ipl auction: shahrukh khan manages to create 'news'...

shared by straight point on Tuesday, January 26, 2010

even if you do not follow shahrukh khan... you know he will not let this, alleged 'snub' of pakistani players by ipl, opportunity to pass... and he did not...

at one stroke shahrukh said that it was humiliating to see none of the pakistani players being picked up and at another he said franchisees had some 'issues' which cannot be ignored...

if he sincerely felt so humiliated at the auction... i wonder what stopped him from bidding for abdul razzaq he and his captain wanted so dearly...? he could have led by example and shown to others that despite some 'issues' pakistani players could still be picked...

and if he sincerely feel there are some 'issues' which cannot be ignored... then his decision was purely a reflection of that... as was of other franchisees... so where this 'humiliation' angle comes from...?

his attempt in appeasing both sides of world is highly condemnable coz it's nothing but an attempt to get some cheap mileage at the cost of ipl, its organisers and pakistani players...

shahrukh khan hails from the school which works on the mantra... any publicity is good publicity... and they can stoop to any level to remain in news... to get the publicity...

no wonder one can clearly see his imprints on kolkata knight riders (kkr)... though they have failed to achieve anything of note as a team in both seasons of ipl but still the brand 'kkr' is as strong as any other successful ipl team coz they, like his owner, know how to remain in news...

25 comments:

Mahek said...

How about for once taking things on face value? Or just looking at the message instead of the messenger? I don't care why he said what he said but it made a lot of sense to me. Should he have done this before the auction? Absolutely. But atleast he decided to be open about it just like Darren Berry and the two IPL bimbos.

straight point said...

mahek... why did he not raised the issue during the auction then... why he like other franchisees picked the player that suited his requirements...?

how i wish any of the journalists sitting at that press conference would have put fwd these questions to him... but then he wants to remain in good terms with superstar too...

Mahek said...

I just said he should have done this before the auction. The fact that he didn't doesn't mean he shouldn't have done it now. Why didn't you say the same thing about Darren Berry? He's come out and said this only after the auction.

Not every businessperson can do the right thing. It takes a lot of courage to go against the establishment. Even if the franchises wanted to have these players they needed some sort of security assurance. Imagine the furore if a fundamentalist group attacked the players. You can kiss goodbye to cricket in India just like the Pakistanis have been deprived of it thanks to the actions of a few fanatics. The government might distance itself from what happened but the truth is it could have provided assurance to the franchises that the Thackerays or anyone else would not be allowed to disrupt proceedings.

straight point said...

exactly mahek... there were 'issues' which cannot be ignored... i am more disturbed by his humiliation part which is very strong word to use and coming from an 'icon' he is expected to use better words in showing his disappointment... but then that does not create a sensations news... isn't it...?

Mahek said...

I'm sure you would be humiliated too if some religious fanatic forced you to do something that went against your beliefs.

straight point said...

I'm sure you would be humiliated too if some religious fanatic forced you to do something that went against your beliefs.

do you really believe what you have just wrote mahek...?

i mean please enlighten me... what 'religious fanatic' forced shahrukh to go against his beliefs...?

as i said we must chose our words carefully...

Mahek said...

Mr. Bal Thackeray. If you don't consider him a religious fanatic then so be it. Sure he threatened people of a particular nationality in this case, doesn't make him any less of a religious fanatic.

straight point said...

you and trying to cut and paste different things to suite your convenience mahek...

lets revisit your argument...

shahrukh khan did not do what he wanted to do coz of ppl like thakeray...

so at best he would have ended up not utilizing the pakistani player he would picked...

means the one who spent $650k on mortaza (to play out a dead game) thinking it will improve his 'brand' in deshis for business mileage... but could not spend even the base price of lowest pakistani for his so called 'beliefs'...

and you want me to believe all this 'humiliating' shit...

Mahek said...

You can choose to not believe it, doesn't change the fact that the owner had to act against his will.

Ami said...

