ITV

Tag: Akshay Kumar

  • Johnny Lever to make his debut on Twitter

    Johnny Lever to make his debut on Twitter

    MUMBAI: There are all kinds of genres in cinema like thrillers, action, romance, horror and more but the one that never goes out of fashion is comedy and the name that is synonymous with this genre is Johnny Lever. With the premiere of the super-hit comedy movie – Entertainment starring Akshay Kumar, Tamannah Bhatia, Johnny Lever and Krushna Abhishek airing on Zee Cinema on Sunday, 12 October at 8:00 PM, the channel gives an opportunity to all Johnny Lever fans on Twitter to interact with the evergreen comic icon of Bollywood as he engages with them on the Twitter handle of Zee Cinema on 10 October between 11 30 AM and 1 PM.

     

    Johnny Lever is one of the most cherished comedians of Indian Cinema and while many look up to him for his famous comic timing, many others just love him for his heart-warming screen presence. The King of Comedy who has tickled the funny bone of every Indian household will now be gauging the antics of his ardent fans as they put their ‘comic’ foot forward to impress the man himself on Twitter. Zee Cinema has challenged ace entertainer Johnny Lever’s fans to make him laugh with their tweets using the handle #MakeJohnnyLaugh. All Johnny Lever fans can also tune-in to interact with Johnny Lever on Twitter and showcase their comic talent to him LIVE on Twitter! All those who manage to make him laugh will receive a retweet and a favourite from the actor himself as a token of appreciation.

     

    Ruchir Tiwari, Deputy Business Head, Hindi Movie Channels, ZEEL said, “We wanted to create a unique experience for our followers on social media and what better than getting one of the most admired comic icons of India, Johnny Lever, to engage with them on Twitter. Since Johnny has no official Twitter account, this will be a great opportunity for his fans to interact with him and in a role-reversal, they will have to entertain him this time! ”

     

    Catch the super-hit comedy movie – Entertainment starring Akshay Kumar, Tamannah Bhatia, Johnny Lever and Krushna Abhishek on Sunday, October 12th as the 8:00 PM, only on Zee Cinema.

     

  • ‘Mickey Virus’ director Saurabh Varma signs 2 new films

    ‘Mickey Virus’ director Saurabh Varma signs 2 new films

    MUMBAI: After a quirky take on cyber-crime, the writer-director of Mickey Virus, Saurabh Varma has now signed two films with the upcoming media house Krian Media.

     

    His next flick Meet The Patels, whose cast has not been finalised yet will also be a comedy revolving around two roommates Tom Patel and Jerry Patel. The storyline will focus on the two protagonists, who will do anything to save their love except grow up. On the other hand, his second film, titled Faster, will be a new-age action suspense thriller.

     

    While Meet The Patels will go on floor in a month and release in April 2015, the second film will release in last quarter of 2015. Both the films will target at the urban youth and family audiences. 

    The producers Krian Media had recently distributed GI Joe Retaliation 3D in India and Akshay Kumar’s Boss in foreign markets.

     

    Released last October, Saurabh Varma’s Mickey Virus, was a thriller-comedy starring Manish Paul, Dean Alexandrou and Elli Avram.

     

     

  • ‘Dare 2 Dance’: A step further to dance

    ‘Dare 2 Dance’: A step further to dance

    MUMBAI: Ever imagined grooving to music, with no dance floor? Giving the audience a break from the usual dance based reality shows, Life OK is all set to give the format a twist.

    Moving away from all the common theories of a huge stage where contestants showcase their talents, the show will have no dance floor to perform. Christened Dare 2 Dance, the contestants will be challenged to perform in the most difficult situations on land, water or air.

    Produced by SOL Productions, it is all about taking risks and re-inventing oneself. The Khiladi Akshay Kumar will take the mantle of a host, while he would also be seen playing a mentor to the contestants as he challenges contestants to dance on a narrow wall or even under water. Kumar will first demonstrate the format to each contestant with a commitment of a ‘first of its kind’ show.

