Commodification is complete!

It was unnerving, almost frightening, and at the same time amusing to see the pricing war going on (courtesy various channels). Kaun Banega crorepati contest of different nature was on, and, as widely anticipated, all the big stars had turned crorepatis by the end of the first few rounds of the contest. Shah Rukh was just one of the anchors in an event, unprecedented in India in terms of scale and novelty. However, some of the crorepatis may still not be smiling, as, without cap, they are perceived to be much more.

Coming back to the auction. Mercifully, only the names were auctioned and stars were not there in person. Else it would have been like the dark medieval ages, when the man in charge of auction will describe the various features of a product, and then allow the moneyed ones to take charge.

Though the players (already millionaires) hardly fit the description of an ancient slave, but parallels are unmistakable.

Looks like, the commodification of our star-studded, cricket system is complete. The ones we always applauded for their commitment to the country, will become rich man’s toy. When Zee had come in with ICL, one did hear money versus country! Did not we?

Meanwhile, one saw an angry Modi on stage (beamed live/deferred live), constantly feeling disturbed by cell phone wielding journos trying to give feedback to their offices. But that is a momentary feeling. He has done a job. One may not agree with the moral aspects of bidding in this gentleman’s game, but in commercial terms, he has turned out to be a genius.

Personally, I am not sure if the move is going to succeed in the long run. Some amounts could drastically come down in the coming years. The fun of seeing some greats in action is nothing compared to the patriotism, which even a contest between India and Zimbabwe generates.

Probably the better thing would have been to assign money for each star, and design a system of lots to ensure a fair distribution of teams.

Too late now. Describing this milestone event, Bindra called it 'exciting and wonderful drama' on telly. That sums it up.