Cricketainment a fabulous idea: Mukesh Bhatt

Kolkata, May 18 (UNI) Commercialisation of sports and for that matter cricket is nothing wrong, rather a positive change in the entertainment industry, feels Mukesh Bhatt, who released the new film 'Jannat' on May 16.

''It is time entrepreneurs around the world identified the great business opportunity that these two arena provide for us,'' he said at the nationwide release of the movie here in this City of Joy and cricket-lovers and added, ''I am totally for commercialisation of films and sports, after all these are two of the most popular and happening industries in India and abroad at present.

''IPL T-20 is a fabulous idea and I believe we should all think in that way as it has provided new avenues for investment as well as the chance to entertain more people in this country and abroad,'' Mr Bhatt said, while speaking to the press on the release of the film Jannat, under their production banner Vishesh Films, by debutante director Kunal Deshmukh.

The Bhatts, who claimed to be the only production house in Bollywood having the guts to venture and do something new, also claimed of being the first to introduce six debutantes in a single movie.

''We at Vishesh Films, always promote new talent,'' a proud Mukesh Bhatt said, while stating that his son Vishesh Bhatt also debuted as a script writer in this film and so did the film's lead female artiste Sonal Chauhan, who was present alongside Emraan Hashmi, the protagonist of the film.

Speaking on IPL and commercialisation of cricket, Mr Bhatt gladly emphasised the important role that cricket plays in entertaining people these days and how industrialists like Vijay Mallya had come forward to seize the opportunity.

Meanwhile, while answering a question by UNI on Bollywood stars like Shah Rukh Khan playing a role in the cricketing world, he said, ''It is absolutely fantastic and I really appreciate it. If industrialists can do it, why not Bollywood stars, who are doing more or less the same job of entertaining the people,'' he added.

Speaking about the story of ''Jannat'', he said it was basically a love story, but had in the backdrop the story of a bookie and how he got involved in match-fixing.

''We all have heard about the match-fixing scandals, it is not a new thing in India or outside,'' he said while adding, ''The irony is that the whole world knows about it but may not always admit that it happens in their country as well.

In fact, while talking about the justification of match-fixing, in the context of legalisation, he asked in response to a question by UNI, ''If it is legal for Vijay Mallya to cash in on the IPL and buy cricketers, why not legalise the bookie as a real professional?'' Meanwhile, Director Kunal Deshmukh, who came up with the film's idea in 2007, said he was totally for the concept of ''cricketainment'', which he believes is the ''in thing'' now.

Speaking on the storyline of his movie, he said, ''We had the World Cup frenzy, death of Bob Woolmer, the raging issue of match-fixing in India before that... and all of it brought about the idea of creating a love story on a bookie.

''Can't do without romance though, it is an intricate part of Bollywood movies,'' he, however, said when UNI asked Deshmukh on why wasn't his story simply on the bookie and why romance was made the main aspect of the movie.

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