When the worlds of Bollywood and cricket collide

With the first game of the Indian Premier League beginning today in the UAE, we explore the league’s Bollywood connections, which are as glitzy as they are controversial.

Shah Rukh Khan plays a shot during a friendly match between the members of the support and administrative staff of Royal Challengers Bangalore and his Kolkata Knight Riders cricket team. Dibyangshu Sarkar / AFPShow less

If there are two things expats from the subcontinent are crazy about, it’s cricket and films. Put them together and you get the Indian Premier League (IPL) – a heady mix of batsmen, big bucks and Bollywood. Founded in 2008 by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the IPL has swiftly become the ­highest-profile showcase for Twenty­20 cricket globally. And of the eight teams playing in this year’s league, three boast a strong Bollywood connection.

1 Shah Rukh Khan – Kolkata Knight Riders

The team

At the first auction in February 2008, Bollywood’s king Shah Rukh Khan, 48, acquired ownership of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for US$75 million (Dh275.5m), under his company Red Chillies Entertainment in partnership with the actress Juhi Chawla and her husband Jay Mehta. He is the team’s brand ambassador and usually performs in the tournament’s opening ceremonies. The team’s livery is designed by Manish Malhotra, Bollywood’s go-to fashion designer.

The celebrities

Khan is one of Bollywood’s most powerful stars and topped Forbes India’s celebrity rankings in 2013. He also lays claim to more than 30 Filmfare Award nominations and 12 awards, eight for Best Actor.

Chawla, meanwhile, has nine Filmfare nominations, of which she has won two, including one for Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak in 1988. Chawla and Khan went on to become one of the most popular on-screen couples of the 1990s and have appeared together in more than a dozen films since their first, 1992’s Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman, also one of Khan’s earliest films.

In the news

In 2008, Khan was barred from entering the team’s dressing room during games. In 2012, he was banned from a Mumbai stadium for arguing with officials.

SRK has remained media-savvy, promoting KKR in a video, a music album with top singing talent and a TV documentary titled Living with KKR that was broadcast on National Geographic.

2 Preity Zinta – Kings XI Punjab

The team

The bubbly actress Preity Zinta and Ness Wadia of Wadia Group – her boyfriend at the time – snapped up Kings XI Punjab in the tournament’s debut year, in partnership with Karan Paul of Apeejay Surrendra Group and Mohit Burman of the Dabur group, for $76m.

The celebrity

An A-lister, Zinta, 39, debuted in 1998 with a bit role in Shah Rukh Khan’s Dil Se, which got her a Filmfare Award for Best Debut. With 11 Filmfare nominations and two gongs for Best Actress, Zinta is credited as one of the actresses who has redefined the Indian film heroine.

In the news

Zinta has struggled with her role as the owner of a cricket team, going as far as to admit feeling out of place at times. She broke up with Wadia in 2009, but the two have remained business partners. Zinta is seen at most IPL auctions, games, conferences and promotional events, leading Khan to comment in February this year that she’s one of the better team owners in the league.

3 Shilpa Shetty – Rajasthan Royals

The team

The least-valued team at the inaugural auctions in 2008, the Rajasthan Royals went on to win the first IPL championship after defeating the Chennai Super Kings. This spurred the actress Shilpa Shetty and her husband Raj Kundra to acquire a 11.7 per cent stake in the team for $15.4 million, at the second auction in 2009.

The celebrity

Shetty is an A-lister, too. The 38-year-old gathered a huge international fan following after her 2007 appearance on the fifth season of the British reality television show Celebrity Big Brother, especially when she got caught up in controversy after another contestant subjected her to racist remarks. Shetty ended up winning, with 63 per cent of the final votes.

In the news

In 2010, Rajasthan Royals was terminated by the BCCI but managed to secure a stay order from the Supreme Court.

In 2013, Kundra was accused of betting on games his team played, but the case was later closed. Last we heard, a fresh probe had been ordered.

The Kolkata Knight Riders take on the Mumbai Indians today at 6.30pm at Sheikh Zayed Stadium