Showing posts with label BCCI. Show all posts
Showing posts with label BCCI. Show all posts
I can’t wait to tell Harmanpreet Kaur that she’s the lady version of M S Dhoni-Mandira Bedi
8:39 AM
S Farah Rizvi (HINDUSTAN TIMES; November 10, 2025)
Actor and television personality Mandira Bedi, one of the first female faces of cricket broadcasting in India, is still basking in the joy of India’s historic cricket Women’s World Cup victory. “I can’t get over the win,” she smiles, calling it a culmination of decades of grit and growth.
“To just 20-25 people in the stadiums for their tournaments all these years to a full house at D Y Patil Stadium, after a comprehensive defeat against Australia and then South Africa, the Indian women’s cricket team has come a long way,” she says. “I feel so proud and joyful to see them setting milestones for women’s sport in the country.”
Mandira admits the magnitude of the achievement is still sinking in. “The feeling is settling slowly,” she says. “Seeing them everywhere, getting the recognition they truly deserve, becoming household names, and receiving the rewards they’ve earned, it’s heartwarming.”
The victory has also brought back stories of Mandira’s early support for women’s cricket in the 2000s. Between 2003 and 2005, she had quietly contributed funds to help the team when they struggled for resources. “This news has made me a bit embarrassed because it’s two decades old,” she confesses. “The team needed help at that time, and I just did what I could with whatever funds I had,” she adds.
She recalls lobbying for better infrastructure and support: “I remember meeting Jagmohan Dalmiya, the then BCCI chief, and discussing the merger of WCA and BCCI. Back then, the players didn’t even have money to host tournaments or travel for matches. I didn’t think, I just acted.”
Mandira says her contribution stayed out of the news for a reason: “It was never done for publicity. Sadly, no one was interested in women’s cricket back then; it didn’t even get a two-by-two space in newspapers.”
Now that the story has resurfaced, she believes it’s time to celebrate the team’s journey properly: “Someone should write a book or make a documentary on this incredible rise of women’s cricket in India. People finally want to know their story, and that can only strengthen the future of the game.”
Having recently interacted with members of the winning squad, Mandira says she remains a fan first. “My work keeps me connected with the players. I recently met Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, and Shafali Verma, and I’ll be meeting them again soon,” she shares, adding, “I can’t wait to tell Harmanpreet Kaur that she’s the lady version of M S Dhoni, or better still, her own brand of calm and cool.”
Meet the ‘salty’ Poonam Pandey who turns controversy into currency
8:15 AM
In a country which is still prudish about sex, this middle class girl from Thane has unashamedly built a thriving business as an erotic star
Mohua Das (THE TIMES OF INDIA; November 29, 2020)
Mahatma Gandhi is the name Poonam Pandey thoughtfully picks to suggest who signifies ‘competition’ to her. “He’s possibly the most controversial figure in our country and I’d rather compete with him than Sunny Leone or Kim Kardashian,” she deadpans. If controversies are what she is courting, the 30-year-old is not far from her goal since they follow Pandey like Mary’s little lamb, and have helped turn her from just another aspiring model to an adult entertainer who earns big bucks.
Her lockdown diary in brief: In May, Pandey was booked by Mumbai Police for flouting lockdown rules by taking a spin around the city in her car. In September, within a fortnight of marrying her boyfriend Sam Bombay, she filed an FIR against him for assaulting her during their honeymoon in Goa. Even as they returned on Instagram as “Mr & Mrs Bombay” curled up in each other’s arms, much to the consternation of the Goa police — a complaint was filed and the couple detained — this time for allegedly shooting an obscene video at the Chapoli dam in the coastal state.
“We thought it was a beautiful location to shoot in. I had no clue that it was a government restricted property. I’ve shot in places and temperatures you can’t even think of taking your clothes off,” she says. “But I accept my fault. Goan people are so sweet.”
Born to a father who sold industrial furnaces and a mother who stayed at home “to deal with a girl like me”, the self-proclaimed “kameeni of the family” was shoved into the spotlight of her own making when she pledged to do a full monty for the Indian cricket team if they beat Pakistan in the World Cup semi-finals in 2011. “I was 17 when I started modelling. I was a Gladrags and a Kingfisher calendar model yet why was no one noticing me?” It was a door, she felt, she had to prise open herself.
And then India not only thrashed Pakistan, they also won the World Cup. “But the BCCI did not allow me to strip,” she rues. “Dar mujhe bhi lagta hai. When I made the statement, I did it for fun. How would I know there’d be 25 court cases and mahila morchas after me... It’s like a teenager had ruined Indian sabhyata with five words. I thought to myself, ‘take it easy Poonam — there’s a long road ahead, you can do 500 controversies but this one — go easy!”
