Hyderabad: In a cricket-crazy nation like ours, the Indian Premier League has emerged as the ultimate entertainer and doesn’t fail to strike the right chords — on and off the field — season after season. With cheerleaders being banned from IPL, the Kolkata Knight Riders have hit upon a new formula to keep the crowds entertained for which it has hired city-based dance group Twist n Turns.
Aaryan Rajput, the founder of the group, is all set to fly to Dubai along with 15 of his instructors for the opening match between KKR and Mumbai Indians. “I am getting to showcase my talent at an international platform, a chance to perform for a team owned by King Khan, what else can I ask for? I always wanted to take his group to the international level, so it is like a dream come true for me,” says Aaryan, who was trained under Shiamak Davar and started the group in 2007.
The team will be performing flashmobs during every match of KKR this season. Aaryan says, “The idea of a flashmob had always interested me. We have performed more than 100 flashmobs in Hyderabad, and tried to convey a number of social messages through them. We have also performed flashmobs during the Celebrity Cricket League and I was wondering if this would be effective during the IPL matches as well. That’s where the idea came from.”
Aaryan approached the KKR team with the concept, sent across the team’s flashmob videos and lost all hope when they did not hear back for two months. And, just when they had given hope, they got a call informing that they were on board. Initially, the team was supposed to perform only at Hyderabad, and later were asked to perform during all of KKR’s matches in India, but the team insisted on performing at Dubai as well, and the team management did not disappoint them.
Revealing the team’s plans, Aaryan says, “We will all be seated together at the stands wearing casual shirts. When the music starts, we will remove them and reveal KKR jerseys underneath. Obviously we would start with Korbo Lorbo Jeetbo Re, followed by other songs from Shah Rukh’s movies. “Initially, they asked us to perform on the ground, but I wanted to perform at the stands as the crowd can join and dance along with us.”
Neha Rajabzade, who is pursuing her MBA from Badruka College and is a trainer with Twist n Turns, is all excited to perform in Dubai with her team. She says, “This will be the first time we will perform internationally. Though we would be nervous, we are all looking forward to it.”
Like Neha, many other trainers are also students, and have their exams coming up next month, but Taniya Philip, another instructor, assures that they are multitaskers and can handle the event and their studies simultaneously.
Before wrapping up, Aaryan informs that he would try his best to convince Shah Rukh to join them during the flashmob, especially for the match at Hyderabad.
