The bowled & the powerful

Times of India
23 Apr 2008, 0000 hrs IST,Sreedhar Pillai,TNN

Ilayathalapathy Vijay is all excited as he dons a new role as Chennai Super Kings (CSK) brand ambassador.

Speaking exclusively to Chennai Times on the sets of his forthcoming Kuruvi, at Prasad Studios, where he is doing some patchwork for the film, the actor says: “The two big Cs in my life from the time I can remember is cinema and cricket and I grew up watching them in theatres and on television.

I was passionate about the game, especially ODIs, so I’m more than happy to endorse Twenty20 and CSK.” No surprises when Vijay bats for MS Dhoni, captain, Chennai Super Kings. “My son loves watching cricket on television, he is a fan of MS Dhoni and is waiting to meet him and have himself photographed with him.” Vijay not just loves cricket but has played college level cricket as well!

Prod him further on Dhoni, and the superstar says he is fascinated by Dhoni’s captaincy, which he feels got India the Cup in the recent Australian tour. “Dhoni is an inspirational leader and has been fantastic as captain. I will be there at MA Chidambaram Stadium to cheer for him and the team,” he adds.

The actor’s presence at the stadium will guarantee a full house. He’s known to pull in the punters. The first time Vijay met Dhoni was at the official launch of CSK — a glitzy affair at the Chennai Trade Centre auditorium. “We will win it for Chennai was CSK captain Dhoni’s first comment to me when we met there. He told me that he has heard of me and said that he loves the way I dance in my films. He was very frank and came across as a down-to- earth sort of guy.”

A little bird informs us that Team Super Kings is expected to catch a sneak preview of Vijay’s upcoming release Kuruvi. Never mind Dhoni’s self-confessed love for Bollywood. We’d love to see the Ranchi trailblazer match steps with the superhero. In fact, rumour has it that the cricketer even asked the actor how he managed to do the difficult steps in the ATM title song!

Team CSK managers have taken the popular line — Unnal Mudiyum Thozha —from the song and made it their war cry! Vijay is gung-ho about the current form of CSK. “Obviously our strength is our awesome batting line-up. The way they performed against Kings XI Punjab, and thrashed Lee, Sreesanth and Pathan all round the turf was amazing. The finest left handers in the world — Hayden, Hussey and Fleming — bat for us and I think Murali is the best spinner at the moment. Dhoni’s shrewd captaincy along with youngsters from Tamil Nadu can get us the Cup,” says an excited Vijay.

The actor is all padded up to sit in the special enclosure, cheering every ball that the home team hits. “The T20 is here to stay, and it is as racy, entertaining and enjoyable as the movies I do,” he chuckles.

When quizzed on whether IPL could possibly gnaw at the summer box-office collections, Vijay quips, “T20 will not affect box-office collections. A well-made commercial film will rake in the moolah anyway. Do you think I’d have supported IPL had it threatened cinema? Kuruvi is slated for release on May 1, bang in the middle of the IPL season. I’m confident that this roller-coaster entertainer is well made and will draw in the crowds.”