetahs by Arya and Trichy Tigers, spearheaded by Sivakarthikeyan are the others! Each captain was introduced on stage, with one of their popular songs playing in the background. Lyrics were modified to suit the event. The players in each team are yet to be revealed.
A satellite channel has bought the telecast rights for a whopping Rs 9 crores, according to sources — and top actresses including Trisha, Nayanthara, Anushka, Kajal Aggarwal and Samantha, have been roped in as star ambassadors to augment the glam quotient. Three locations including YMCA Grounds and one in OMR have been chosen for net practice sessions. The teams are to start practice from today, say sources.
According to sources, Ajith may not participate at the Star Cricket event and he has a valid reason for his act. He believes that to clear the debts of Nadigar Sangam or to raise funds for constructing their building, money should be collected only from the film fraternity (artistes) and not from the public, which is a malpractice (the star cricket is ticketed). Reportedly, he is ready to shell out huge sums of money for the Sangam and is of the opinion that each actor/actress can contribute within their means.
One may recall that Ajith took the same stand years ago, when the then-president of the Sangam, Vijayakanth, held a star show at Singapore to clear the debts. Ajith declined the invitation to attend the show, and stated that they should not raise money through the people of Singapore. Though he was said to have handed over a cheque of '10 lakhs then, it seems Vijayakanth did not utilise it.