Know what? You guys can take this issue straight to him at his twitter account @iamsrk ..or you can argue about it here until the cows come home. Even if he doesn't answer your tweet, at least you'll have the satisfaction of venting directly to the guy himself.

straight point said...

we live peacefully by agreeing to disagree in the world of diverse opinions... :)

straight point said...

welcome ami at sp and thanks for the tip worth considering...

Megha said...

Mahek,

I wonder if SRK also feels humiliated when a certain player who hails from our "wonderful neighbour" gives statements like "The Hindus have shown their mentality"...does he still want to welcome them with open arms? Or is it just the attitude of religious fanatics in India that makes him speak up "dil se"?

Also, if threats from Shiv Sena was a major part of why the franchisees did not chose the Pakistanis, why did it not stop them from buying the Aussies? There were threats against them before the auction, weren't there? (Also, SRK doesn't feel any humiliation when SS declared "No Aussies can play in Mumbai"? Is that feeling reserved only when things go wrong against Pak?). Shiv Sena has maintained this position of not letting Pakistanis play in Mumbai for years now. That didn't stop anyone from picking them up for IPL1. So why bring this up now?

Please note here that -
a) I am not a closet Hindu nationalist.
b) I am not trying to imply that SRK is a traitor, and supports Pakistan secretly. All I am trying to say is that these statements from SRK seem to be very opportunistic...they make no sense otherwise.

Also, whatever the issues might be that kept Pakistanis out, if this is what their real attitude is (viz statements made by Tanvir and Afridi) then I am happy they are out and I really don't want to welcome them into my home anytime soon.

I have been reading your comments over various blogs on this issue. Please get a grip on how real world works and realise that it is not possible to keep politics and sports separate all the time.

SP,

My apologies for bringing in all this Hindu/Muslim, India/Pakistan talk on your blog.
Needless to say though, that I agree with what you say in your post.

straight point said...

oh don't be megha...

as you said politics and sports cannot be separated... its a marriage that has already taken place in heaven... :)

i agree with you completely... coming up with statement like srk's at the times like this is nothing but giving air to already burning issue which is not only opportunistic but highly irresponsible...

but then i don't expect any better from him than what he said...

Ami said...

@SP: Yeah.. was mumbling to the computer monitor telling him to shut up over the issue too, and of course he doesn't listen to me. But I guess the reporters won't rest until they get all the high-profile Bollywood owners to trip over some controversial issues so they can blow things out of proportion..as per usual. Meh.

@Megha: SRK did say something about the Australian players too here..if you really care about such things - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxQVpjFsYO4 (at 1:31)

straight point said...

ami..

i don't expect jurnos to be different... but i would expect that a person who was as moralistic as srk that he felt nothing short of being 'humiliated' to show same character when the mike was placed in front of his mouth... :)

Mahek said...

Megha

There are others who have echoed SRK's thoughts on this issue. I can't stand him one bit, which is one of the reasons I love watching the Knightriders lose. But I'd like to give him the benefit of doubt in this case. You have to agree people would have felt differently if someone other than him would have said the same thing.

I've seen the Sohail Tanvir video and there are two things I'd like to point out. First, more than Indians it should be the Hindus in his country who should be offended by what he and the others said. Second, he was possibly referring to Indians as Hindus, in which case Indians should rightly feel upset about what he said. Do you think SRK sits in front of the computer and check his facebook for such videos? I think not. You and I can only speculate on what he would say on that matter if someone asked him about it.

I'm sick of all this talk of how sports and politics can't be separate and this is the real world. The world is what you make it to be. You can either accept how things are even though you no they're not right or you can do something about it. That post of yours on the anniversary of the Mumbai attacks? Well, guess what. The next time you feel the need to do something to bring peace try to have a candid and openminded conversation with a Pakistani. I'm sure it shouldn't be difficult to find someone to talk to since you're living in the United Kingdom.

Megha said...

Ami

I am at work at the moment so I cant check out the youtube video right now..(and ideally, I shouldn't really be on blogger either! but well...)

