The opening ceremony of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2013 to be held on 2 April will be a glittering event, thanks to several Bollywood stars who will be performing on stage.
It is known that actor and co-owner of Kolkata Knight Riders, Shah Rukh Khan will perform with beautiful stars including Katrina Kaif and Deepika Padukone. International rapper Pitbull, who has reportedly replaced American singer Jennifer Lopez, will sing some of his rap numbers for the first time in IPL.
Latest reports emerged that Shah Rukh will recite the legendary poet Rabindranath Tagore's "where the mind is without fear" during the opening ceremony. The recorded version of the actor's recitation will be played after the ceremonial lamp is lit by West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee. Music composer Pritam Chakraborty will render music for another of Tagore's classic poem.
It may be recalled that legendary actor Amitabh Bachchan recited poems by Indian lyricist Prasoon Joshi during the IPL opening ceremony held in Chennai last year. The event saw the presence of actors like Salman khan, Kareena Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra and Prabhu Deva grooving to popular Hindi and Tamil songs. American pop sensation Katy Perry entertained the audience with her popular numbers, including "Teenage dream."
This year, Shah Rukh Khan's Red Chillies Entertainments Pvt Ltd has been signed as promoter for the IPLT20 opening ceremony. The actor has already assured that the event will be a grand one that has never been seen before.
IPL 6 begins at Kolkata's Salt Lake Stadium as the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) team won the trophy in 2012. According to the tradition, the team that wins the previous year's league hosts IPL the following year.
A total of nine IPL teams will be competing for over one and a half months to get the coveted trophy. The first match will be played between KKR and Delhi Daredevils on 3 April at 8 p.m. IST.
