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A seasoned advertising professional, Mr Srinivasan Swamy of R.K. Swamy, BBDO, once reasoned that the aura of South Indian ‘superstar' Rajinikant is explained by his ‘normal', ‘man next door' looks and accentuated by his sheer simplicity.
The average viewer relates to him because he looks and behaves like one of them, even as he performs heroics on screen, he explained.
Imperfection can be endearing.
In the context of cricket, its popularity is further fuelled by the fact that the game is easy to follow, and even easier to play - whether it's on the street or in a balcony that's barely three feet wide.
There's also no real fitness that the game demands, even for those who throng the neighbourhood playground to be part of one of the 50 matches being played simultaneously.
There's a school of thought that says a chunk of Indians, owing to the ‘mass' appeal of cricket, have sought out ‘cooler' sporting options to follow.
The contention is that cricket had lost out on the ‘cool' quotient.
To ‘belong' with the genuine followers of the F1 circuit or the English Premier League, is there a segment of people who consciously or subconsciously cultivate interest in these global sporting properties?
Mr Dheeraj Sinha, Chief Strategy Officer, Bates141, noted, “There is a genuine base of fans following the EPL or F1, but it's a very small number now.
“Cricket cuts across classes, segments. Yes, cricket was losing a bit of its ‘cool' quotient.
“Now, IPL has added sexiness to the idea of cricket.
A host of factors, such as the packaging, the cheerleaders and the entertainment have lifted the game for the viewers.
The cricket world has IPL to thank for keeping the game ‘cool'.”
Proof of cricket's ‘cool' quotient came a few moments before God, a.k.a. Sachin Tendulkar, lifted Collingwood over the ropes for the 45th six of the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup in Bangalore Sunday.
Cheering the Indian team on in the stands, from behind their designer glares, were Mr Siddharth Mallya and Ms Deepika Padukone.
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