They all mean business

Mumbai, home to Cricket and Bollywood, would have been perfect for the superstar. So when Mukesh Ambani won Mumbai, leaving SRK to claim Kolkata, it was easy to suggest that the actor had got a raw deal. However, it hasn’t taken long for people to realise that SRK has played the right cards. Bagging Kolkata has given Red Chillies a cricket-crazy city that is famous for hero worship. Khan will be in command at Eden Gardens and the one-lakh capacity stadium is big enough to rake in handsome gate money.
With Red Chillies already roping in music directors Vishal-Shekhar to compose a theme song for Team Kolkata and designer Anahita Shroff working on their apparel, King Khan is ready for a grand entry to cricket’s highest platform — Eden Gardens.
Ad man Prahlad Kakkar says IPL was something SRK wouldn’t have missed at any cost. “He has reached that stage of his career where movies are just a platform to keep him in the limelight. Let us not forget that he is a bigger brand than an actor now. Red Chillies is now moving into a lot of things as SRK is diverting his revenue streams.
He will not invest in something that will consume his time and IPL is perfect for him,” says Kakkar.
Other market watchers talk about the opportunity King Khan has from making Kolkata his cricketing base.
“Imagine the scope of brand merchandising in a city that has a population of more than 80.22 million. With Ganguly leading the team in the electrifying Eden atmosphere, it’s the kind of stuff that marketing men dream of,” says an IPL insider.
Kakkar also speaks of how SRK’s close association with various brands will also come in handy when he markets his team. “He is connected to so many high-profile brands. They all will jump at the opportunity to be connected with SRK’s latest venture. No one can say no to SRK,” he says as one is assured that there will no problem for Team Kolkata when it comes to in-stadia advertisements or shirt sponsorship.

MUMBAI
Mukesh Ambani (Reliance Industries)
Cost: $111.9m

Reliance Industries has ventured into big time cricket for the first time after 1987, when they hosted the World Cup. Two questions rise: Why Mumbai? and why now? Chairman of the group Mukesh Ambani’s conglomerate goes way beyond geography, yet he settled for Mumbai at a cost that Team Reliance says is a pittance for them.
Expect Ambani to throw his weight around when the player auctions begin too, and all this, his men say, is being done because of the company’s passion for the game. “We want to do something for the sport, help develop it because we are passionate about it. Reliance has entered this league because it is definitely exciting. IPL will certainly help develop the domestic scene in the country and Reliance wants to be a part of it,” says a RIL spokesperson.
Mumbai provides Ambani with a readymade infrastructure and a highly visible vantage point in the financial capital.
“Of course, we will go all out to ensure that the city embraces its team and I agree there’s a huge opportunity to tap the market. But this is not about money, this is about passion more than anything else,” said a Reliance official.
The Anil Dhirubai Ambani Group (ADAG) lost the bid and big brother Mukesh won after procuring a slightly better margin than Bangalore’s Vijay Mallya.

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