CHENNAI: Prabhu Deva, who has proved himself as a dancer, actor, director and producer, is now a team owner and a brand ambassador as well. The filmmaker is now one of the co-owners of the V Chennai Warriors, the Tennis team representing Chennai in the Champions Tennis League, which will be held from November 21 to December 6 this year.
In the city to launch the anthem and the logo of the franchise, along with Indian tennis legend Vijay Amritraj and the other co-owner of the team Ishari K Ganesh, Prabhu Deva, said, “You (the media) lent me your support when I danced, acted, directed and then produced. Now, I ask you to lend me your support as I become a Tennis team owner.”
How did he go from a film celebrity to a Tennis team owner? Prabhu redirected the question to the joint owner of the team Ishari Ganesh, who replied, “We entered the league just 10 days ago. I’ve known Prabhu for over 25 years. The moment I told him about owning a tennis team, he was excited and egged me on. He also offered to be the brand ambassador for the team. I told him that he must be the co-owner and he agreed almost immediately.”
On the occasion, the two owners jointly released the video of the team’s theme song featuring Prabhu Deva. “The music was scored by Devi Sri Prasad (in photo) in just a day and the lyrics were penned by Madhan Karky. A L Vijay directed this video and Nirav Shah was the cameraman. Prabhu Deva took only a day to choreograph and dance. In all, this video was done in a matter of days,” Ganesh said even as he thanked all those responsible for making it possible to release the theme song so soon.
Speaking on the occasion, Vijay Amritraj, the chairperson of the Champions Tennis League, said, “The CTL was designed for three purposes. One, to take the sport to other Indian cities with Tennis lovers. Chennai is the only city to have the honour of hosting an Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) tournament, the Chennai Open. Fans in other cities of the country don’t get to witness live tournaments.”
He added that they had wanted a tournament in which Indians could participate. “Each team participating in the CTL will have one Indian Davis Cup Player. Thirdly, we also wanted to inspire young boys and girls. Therefore, two juniors will travel with the team and will be given the opportunity to observe the international players and prepare for their matches,” he explained.
The CTL, the first match of the CTL will be played on November 23 at Mumbai between Mumbai and Raipur. CTL will feature six teams including Chennai.