Chennai: A star studded evening marked the opening ceremony of IPL (Indian Premier League) 2012 at YMCA College of Physical Education in Chennai on Tuesday (April 3, 2012). The inauguration of fifth edition of IPL was marked by a wonderful blend of Bollywood and adrenaline pumping performances by International stars. Led by Millennium Star Amitabh Bachchan, the glamour quotient in the opening ceremony was all time high as he was accompanied by stars like Salman Khan, Preity Zinta, Kareena Kapoor. Other stars who set the stage on fire were Indian Michael Jackson Prabhu Deva.
Big B started the proceedings for the opening ceremony with a rendition of a poem 'If I were to be born again', written by renowned lyricist Prasoon Joshi. The 69-year-old's magical voice and unique combined with a dance performance choreographed by Shiamak Davar at the background gave an apt start to the glittering ceremony.
South African percussion band First Project, composer DJ Ravi Drums and Colonial Cousins then took the stage and churned out their brand of music, setting the pulses racing.
Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra then enthralled the audience with her dance and heroics during her performance, which even saw India spinner Harbhajan Singh shaking a leg on the stage. India's dancing sensation and Chennai's own Prabhu Deva then burned the dance floor with his power-packed performance. Two-time title winners, Chennai Super Kings then took the stage and Priyanka Chopra shared some light moments with the cricketers as she quizzed skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and also taught Australian Doug Bollinger and Indian spinner R Ashwin some dancing steps. The 'Chammak Challo' of the Tinsel town, Kareena Kapoor then set the heart racing with her dance numbers from films such as 'Ra One' and 'Agent Vinod'.
The opening ceremony then witnessed the oath taking ceremony by the skippers of the nine teams, including retired Rahul Dravid and Australian Adam Gilchrist, as they signed the MCC Spirit of Cricket pledge. Defending champions CSK skipper Dhoni placed the trophy back on the podium and BCCI president N Srinivasan and IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla then joined the players on stage.
Bollywood superstar Salman Khan then set the stage ablaze with his "Dhinka Chika' act from the film 'Ready', followed by performances to some foot-tapping numbers from 'Body Guard', 'Wanted', 'Partner' and 'Jab Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kiya'.
After some Bollywood razzle-dazzle, Perry dished out a sumptuous musical treat and performed some of her superhits such as 'fireworks' and 'California Girls', leaving the audience not only mesmerised but also asking for more. Dazzling fireworks lit up the evening sky as the ceremony which lasted about two and a half hours came to end.
