Set for long innings

Preity Zinta says she will definitely get cricket talk show, Behind The Seam, on air, but no date has been set for the project.

A little over a year ago, actor Preity Zinta was readying to launch her cricket chat show, Behind The Seam, soon after the Indian Premier League (IPL) Season Three wrapped up in May. It was reportedly part of Colors’ IPL-special programming line-up that was supposed to make the three-year-old cricket tournament a year-round property. The show was to be co-produced by Preity and Big Synergy Adlabs under the supervision of quiz-whiz Siddharth Basu. However, a series of unexpected events put the show on the backburner. This week, Zinta makes her small screen debut as the host of Guinness World Records - Ab India Todega (GWR), coincidentally also on Colors. When asked whether this year, with an all-new Kings XI Punjab line-up to showcase, she plans to take the show on floors and eventually put it on air, the actor with a dimpled smile says, “The show is definitely on but I can’t put a day, date and time to it. It’s on my long-term agenda right now. GWR, and then my movies, will be my focus because this is my year to return to my core business, entertainment.”

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Preity, unlike last year, says that she can’t start the show immediately after IPL 4. “Once I have some time to work on Behind The Seam, I will bring it on air because it’s a one-of-a kind project that is really close to my heart,” she beams

The chat show was initially rumoured to arrive after IPL Season Two, and then after Season Three. Even before the latter had wrapped up, Lalit Modi, the then IPL commissioner, was thrown out of his office for financial blunders, and other misconducts in his dealings with the eight franchises. This threw all the IPL-based programming off gear.

“Everything has settled. We finally have all the allegations off our backs. I’m happy with the changes in the line-up. The guys are cool and hardworking,” says Preity, who’s hopeful that her team will perform better this year. “I’m praying and going with my team wherever they play, like I have always done in the past. They’re putting in their sweat and blood for the tournament this year. As team owners, we’re all working full-steam to keep the team in good form and spirit. For the rest, I’m keeping my fingers crossed.”

Pitch report

According to industry sources, the suspended IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi had inked a deal of approximately R 100 crore (R 35-35-30 crore to be paid every year) with Colors for entertainment shows to make the IPL a year-round property.

Zinta’s Behind The Seam was rumoured to be part of the package that is now called off. The actor, who was to play host, now says that the show is on her long-term agenda.