The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Selling cricket, in ‘namma’ Chennai

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Sunday, Apr 20, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Selling cricket, in ‘namma’ Chennai

S. Dinakar

Presenting the city’s culture is a challenge, says Rajiv Menon

Rajiv Menon.

Chennai: Dawn breaks over Chennai Central. It’s a new day and a fresh beginning for the city’s inhabitants. The vibrancy of the morning is overwhelming, so is Chennai’s passion for cricket.

Soon, the game is everywhere — by the side of the temples with gleaming ‘gopurams,’ on the beaches with waves lashing the coast, on the ‘maidans’ with suburban trains flashing by, near the picturesque harbour and on the green fields.

Then, the stars come into the frame in flaming yellow outfits. Mahendra Singh Dhoni thumps his chest, Muttiah Muralitharan sends down the doosra, Mkhaya Ntini is fired up. The one-minute commercial for the Chennai Super Kings resounds with the city’s unique flavour. For its creator, Rajiv Menon, the challenge lay in presenting Chennai’s rich culture while promoting a mega event.

Says the famous film director: “Selling cricket to an Indian is like selling oil to a Shiekh or ice to an Eskimo. But here we are selling the idea of a club for the city.”

The Indian fan had to make the mental switch to supporting a club with a strong international cast. “We have to make the concept work,” says Rajiv.

For the purpose, he probed the history of successful football clubs. “I found it was essential for the team’s outfit to capture the essence of its city or town, its ideology,” he says.

Yellow, he believes, is apt for Chennai. Says Rajiv, “The colour is bright, its sunshine and the sun always shines on Chennai.”

The slogan ‘Namma Yellow Jersey Endrum Win’ highlights the team’s identification with the colour of life. The bicycles signify journey, for the aficionados and the cricketers, and the watermelons reflect heat and cricket during summer time.

Rajiv calls himself a “crazy cricket fan” and talks about the game cutting across barriers. “The game, in several senses, is the spirit of the nation,” he says. “I did not want to have Bollywood stars dancing for the commercial, which actually appears an exercise in self-promotion. The promo has to connect with the local people,” he says. Here, the only images of film celebrities are the posters of Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan that loom in the background.

The ace director spent several memorable moments interacting with the cricketers during the shoot. “After a Test match under heat and humidity, Dhoni was so cool during the shooting. Muralitharan is still like a school boy on the front bench who would jump up to answer a question first.” Murali, he says, oozes cricketing wisdom. “He told me so many things. Things like the doosra bowled with a scrambled seam being harder to pick for the batsmen.”

For the Chennai Super Kings, it’s time for lights, camera and action.

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