    The channel has got Micromax on-board as its presenting sponsor and Honda as the powered by sponsor along with eight associate sponsors. According to a media planner, the title sponsorship is pretty high and would be around Rs 15 crore and powered by sponsor will be 15 per cent less.

    Life OK EVP and general manager Ajit Thakur states that getting Kumar on-board was the perfect choice. The channel wanted somebody who has been both seen as a dancer and a stunt hero. He adds, “Kumar has successfully managed to challenge the status quo with his constant need to push the envelope and move beyond the common. It was this need to challenge the norms and do something different that brought us together.”

    Thakur says that for a very long time the channel wanted to tap into the dance space, but couldn’t come up with an idea which could act as a differentiator. “But then we found Dare 2 Dance which went one step further with no stage or a set, but in open air on different locations.”

    Sharing his sentiments on coming on board for Dare 2 Dance, Kumar says, “What I like the most about the show, is the fact that it puts the contestants out of their comfort zone and challenges them. I’ve been so excited about it, right from the word go, and it’s been an amazing experience.”

    It has got 10 challenge takers on-board. Out of the 10, only two are actors, while the others are choreographers who have made a name in the fraternity by winning several dance reality shows. There are three international contestants as well, namely Emille Callion, a professional dancer from Paris, Scarlett Wilson, a British model and dancer and Karan Pangali a trained Kathak dancer originally from U.K. Among the actors are Ritwik Dhanjani who also got to fame as a winner of Nach Baliye, Sayantani Ghosh and Kunwar Amar, who shot to fame after Zee TV’s dance reality show Dance India Dance. The choreographers include Sanam Johar, Prince, Alisha Singh and Mayuresh Wadkar.

    “We needed people to dance at heights and inside water. So where you can’t even stand, they have to dance. We needed only accomplished dancers and that is why roped in dancers who had won many reality shows and became choreographers,” reasons Thakur.

    The highlight of the show is that it will see no eliminations for the first four weeks. “Contestants have rehearsed and worked very hard for it and so we thought it wasn’t fair from our part to eliminate them in the first week itself. So the eliminations will happen only after the fourth week,” informs Thakur.

    Moreover contestants will be given green or red card every week and the ones who will accumulate more number of green cards will have the chance of winning the show. The contestants will be challenged to prove their mettle as ‘Extreme Dance Ke Heroes’ in a hope to rise above all odds. Thakur reveals that many have walked out of the show after being told of the challenges. The lucky winner of the show along with a cash prize will get a Honda CBR 250R motorcycle.

    Except for the finale, all the other episodes have already been canned in Cape Town in South Africa. The show will spread for 16 episodes. While it has been choreographed by Sanjay Shetty and his team of professionals, the stunts have been designed by stunt co-ordinator and performer Francois Grobbelaar, who has earlier worked on a number of Hollywood and Bollywood projects.

    It has also left no stone unturned to ensure that contestants are left unhurt, and have taken a lot of safety measures into consideration. For every round, every platform has a safety auditor who would make his team of professionals go through the entire round and give an ok to it. Moreover, an ambulance was always kept on a standby.

    It took six months for the channel to plan and get things into place. Deciding the location was a tough task for the GEC. “You can’t shoot this anywhere in the world. You need to have that level of safety and different geographical elements which allows you to use different things,” opines Thakur.

    Thakur informs that around 30 per cent of the budget of the series will be spent on marketing. Since there are several foreign participants, apart from advertising on channels, newspaper, hoardings and radio announcements, social media will be used heavily to reach to the viewers overseas.

    Though Thakur refused to divulge any financial details regarding production cost of the show, sources close to the development reveal that the production cost per episode is anywhere between Rs 2-3 crore, this includes Kumar’s fee. The show will be aired from 6 September, every weekend at 8.30pm.

