IPL 2021 AUCTION: GAMBHIR WANTS KXIP TO TARGET UMESH, JAMIESON
Former cricketer Gautam Gambhir feels Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) need to bid for bowlers like Umesh Yadav and Kyle Jamieson in the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction to bolsters their bowling department.
The IPL 2021 Player Auction list was announced last week, with a total of 292 cricketers set to go under the hammer in Chennai on Thursday.
KXIP had an unfortunate IPL 2020 where they lost quite a close encounters but Gambhir though agrees that the KL Rahul-led side was unlucky, he says, in the end, there are no excuses as the side must get over the line. “They were a bit unlucky. One of the games I still remember, obviously was against Delhi Capitals, one game was against KKR where they missed by an inch. But there are no excuses; ultimately if you don’t win, you don’t win - as simple as it gets,” said Gambhir on Star Sports’ show Cricket ConnectedAuction Special.
Sunil Raoh says his upcoming fantasy film deserves a theatrical release
Actor Sunil Raoh’s fans have been waiting to see him on screen for a while now, but it seems like it’s all going to be worth the wait. His next, a fantasy film, Thurthu Nirgamana, will hit theatres this year.
“It’s been in the making for the last three years. It’s not a VFX heavy film, but there are some things that have not been seen in Kannada films before. So that way, there are a few firsts we have tried. It took some time, and none of it is there just for the sake of it,” says the actor, adding that they have been waiting to get a theatrical release, which got stuck due to Covid-19.
“Just an exclusive OTT release doesn’t make sense, keeping in mind the visuals we have created. It may not be on a grand scale, but once you watch it on the big screen, you will know why we waited for a theatrical release. The visuals will be able to create an experience for the film goer. Everybody will come out saying it’s good that they didn’t watch it on a mobile or tablet,” says Raoh, who started out as a child artist in the industry, when he was just five. Since he belongs to a family of musicians, for his first film, Elu Suttina Kote (1987).
“It was by chance that I sang for a film. Then, I was asked if I would do a role too, and I took to acting till about my high school days. Then once I got back to acting in the first year of college, I did television. In 2003, I made my debut as a leading actor in films. I got a couple of small supporting roles in other films, that’s when I decided I am ready for bigger roles. Thankfully, I got some really good offers, and they worked out well for me. In 2010, I thought I should take a break, and that I was capable of more. I needed to sit back and take a look at where my career was going. I expected it to be a small break, and it ended up being quite a long one. Till about 2017, I was completely away from acting,” he shares.
He adds that it was indeed a case of waiting for the right films to come his way. “There was a change happening in Bollywood. What happens there is sure to trickle down to Kannada films. Younger, experimental, independent filmmakers with newer thoughts and working styles came up. That’s what I was hoping for and thankfully, that happened. I started again with a web series, Loose Connection in 2017, and then this film. It’s lovely to come back.”
Singer and lyricist Vayu has penned some extremely popular songs such as Banno Tera Swagger (Tanu Weds Manu; 2015) and Twist Kamariya (Bareilly Ki Barfi; 2017), among others. And he feels that over the years, the status of lyricists in the industry has definitely improved. “Lyricists are being given equal importance and credit now, something that was missing in recent years,” he says, adding, “And listeners are paying attention, too.”
Vayu believes that this has also happened because of the rise in the popularity of indie music now. “The state of indie music is good and getting better. Streaming platforms are providing more and more avenues to artistes to publish their work and that’s a good thing,” Vayu shares.
The Baatein Karo singer feels that things have changed drastically now due to the advent of digital platforms. “I think the only democratic platforms to publish music are digital platforms. You don’t need to depend on anybody to put your music out there. Listeners are our direct critics. There’s a lot of content on digital platforms now, and there are way too many digital platforms also. Certainly, there isn’t that level of curation happening as it used to happen in terms of what content is going up and what isn’t. So, there’s all type of content available now. But again, listeners are the judge,” he adds.