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Showing posts with label Mandira Bedi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mandira Bedi. Show all posts
The Mandira Bedi Show
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By Naked Cricket + Ajay Khullar
The IPL Casting Couch
We are aware about the existence of the so-called [actor’s] “Casting Couch” in Bollywood but here’s an angle: Is there one at the IPL too?
We know that the IPL is intrinsically related to Bollywood, not just because there is a Preity Zinta, Shilpa Shetty and the Baadshah (Shah Rukh Khan) involved as co-owners of teams but because it is all about the “Show Business” in general.
- (Side Note 1: Actors like Madhavan & Vidya Balan, Irrfan Khan, Katrina Kaif, etc. also grace the occasions.)
At this stage, I must compliment Lalit Kumar Modi for making the IPL what it is and thus taking Cricket to a whole new level of entertainment, maybe even setting the stage for more countries to join in, such countries that do not play the game as yet?!
- (Side Note 2: The U.S.A. were never really interested in football (called “soccer” there!) up until they realized that the Soccer World Cup was the second largest event after the Olympics and that it was all about mega TV ratings and billions of dollars. Where there is great marketing, there is big money and the Americans might eventually join in… is Lalit K. Modi eying just that?)
Back to the Couch!
It’s show business, actors are involved, there big money in it too – so is there also an “IPL Couch” like there is one in Bollywood?
Let’s take the case of Mandira Bedi.
Mandira has evolved from her early days as the “Sexy Interviewer on the Greens”. She made it into the studio and was broadcast all the time, making her face quite unanimous with that of the IPL. I think that she has evolved, in that she really understands cricket as a game on the one side and that she has even gotten to look better over time, on the other. Fact is brains & beauty are a combination that is hard to beat!
- (Cross Reference: See Priyanka Das’s article in the Times of India)
So, here are the million dollar questions:
- Why was Mandira, who was actually supposed to be hosting the IPL as anchor, suddenly dropped from her pre-destined job?
- Had Mandira’s looks, her charm, her wit gotten her into the Couch zone – where she certainly did not want to be?
- Now, if the infamous IPL Couch does exist, then the big question is: who wanted her on it?
- At this stage I wish to pose yet another seemingly unrelated but maybe very related question indeed: What is the selection process for the cheer leaders at the IPL??
One match follows another, and in all of that, such key issues are mostly swept under the carpet until a denial also sets in.
We at BCC! want you to question all of this…
Ajoy Eric Lal
He often asks, why the colour of journalism at BCC! cannot be tainted yellow?
Do You Know Any Of These Fans
A few days ago I received this comment from Pratik on one of my posts
“Whoa. A gal in the tech industry who is an Indian fan and thinks like me when it comes to cricket, but, unlike me, is actually quite witty! I am in love! With someone I've never seen! Megha, now be a sweetheart and put up a pic as well.”
That was an interesting reaction to receive as a gal fan. I guess we are still not that vocal a bunch, so there is a novelty to female cricket bloggers. I have to add here that as a blogger I have had an amazing experience in the last 10 months or so. People have been kind, taking the time to read what I have to say and leave comments. No one’s told me I suck....yet ...and that I shouldn’t be calling myself a “real” cricket fan.
Which brings me to the next bit. You know, when it comes to cricket, I know of just two kinds of guys. Those who are fans, and those who are not. But with the girls, there are many kinds.
For e.g. the “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” types. These are people like my mum. Those who never used to watch cricket. Who hated every moment their husbands spent in front of the television when matches were on, making them miss their serials. Who got seriously outnumbered when their kids grew up to be fans themselves. So they had to make a change. And this is how it usually happened.
Scene I – she enters the TV room not knowing anything about what’s going on in the match and declares “India to haar rahi hogi!” (India must be losing the match). Sometimes you ignore that comment, sometimes you tell her that is not the case...sometimes you even have to tell her that...er...India is not really playing this match?!
Scene II – She enters the room and sees India is 90/1 at the end of 15 ovs and says that India is not really playing that well. I mean come on...just 90 measly runs? (We are talking about an ODI in the 90s here, you must remember) But if she sees the other team at say 100/3 at 22 overs, that team is playing awesomely well!