     

  • Akshay Kumar to star in the ‘Warrior’ remake- ‘Brothers’

    Akshay Kumar to star in the ‘Warrior’ remake- ‘Brothers’

    MUMBAI:  Finally making it official, Karan Johar has announced the Hindi remake of Gavin O’Connor’s 2011 contact sports drama Warrior. Named Brothers, the movie stars Akshay Kumar, Sidharth Malhotra, Jacqueline Fernandez and Jackie Shroff and will be produced by Dharma Productions and Lionsgate, Endemol India.

     

    Tweeting about the same, Karan Johar posted, “Dharma Productions, Lionsgate, Endemol India present Brothers directed by Karan Malhotra and starring Akshay Kumar, Sidharth Malhotra, Jacqueline Fernandez and Jackie Shroff. Releasing Oct 2nd, 2015.”

     

    The original film shows the story of two brothers, one a former Marine and the other a former UFC fighter-turned-school teacher. Driven by their own motives, the siblings eventually find themselves competing in the same mixed martial arts tournament with the grand prize of 5 million dollars. It starred Nick Nolte, Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton.

     

    Lead star Akshay Kumar who will be seen playing the role originally played by Tom Hardy posted on Facebook, “My first association with @karanjohar…Brothers”

     

    Going on floors on 2 October 2015, the movie will be directed by the Agneepath famed Karan Malhotra.

     

    Interestingly, this will be Sidharth Malhotra’s third film with the Dharma banner after his debut Student of The Year and Hasee Toh Phasee. In the meanwhile, director Karan Malhotra’s next release however is the much-talked about film Shuddhi which stars Salman Khan in the lead.

     

  • Zee hopes for a miracle with ‘Neeli Chhatri Wale’

    Zee hopes for a miracle with ‘Neeli Chhatri Wale’

    MUMBAI: From theatre to film and now the small screen, the story of a common man coming face-to-face with God one day has come full circle.

     

    Zee TV’s next weekend fiction show ‘Neeli Chhatri Wale’ is about a man who has the privilege of meeting and befriending God.

     

    Produced by Ashwini Dhir, the show which tells a story of Bhagwan Das played by Yashpal Sharma, will start from 30 August and air on Saturday and Sunday at 8 pm. Bhagwan Das, a middle-aged, middle class man based out of Kanpur is constantly torn between his personal and professional life. One day, a smartly dressed man carrying a blue umbrella emerges, a man who embodies Lord Shiva.

     

    What is noticeable is that the shows, ‘Bh se Bhade’ and ‘Gangs of Hasseepur’ aired on the same slot haven’t done well for the channel. Currently, the channel telecasts special programming and movies on weekends.

     

    “Yes, we agree that earlier shows haven’t worked and ‘Bh se Bhade’ wasn’t a good effort from our side. However, the current programme looks very promising and should be able to catch people’s attention,” says a highly placed source from Zee TV.

     

    The light-hearted drama can be compared to Akshay Kumar – Paresh Rawal starring ‘OMG, Oh My God’ where Kumar essayed the role of Lord Krishna.

     

    The show has already got presenting partner in Karbonn and promos have broken on television along with digital promotion on social media. To create buzz before it launches, the channel sent out cupcakes to journalists as well.

     

    On the marketing front, the channel is leaving no stone unturned to promote exploratory relationship between man and God as friend. Making it a complete family unifier, the marketing word is based on the philosophy that ‘God lies within us’ all we have to do is listen to our inner voice.

     

    The concept of the show is being promoted using a media mix of print, radio and a comprehensive television plan comprising a bouquet of channels spread across genres.

     

    A three phase digital campaign has been planned to engage with its digital audience. The first part of the digital campaign started with #MyInnerVoice which the channel claims was very well received by consumers.

     

    All the marketing initiatives will aim at making God accessible to one and all by spreading the message of ‘Listen to your #InnerVoice’.

