No killjoys, B'lore will cheer on

No killjoys, B'lore will cheer on
DH News Service, Bangalore:
Three cheers for Bangalore! Moral police in Mumbai and Kolkata may be up in arms against cheerleaders performing at matches in the on-going Indian Premier League (IPL), but Bangalore faces no such problems for now.


A banner during the opening match read, “Cheerleaders rock”. The Washington Redskins girls, who are also Royal Challengers’ cheerleading group, will indeed rock Bangaloreans when the hosts take on Rajasthan Royals in their third match at the Chinnaswamy stadium on Saturday.

“There is no problem whatsoever,” said Venkat Vardhan of DNA, one of the groups overseeing the conduct of matches in the City. “The problem has been there only at a couple of venues. We haven’t received any directive from the authorities concerned regarding the issue.”

While allowing cheerleaders to perform during the Mumbai Indians’ match on April 27, the Mumbai police have cautioned the organisers to ensure that the cheerleaders didn’t embrace vulgarity and indecency in the name of entertainment.

The policy of Bangalore police is more clear-cut. “As long as the show is within acceptable limits, we have no problems with cheerleaders performing at the matches,” said B N S Reddy, DCP Central.

The Redskins went through their rehearsal as cheerfully on Friday as ever, fine-tuning their steps to the Challengers’ theme song that features Bollywood actress Katrina Kaif.

The two teams went through their practice sessions too simultaneously, perhaps driving home the point that cricket and entertainment can co-exist peacefully.