IPL, I-League, i1 Super Series…SRK show some interest in hockey that gave you Chak De! India

There are reports that Bollywood Superstar Shah Rukh Khan, who after having tasted success in cricket through Kolkata Knight Riders in 20102 IPL, is eying glory through the most beautiful game of this world, football. It has been heard that King Khan is vying for a stake in India’s multiple football league champions Dempo.

Earlier Shah Rukh Khan had also become a proud owner of Mumbai team of the upcoming i1 Super series league which was scheduled to begin on in January 2011. The motor racing league, called the i1 Super Series was launched with much fanfare but could not take off due to reasons unknown.

But when it comes to hockey, the game which gave him the theme of one of the most revered and successful movies of his career, the Bollywood Badshah has always given it a thumbs down. Forget about owning any team (earlier in Premier Hockey League and later in World Hockey Series), he has not even endorsed the National Game as a brand ambassador.

Much before Indian Premier League (cricket) came into existence; something called the Premier Hockey League (hockey) had already had its moment of fame and patronage but it soon died an ignominious death after four years of being into operation. Reasons: split in federation, egos, infighting but more than that it lacked the support of the corporates and the celebrities, who make a beeline for anything and everything associated with cricket.

And this is something which hurts the people associated with our national game. When ace Indian hockey player Dhanraj Pillay was asked as to why something like the PHL, which had an interesting format, the audience and all the masala failed, he just gave a simple answer to sum up it all -- Shah Rukh Khan made a movie on hockey and invested all his money on cricket. What do you expect?

Well this sentence of his holds lot of depth because you should preach and teach which you can follow. Nobody has been asking the superstar to invest all and give to everything to the game. But then this was the game he used to love to play according to his own word. This is a game, which still has immense followers. Damn it! This is our national game. So if you could have hundreds of crores for something like cricket and something like the i1 series, please spare something for your national game. If not money, at least give your endorsement as a promoter of the game!

It would be harsh to say that hockey isn’t doing well just because people like Shah Rukh Khans and Ambanis are supporting and buying not supporting the game, but then association of celebrities and corporates in itself will change the face of the game.

SRK made Chak De! India which went to become a huge hit and he won accolades and awards galore. Everyone associated with the movie earned millions but what happened to the cause that was attached with the movie? The movie was aimed at glorifying the national game of the country and to an extent it did. The hype around the game could have sustained had SRK associated himself with the game and help its cause.

But that was not to be. Instead Shah Rukh invested his money and time in a new venture called as the Indian Premier League (IPL) and became the co-owner of Kolkata Knight Riders. Well IPL was something that was a brainchild of BCCI and it actually did not require stars to make it huge. But then still, SRK chose cricket over hockey.

Considering his brand value and his fan following, had he associated with the hockey it could have emerged as a successful concept not only in India but all over the world. Going by what he has done, it would not be harsh to say that the glamour of cricket and money that was involved attracted him to the league.

He is the biggest brand of the country as he likes to call himself and hockey could have used that magnanimous image to revive the national game of India. If not for anything else, he could have done that honour for the national game which was a theme of one of the most successful movies of his career.

His attitude has drawn comments from former players and after what Dhanraj said, recently Olympian Association of India’s president Aslam Sher Khan also asked the King Khan to disassociate from IPL and urged him to promote other sports in the country.

In fact so distressed are the players with the attitude of these so called self-professed promoters of games, that they really don’t want to talk on the issue of dragging Bollywood into hockey anymore. “Nobody has done anything for this game. For them it’s not a money earning venture. They have no guts to take risks. They invest their time and money in game which is profitable like cricket,” say some old and young players.

“One fails to understand disinterest of stars in hockey. WSH just happened and did anyone of these celebrities buy a stake in any team. Agreed it didn’t get the patronage of Hockey India, but now even Hockey India has announced a professional league of its own. Has any one of these corporate house or Bollywood stars shown interest in the six teams that would be in contention. When IPL was announced, it came out soon that many corporates Shah Rukh and other Bollywood stars would buy the teams in auction. But even HI’s league just got a one column coverage,” say the players.

Shah Rukh and stars like the Bollywood Badshah for a matter of fact are role models and people do actually get influenced by what they do. It is high time that people like Shah Rukh realize that profit making is not the only thing and that they can do a lot for the national game even if they devote some time and money to it. Even as if these stars show interest in the league, there would be a beeline of other hotshots waiting to follow suit.

Over the years people like Shah Rukh Khan have set examples for people and being role models, all that they can do is to stop showing apathy towards things that actually require their support and set benchmarks for others to follow.

By Indian Sports News Network