     

    Through the series, the channel aims to revamp its weekend slot. However, media planners are a little apprehensive. “Earlier too the slot with fiction shows hasn’t worked well for the channel and with competition showing Yo Yo Honey Singh, it looks like a tough battle to win. Zee should continue to air movies or special programmes,” says a planner.

     

    Having said that, another planner doesn’t want to strike the new show out and feels that movies and plays on the same theme have worked well and if told properly, the series might be able to grab eyeballs.

  • Akshay Kumar to topline ‘Airlift’ – the untold story of the world’s largest human evacuation ever

    Akshay Kumar to topline ‘Airlift’ – the untold story of the world’s largest human evacuation ever

    MUMBAI: One of India’s biggest moments of triumph, virtually untold to date, is now being recreated on the silver screen in the form of ‘Airlift’. The film, to be helmed by ace ad film-maker Raja Krishna Menon will feature Akshay Kumar in the lead and supported by an interesting and highly talented ensemble. 

     

    Airlift is the story of Indians stranded in Kuwait during the traumatic time of the Gulf War. A story of how they, with the help of Ranjit Katyal (Akshay Kumar), manage to survive the Iraqi invasion, and against all odds travel a thousand kilometers across the border into Amman, Jordan. From Amman, 1,70,000 Indians were brought home by the largest and the most successful evacuation ever attempted by any country, in the history of the world. Over 59 days, the Indian government systematically flew over 488 Air India commercial flights into a war zone to evacuate all 1,70,000 Indians and safely bring them back home. Airlift is an uplifting and entertaining edge-of-the-seat thriller and is the story of the biggest ever human evacuation in the history of mankind.

     

    Airlift, presented by Nikhil Advani, is a co-production between T-series, Cape of Good Films, Crouching Tiger and Emmay Entertainment.

     

    Talking about the film, Nikhil Advani says, “Airlift is a story that every Indian will be proud to hear. It is a story that needs to be told and I am happy that we are able to bring this unique tale of triumph of the human spirit, and of our country, to the big screen. It also gives me an opportunity to work with Akshay once again, a partnership that I have always cherished”

     

     

    Bhushan Kumar, the presenter had this to add on what made him back this project, “What drives me to a film is its genre, concept and the conviction I have in the subject. When I first heard the story of Airlift, I fell in love with it and was convinced. I normally back films with good music but Airlift goes beyond great music and has an exceptional screenplay. I firmly believe that once this story comes alive on celluloid, the audience will equally appreciate the film. The role that Akshay plays is filled with heroism and I am sure that he will add immensely to the portrayal of the character on screen”

     

    Filming beings April 2015

  • Wave World Kabaddi League targets north India

    Wave World Kabaddi League targets north India

    MUMBAI: The ancient sport of Kabaddi has caught the attention of broadcasters in India. However, taking the sport to the world is Greymatter Entertainment’s Wave World Kabaddi League (WKL) that is all set to kick off on 9 August at the O2 arena in London.

     

    Indian sports broadcaster Sony Six which has bagged the telecast rights for the league in India is very enthusiastic about it. Sony Six business head Prasana Krishnan says that the channel wants to establish credibility of the sport first on television and then focus on increasing viewership.

     

    Krishnan expects WKL to be popular in the northern belt of India especially in UP and Punjab where the circular styled format of the game is more prevalent. To add to it is the presence of celebrities Akshay Kumar, Sonakshi Sinha and Yo Yo Honey Singh as team owners. “This format has never been seen on TV. The style of kabaddi followed in WKL is more physical, contact driven and fast paced,” he informs. According to industry sources the channel may have bagged the broadcast rights for Rs 35 crore to Rs 50 crore.

     

    Pre and post analysis of the games will be recorded in Hinglish, produced at the venue itself. As reported earlier by indiantelevision.com Greymatter Entertainment (which was awarded the contract to produce the league) has put together a crew of 70 seasoned sports television production professionals from Australia, South Africa, Malaysia, and India to create the HD feed for broadcasters in the US, the UK, Canada, and Asia. 10 to 12 cameras will capture the action and relay it live for various broadcasters in Europe, Asia, the US, Canada, Pakistan and Africa.

