JOIN USThere’s no zing in the support for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) boys this year. For Bangalore girl-turned-Bollywood-superstar Deepika Padukone is conspicuous by her absence at this year’s RCB matches in Bangalore.
Her absence can be attributed to her busy shooting schedule or her allegedly strong differences with Mallya junior.
But so what if Deepika is missing? Her father Prakash and mother Ujjala Padukone have been coming for the IPL matches in Bangalore and rooting for the home team. Dressed in specially designed RCB tees, Prakash and Ujjala were seen enjoying the match in the VVIP enclosure cordoned off for Mallya and his close circuit of friends and supporters.
Metrolife caught up with Prakash Padukone, a former badminton champ, and asked him about the IPL format and his love for cricket.
Prakash says that he comes for the IPL whenever he can grab some time from his busy schedule. “It’s an interesting format with lots of fun and entertainment. Cricket has been presented in an interesting way,” he observes. But Prakash feels that the test matches have a charm of their own.
“In test matches, people wait for hours together and it literally tests the patience of cricket lovers,” he adds. But all said and done, Prakash thinks that a definite balance must be struck between cricket and entertainment. “The seriousness of the game must not be diluted,” he says.
He hasn’t had a chance to meet Chris Gayle but Prakash feels Chris has tremendous potential and he too, like a lot of other people, comes to the stadium to watch Chris belt out those sixes and fours.
And where is Deepika? “She’s busy shooting and looks like she won’t find time to come down for the IPL this year,” he sums up.