Scene III – You are not at home for some reason, so out if her own volition, she calls you up and updates you on the score. OR at home, she offers to change to the sports channel by herself! Now that is improvement!
Scene IV – she has finished all the housework on time because the IPL is on and her favourite team, the KKR are playing. (Don’t ask! It’s an SRK thing...) Yes, she will still not watch a test match, but will join you for the other ones.
The next type is the “X player fan”. She thinks player X is like really, really cute. So she will watch a match as long as he is on the crease, or bowling. Otherwise she is not that much interested. (By the way, in my opinion, it is this type of fan who hurts girls like me the most. If I tell someone I follow cricket and RD is my fave player, I am automatically slotted into this category.)
Anyways. Moving on...there is a third category as well. These are those girls who just have to be seen as a fan to be seen as cool. So they pretend to like cricket. And it is a prime pain to watch a match with these people because you have to hear comments like these –
“Uff...this Ganguly I tell you...cant bloody hit a 4 at all!” (uh..not every ball has to be hit for a 4 y’know)
“Awww...poor Tendulkar! Bechara, he can only bowl at 50mph!” (This was after she had seen Zak bowl at about 90mph the previous over)
Grrr...
Then there are these co-hosts like Mandira Bedi. She made me cringe when she first came on. She was so not the kind of “expert” I was used to seeing between innings breaks. She generated a lot of interest. More so for her “noodle straps” than for the cricket talk. I, for the life of me, could not figure out what she was doing there. Still can’t! Has cricket become so boring that it needs to be “sexed up” a bit to generate interest? (On that note, is sexing it up the only way to do that?) Or are these mid-innings chats becoming too technical for the average follower and need to be dumbed down a little? What do you guys think about this? Do you take the Mandiras of cricket seriously, or are they just a pretty distraction?
All said and done, being a woman in this man’s world is not that bad :) I think the guys are fine with whatsoever type of fan you are as long as you don’t pretend to be a fan type you are not. And let them watch their game in peace.
As for you, Pratik. Sorry dear. The pic will have to wait!
Megha also blogs at Silly M(a)idon
Post Match Bakwaas by Khabeez Baja and Sandy Bandy Babe
Bhen.... ! Khabeez Baja and Sandy Bandy Babe are irritating the hell out of me with their pre match and post match bakwaas. They crossed all limits with their chu.....yapa after the Delhi-Mumbai game. Yaar someone tell me why can't they get the tottas (babes) they had last year for the IPL pre-match & post-match analysis. Fair enough, they were not as knowledgeable as Sandy Bandy is now but atleast they were far prettier than Sandy Bandy, who I think is the Ma******* of Indian television. Bhen.... na shakal na soorat na body.
Khabeez ka bhi dimag kharab ho gaya hai. Sala besura chate ke neeche gaana gaa raha tha Ma******* ke saath. I'm surprised saale ki wig kaise nahi udi in such windy conditions.
Anyway, as long as Jatman's sena wins, I'm happy.
Jai Bhagwan Jat Balwaan (the official war cry of the Indian Army's Jat Regiment)
The Mandira Zoo!
I think that the cute Mandira Bedi is one of the petite women in the ZooZoos that you see in the vodafone advertisements specially made for the IPL...
...insiders claim that when she's not on one of the South African cricket grounds interviewing men (Pricketers?) in her thin skirt and under her black wig, she is in one of those white, friendly, Casper like costumes, giggling away to glory!!
What's your take on this??
by Ajoy Eric Lal
When he's watching the IPL, he's forced to watch them ZooZoos too!
picture courtesy santabanta.com
Mandira signs up
In front of the rows of shoes stands Mandira Bedi. If you look miles ahead, you’ll see Leela.
We exchange glances, not shoes, and she’s a redhead nowadays. Tom Robbins likes redheads, frankly, I don’t mind them either.
She’s not in spaghetti straps, and there’s no sign of Sony Max either. The word gets around: autograph hunters and tacky phone cameras appear. Even though it’s a shoe shop, she doesn’t look to shoo them away. Btw would you ask Mandira for an autograph?
If not, why not? The straps don’t count.
this is an indicative picture and not how Mandira appeared at the shoe shop. For one, she's wearing much less here, and no shoes. Is that why she was there?
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