     

    WKL follows a travelling format similar to Formula 1 and will be played at 15 international venues with 86 matches over a four month long period. The country where the event is being held will have a live telecast during its prime time. Therefore, when it is in the US, it will be the US prime time and since it is early time for India, there will be a repeat during Indian prime time.

     

    Will the duration create a fatigue problem for viewers? Krishnan brushes away the doubt by saying, “International football leagues too have a similar long format and have done well. It will be travelling from city to city and since it will be telecast over the weekends I am hopeful it will do well.”

     

    As part of the promotions, TVCs featuring Akshay Kumar and Sonakshi Sinha are being played on MSM network channels including English GECs AXN and Sony Pix as well as on the YouTube channels. Social media is not ignored.

     

    Not surprisingly, the marketing campaign is focused towards the northern belt of India with print ads in both vernacular and English newspapers. Radio spots have been bought on stations such as Radio Mirchi, Big FM and My FM. Outdoor hoardings adorn metros like Mumbai and Delhi which will see an increase once the league enters the India phase.

     

    Sony Six is also playing wait and watch to see how both local and international markets react to television’s new found sport. The broadcaster wants to monetise once the league comes to India after the first two rounds are held abroad. The channel for now has ads from companies such as the Wave group which is the title sponsor. An industry source says that a 10 second slot during prime time can cost anywhere between Rs 15000 to Rs 20000.

     

    Sources peg the title sponsor price to be approximately Rs one crore to Rs two crore. Sonalika International is the official partner and Li Ning Company is the official apparel partner.

     

    As to what Six has learnt from the ongoing Pro Kabaddi League Krishnan says, “The games have definitely been able to receive traction. Though the game is the same, the two can’t be compared as the rules, arena and the format are different”. He further goes on to add that findings have shown that the Star Sports Pro Kabaddi league seems to be a following a pattern wherein it is seen to receive maximum traction from west India as compared to Sony Six’s expectation from WKL to do well in the north.

     

    The WKL is a privately owned company of Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal (he also serves as the president), and has Pargat Singh as commissioner with Raman Raheja serving as the CEO.  It is slated to travel across six countries  beginning in the UK, the US, India, Pakistan, Canada and UAE –  and has eight franchisee teams battling for  a purse of Rs 4 crore. The cities that the league matches will be held in include:  London, Birmingham, Dubai, New York, Sacramento, Stockton, Toronto, Vancouver, Delhi, Bathinda, Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Mohali.

  • ‘Entertainment’…This one is for kids and likeminded!

    ‘Entertainment’…This one is for kids and likeminded!

    MUMBAI: A dog rates as the most accepted and loved pet anywhere and everywhere. They are easily adaptable to training and loyal as companions. The pet and the owner have a tendency to get emotionally attached to each other, so much so that fortunes are sometimes willed to a pet on the owner’s death. 

    Dogs are often used in films too, usually with the aim to entertain children or, otherwise, to solve mysteries. Entertainment seems to have been inspired from an American film, Bailey’s Billion$, a children’s film about a pet dog inheriting a billion dollar and the deceased’s nephew and spouse wanting to eliminate him for the billion to pass on to them.

    Akshay Kumar is a devoted son who has no regular job. To tend to his ailing father lying in hospital, he keeps doing various odd jobs every day. Every time he does an odd job, he is shortchanged but he avoids getting into a fight as his priority is to run to hospital to check on his father, Darshan Jariwal.

    On one such visit to the hospital with his friend to check on his father, he learns that Jariwala is not sick at all and just exploiting Akshay to enjoy the luxury of the five-star hospital and is romancing a nurse. When confronted, Jariwala reveals that Akshay is not his son but he adopted him after a train accident in which his mother had died and the compensation to her close relatives was Rs one lakh which he wanted to claim. Akshay is actually the son of a wealthy jeweller (played by Dalip Tahil as a photo frame) from Bangkok who sired him and later betrayed his mother.