She parlayed that burst of notoriety into nearly 10 years of building a pout-and-strip empire. As producer and star of her own show on an app that makes her private moments public, Poonam has managed to catapult herself from a one-room apartment in Thane’s Tilaknagar where she lived with her family of five to a four-storeyed bungalow in one of Bandra’s spiffiest corners, Turner Road.
According to reports, her net worth as of 2020 is estimated at $7 million, that’s Rs 52 crore. Asked if it is true, she laughs: “See, I don’t want anyone coming after me but yes, it’s very close to the kind of money superstars make,” she concedes. Sitting in her plush living room, Pandey comes across as a blend of brash and bashful; of middle class roots and full-on diva as she flutters her eyelashes and takes stock of her life today buffered by “six staff members, three chefs, a husband who isn’t as traumatised by the things I do unlike my parents, a BMW luxury sedan and a Porsche on my wishlist.”
As we plunge awkwardly into her marital troubles after she packed her newlywed husband off to jail, she says without batting an eyelid, “We had a fight but in my case everything becomes big. I can be a volcano at times. We’re good now!”
Has her family come to terms with her sexuality, we wonder aloud. “Pehle bahut maar padti thi and my mother still doesn’t know everything. But even as an irresponsible child, I’m responsible for taking care of them and they love me for that.”
As she shows off her younger sister who has studied law and a successful businessman as elder brother, “I’m a little stupid doing all this silly stuff,” she giggles. But Pandey is remarkably aware of how she managed to build her brand — of barely covering nor actually showing any of her lady bits — to appeal to people’s sense of voyeurism. What started as amateur videos with titles like ‘My Bathroom Secrets’ and ‘Jingle Boobs for Christmas’ that she calls “kindergarten stuff” shot on her phone graduated to a personal app in 2017 that now has a “70-member crew” working behind the scenes. “In my first video I was topless,” she chortles. “It went viral, I saw the numbers growing and now it’s turned into a business.”
Entering her app which, she claims, has 2.5 million subscribers, is almost like stepping into a virtual playboy mansion that invites you into her “private room” with a horny camera on the loose. At first glance you see a gallery of short films with curtains pulled back on Pandey in various stages of undress — clutching her bare breast, leaning on a broken kitchen sink in a garden, or simply lying naked in bed caressing a guitar — all cheekily behind a red filter. The game plan is smart. She uses “native currency” in the form of hearts to seduce followers into membership tiers — classic, royal and private club — which could leave one poorer by Rs 9 to Rs 9,999 but would unlock these lurid fantasies. “Indians make up 60% of my fan following, 30% are in the US and the rest global,” says Pandey who refuses to be labelled a porn star. “What I do isn’t porn, it’s erotica. It’s the difference between an android phone and an iPhone. I’m an iPhone.”
For someone with an ability to court attention with anything she does including one of the five movies she starred in — Nasha, playing Mrs Robinson to a teenage boy and angering political outfits who burnt the posters — Pandey has barely appeared (no pun intended) on the silver screen. “I get offered web series. A lot of sex scenes is not a problem because I understand what people want from me. But there has to be a story, no?”
So what goal has she set herself ? “To be like salt!” she says, cocking her head to one side. “See, you can add any masala to your food but if salt is missing, it’s tasteless. But if you add too much salt, it could ruin your food. I want to be that right amount of salt in people’s lives,” she chuckles.
Hardik Pandya apologises for sexist comments; BCCI sends show cause notice to him and K L Rahul
8:20 AM
BOMBAY TIMES (January 10, 2019)
Cricketer Hardik Pandya issued an apology on Twitter on Wednesday, following the backlash he faced owing to his sexist and misogynistic comments on Karan Johar’s talk show. Hardik’s statement read, “After reflecting on my comments on Koffee With Karan, I would like to apologise to everyone concerned who I may have hurt in any way. Honestly, I got a bit carried away with the nature of the show. In no way did I mean to disrespect or hurt anyone’s sentiments. Respect.”
According to a newswire, both Hardik and K L Rahul were issued show cause notices by the BCCI for their comments on women on the TV show. It has been speculated that the Board is most likely to bar players from such (noncricket) appearances in future.
The report quoted Vinod Rai, Chairman of the Committee of Administrators that runs the BCCI as saying, “We have sent show cause notices to Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul for their comments. They have been given 24 hours to give an explanation.”