I quote from cricinfo here -
He also referred to the Shiv Sena's statements against the participation of Australian players in the IPL, as a protest over race attacks against Indian students in Australia. "There is going to be a section of people who have suddenly gotten up and have said, rightly or wrongly, ' Australians will not be allowed to play'", Shah Rukh said. "So here is a set of people who are spending up to 70, 80, 90 crore rupees on trying to win a tournament and suddenly, even if you say this much to me, I'm like 'Uh-oh, so should I take or shouldn't I take him?'

"So tomorrow, if we had known this, maybe even the Australians would not have been picked up. These issues always come prime on your head, the stakes are very high."


Is that what he is saying in the video? If so, then it doesn't make sense. Because that threat was there before the auction, and a couple of Aussies were picked anyway. So no, the statements from Shiv Sena had nothing to do with Pakistan and their alleged "snub". There are a whole host of issues at play here. And if some judgement was made by the franchisees taking into account these issues, than SRK should be man enough to own up and not throw around big words like "humiliation" just to please the other side and say "Look, I love you guys...but bad guys make me do things I don't want to".

Megha said...

You have to agree people would have felt differently if someone other than him would have said the same thing.

If anyone holiding the same public position as SRK would have said the same thing, I would have felt the same. He should realise he is in a position of responsibility here.

Please correct me if I am wrong, but are you implying that if a non-muslim would have said these things, people would have felt differently? If so, let me clarify that my reaction is not based on SRK's religion. I don't see a Muslim when I see him. Just a Bollywood star and a canny businessman.

Second, he was possibly referring to Indians as Hindus, in which case Indians should rightly feel upset about what he said.

I strongly believe this is what he meant, and precisely why I don't want to welcome him to India.

Do you think SRK sits in front of the computer and check his facebook for such videos? I think not. You and I can only speculate on what he would say on that matter if someone asked him about it.

Do you believe that SRK stays in a well and doesn't come to know about these things? He choses to say a lot of things about matters relating to him or not. Instead this is what he has to say today. Appeasement or what?

I'm sick of all this talk of how sports and politics can't be separate and this is the real world. ....it shouldn't be difficult to find someone to talk to since you're living in the United Kingdom.

Yeah, I have had many such conversations. And my observations and what I feel needs to be done to bring about peace is beyond the scope of discussion over here.

Mahek said...

No I'm not referring to SRK's religion here. That thought didn't cross my mind. I was referring to SRK's unbearable need to be in the limelight, one of the many reasons I can't stand him.

Megha said...

Yeah, that wouldn't have changed my reaction to the absurdity of these comments. Anyone who holds a social stature as he does, has the responsibilty to think twice before uttering such things.

Mahek said...

I'm glad we agree on what Tanvir said. Again, you're only speculating whether SRK has seen that video. If it helps make things clear, I hope someone shows him the video and asks him for his opinion.

It was daft of Tanvir to say what he said. I think if the ICC wants it can slap him with a ban for making a racist remark. But he's not speaking for his Pakistani teammates, is he? So why should they suffer because of him or Afridi?

Lastly, when people feel wronged they say things they regret later. It's fucked up but that's how it is. Some people handle it more gracefully than others. It's what separates the Tendulkars and Dravids from the Harbhajans and Sreesanths. I'm not saying Tanvir was justified in saying what he did, but I've seen people react similarly when they felt hard done by.

We'll leave the talk about sports and politics to a different forum (As if we haven't had enough of it!)

Mahek said...

I can see people having a problem with his choice of words and you can call him out on that. However, I agree with his argument that people like Thakeray (Where was he when his city was being pillaged?) don't help matters one bit, economically or socially.

straight point said...

mahek you would appreciate that thakeray's whereabouts and his political aspirations have nothing to do with this forum...

to conclude i think we all agree that he should have been doubly careful, responsible with his choice of words and that's what this post was all about...

Mahek said...

Thekeray's political aspirations have a lot to do with what SRK said so I'd say they have something to do with the topic. I can't believe I used to like the Shiv Sena once upon a time.

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