    Producers: Ramesh S Taurani, Jayantilal Gada.

    Directors: Sajid-Farhad.

    Cast: Akshay Kumar, Tamannaah ,MIthun Chakraborty, Johny Liver, Prakash Raj, Sonu Sood, Krishna Abhishek, Darshan Jariwala and, in cameo, Riteish Deshmukh.

    Just when Akshay learns of this history about his family, he happens to watch a TV news bulletin and learns that his biological father has passed away. Akshay is thrilled and decides to go to Bangkok along with his sidekick, Krishna, to claim his father’s fortune. On his arrival at his late father’s palatial mansion, he meets Johny Lever, the family lawyer and executor of the will. Lever does not take much convincing to accept Akshay as the jeweller’s son. However, Akshay can’t inherit the Rs 3000 crore fortune since his dead father has bestowed all of it to his pet dog named Entertainment!

    Akshay thinks nothing of it and decides that all he has to do is to get rid of the pet and, as the son of the deceased Tahil, he will be the next heir. Meanwhile, two jailbirds, Prakash Raj and Sonu Sood, also claimants to Tahil’s fortune, are just out and proceed to claim it. But they realise that there are two other heirs before them, a dog and Akshay. They realise that Akshy plans to kill the dog so all they have to do is wait till that happens after which they can kill Akshay.

    This is one smart dog who has saved Tahil from Prakash and Sood and outsmarts Akshay every time he tries to kill him. On one such attempt to kill the pet, it is Akshay whose life is in danger; the pet saves him. Akshay has a change of heart. Now he accepts the pet as the true inheritor of Tahil’s fortune and decides to leave Bangkok. But, not for long since he knows that the pet’s life is in danger.

    Now the battle of wits is between Akshay, Krishna and the pet on one side and Sood and Prakash on the other.

    Since this is supposed to be a light entertainer, aiming more towards kids, wittingly or unwittingly, the treatment is of the sort one would find in the Hollywood hit Home Alone. Not only the theme but also a lot of things are borrowed from earlier films: the pet’s tricks for instance are sourced from the movie Kung Fu Hustle and Akshay describing ghosts to Prakash and Sood is from Mahmood’s famous scene from classic hit, Pyar Kiye Jaa. Little is original—except for the best part of the film, which is Krishna’s linking and rhyming various film titles to convey whatever he wants; that is funny.  Songs are pleasant and peppy but used randomly whatever the situation. While their direction is okay with ample help from other sources, dialogue on which Sajid and Farhad have built their career is a notch below their standard except for Krishna’s lines. The second half needed some trimming.

    While the dog Junior is expectedly the mainstay of the film, Krishna and Johny Lever’s parts add to the fun quotient. Akshay is his normal self: funny at times, almost so at others. Prakash and Sood as blundering villains are apt for a film aimed at children. Tamannaah is kept away for most of the first half while she does get due exposure in the latter part.

    Entertainment is a fairly amusing film which the children will enjoy. However, with cinema chains blocked for the next week’s release, Singham Returns, this film has limited time to recover whatever it can.

  • ‘Holiday: A Soldier is never Off Duty’ this Independence Day on Zee Cinema

    ‘Holiday: A Soldier is never Off Duty’ this Independence Day on Zee Cinema

    MUMBAI: Zee Cinema, India’s No. 1 Hindi movie channel aims to offer something special to its discerning viewers this Independence Day with the World Television Premier of the action-thriller movie ‘Holiday: A Soldier is never off Duty’. This Friday, August 15, 2014 at 12 noon, Zee Cinema will air Akshay Kumar’s latest blockbuster film which grossed the box office with approximately 145 crores globally. Having tasted box office success after long, this Akshay Kumar starrer promises to offer viewers an insight into the life of a soldier through an interesting plot, Zee Cinema recognized the threat that the country faces with ‘Sleeper Cells’ and hence chose the creative route of ‘Freedom From Terrorism’ to spread awareness to the common man.