Inside Edge mgiht turn kinder while portraying dirt of cricket in the hope of striking a tie-up with BCCI?
8:06 AM
Vivek Oberoi plays Vikrant Dhawan, a character allegedly inspired by former IPL chairman Lalit Modi (inset)
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; July 1, 2017)
With the Virat Kohli-Anil Kumble war out in the open, Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani’s upcoming web series, around a cricket premier league, couldn’t have been better timed. Inside Edge is expected to strip the veneer off India’s favourite sport and its heroes to reveal the dark underbelly characterized by manipulation, corruption and power games.
The BCCI, the national governing body for cricket in India, is allegedly concerned with how the game and its governance is portrayed. An episode surrounding a powerful character, that sources say is fashioned around Lalit Modi, founder chairman and administrator of IPL, is of particular interest to them.
In 2010, Congress minister Shashi Tharoor resigned after allegations of improper influence during the investigations carried out by tax authorities to probe the IPL valued at $ 4.1 billion. Following this, Modi was suspended by the BCCI after the final match of the 2010 series, saying, he had “brought a bad name to the administration of cricket and the game itself”. Insiders claim the producers may be looking at collaborating with the BCCI, especially since they need cricket footage for Season 2. A potential tieup could translate into the governing body promoting the show via its official social media platforms.
Even as the producers remained tight lipped, production unit hand, on condition of anonymity, said, “The show couldn’t have come at a better time. It will serve as a mirror to the way cricket is administered. The show looks at ego clashes, the power struggle between team members and spot fixing. BCCI is keen that certain portions are toned down, and in return, might help with necessary permissions for Season 2.”
Actor Vivek Oberoi, who plays Vikrant Dhawan, who is allegedly inspired by Modi, had said in an earlier interview, “For Vikrant Dhawan, power is a drug. He is a mastermind, a puppeteer. This is a world far removed from the normal one. The world [portrayed in the show] is real, the people are fictional. Dhawan’s world revolves around match fixing. You get to see how it actually happens. It’s about how a bet is placed and how it affects every level [of stakeholders], from rookies to teams.”
BCCI did not respond to an email sent by mid- day.
Did BCCI charge biopic makers Rs 40 lakh for Mahendra Singh Dhoni's footage?
7:55 AM
MID-DAY (September 21, 2016)
The trailer of 'M.S. Dhoni – The Untold Story' shows original footage of the Indian cricket captain hitting the winning six in World Cup 2011, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. The makers have bought the rights to more clips from some of Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s best matches from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) by coughing up close to Rs 40 lakh.
You will get to watch Dhoni’s memorable innings, but with Sushant Singh Rajput’s face pasted in close-ups. When we reached the film’s director, Neeraj Pandey, for a confirmation, he said, “I am not aware of the amount that Fox (studio on board) has paid the BCCI.’’ Quizzed further about Sushant’s face replacing Dhoni’s for reel while the rest of the footage remains unchanged, Pandey simply said, “No comment”.
A BCCI spokesperson confirmed that the film’s makers have acquired footage of Dhoni’s matches for a price, but refused to divulge the amount: “The producers of the movie have paid as per the footage rate card of the BCCI and no discount was given.”
Former Indian cricketer-turned-commentator Ravi Shastri has reportedly dubbed some commentary portions in the film, which hits theatres on September 30.
No film on Mahendra Singh Dhoni till he retires from the game, says BCCI?
7:56 AM
Vickey Lalwani (MUMBAI MIRROR; September 5, 2014)
Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the most successful Indian cricket captain, will have to wait till he hangs up his boots to see himself on screen. MSD had earlier given his nod to a biopic to be directed by Neeraj Pandey (of A Wednesday fame). Buzz is, the star player, demanded Rs 40 crore for the rights to make a film on his life.
According to the grapevine, Sushant Singh Rajput was to essay the role of the Indian XI's 33-year-old Captain Cool. The actor reportedly had a long meeting with Dhoni too.
Now for the spoiler: The BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) has told MSD that his life cannot be transferred to celluloid, till he continues to play cricket professionally.
"MSD has no choice but to comply," says a friend of Dhoni who is close to the development, adding that the Rs 40 crore-demand had taken the planned film's budget to over Rs 100 crore.
"To begin with, it was not a commercially viable project because a sports drama, even on a game as popular as cricket, has a niche audience. But the real roadblock came from BCCI. If we do go ahead with the film it will only happen after MSD's career on the field has come to an end," adds the friend.
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