     

    For the World Television Premiere of Holiday, Zee Cinema has undertaken a robust 360 degree campaign across key HSM markets with the message of ‘Aatankwaad se Aazadi’ across press, television, digital, theatres, outdoor in Mumbai and Mumbai Airport. The presenting sponsor for this blockbuster is Vimal Pan Masala and it is powered by L’Oreal Paris Total Repair 5 and Mahindra.

     

    Speaking on the occasion, Ruchir Tiwari, Deputy Business Head, Hindi Movie Channels, ZEEL stated, “At Zee Cinema, it has been our constant endeavour to provide our viewers with the best of movies and entertainment. We are confident that with our creative communication of ‘Freedom From Terrorism’, this film will be appreciated as much on television as during the theatrical release.”

     

    He further added: “The story of Holiday revolves around an Army officer who fights against terrorism and therefore premiering it on 15th August is perfect. What distinguishes this movie from the rest is its fresh take towards patriotism where the thrust is firmly on common man’s duty towards his country and we are sure that this will resonate with the mass audiences.”

     

    The story follows the life of Captain Virat (Akshay Kumar), an officer in DIA – a wing of the Indian Army who returns home to Mumbai for a holiday. Upon his arrival, not only does he fall in love with a feisty Saiba (Sonakshi Sinha), he also experiences a life-altering situation that calls for him to take charge of the country’s security. While vacationing, Virat and his friend cum sub-inspector Mukund (Sumeet Raghavan) incidentally witness a bomb explosion only to realize that it was a part of a larger scam. A terrorist organization headed by an anonymous leader (Freddy Daruwala) is about to plant bombs across Mumbai with the help of 12 sleeper cells thus causing serial bomb blasts in the city. What is Virat’s plan of action to protect the citizens of India?

     

    So here is your chance to experience a true patriotic and entertaining film, this Independence Day… Only on Zee Cinema!

  • Akshay Kumar to perform at Wave World Kabaddi League

    Akshay Kumar to perform at Wave World Kabaddi League

    MUMBAI: The action king of Bollywood, Akshay Kumar, is set to take the entertainment quotient a notch higher with his dazzling performance on the inaugural day of the Wave World Kabaddi League (WWKL) at London.

     

    Kumar will dance on popular title tracks of his recent movies as part of the inaugural program planned to kick start the matches of WWKL. A known sports enthusiast, Kumar has been closely associated with sports and is also the co-owner of Khalsa Warrior.

     

    “I am quite excited about WWKL. My performance will be dedicated to all the Kabaddi fans who come together to cheer the teams. The League is a step to promote the Indian contemporary sport and bring it closer to the fans of the sport spread across the world,” Kumar said in a statement today. 

     

    Top players from across the world will be participating in the League which will commence from the O2 Arena. With a capacity of over 20,000 seats, O2 will surely see some high performance trailblazing entertainment in the form of dance and sport. “The dedication being shown by Akshay to promote Wave World Kabaddi League is commendable. As a true supporter he is making himself available to us despite his busy schedule to promote Kabaddi,” said Wave World Kabaddi League commissioner Pargat Singh.

     

    WWKL is the first international Kabaddi league coming out of India and is scheduled to roll out from August in a high profile event at London.

     

    It is the first Indian sports league with an international footprint and a four month long calendar. Played in circle style, WWKL will see eight teams fight for the win as the League travels across three continents.

     

    Additionally, Khalsa Warriors co-owner Gurdeep Singh said, “It gives me immense pleasure to have an A-list actor like Akshay to be a co-team owner. His movies are eagerly watched internationally and am sure he can make Kabaddi look cool as a sport to play and follow. He has some very innovative winning strategies up his sleeve that he continues to share with me and my players. We will play to win and I am sure the fans will enjoy it thoroughly.”