There was Hrithik Roshan. There was Anushka Sharma. There was Shahid Kapoor riding a bike.
Those expecting the opening ceremony of the eighth edition of the Indian Premier League in Kolkata to be a bang-up show, however, were mostly left disappointed.
#IPLOpeningCeremony was the top trend on Twitter all evening yesterday and has generated more than 30,000 tweets at the time of writing this.
However, social media didn't think much of the celebrities and their performances. All through the one and a half hour event, people complained about how boring the show was.
This year's #IPLOpeningCeremony was more boring than Black, Saanwariya and Paa put together.
- Roflindian 2.0 (@Roflindian) April 7, 2015Pic1 : Before watching #IPLOpeningCeremony Pic2 : After watching #IPLOpeningCeremony pic.twitter.com/xIV07GtMQd
- Sachinn Sachinn (@cricketsagar) April 7, 2015The #IPLOpeningCeremony was so bad that people who did not watch it also got bored.
- Psycho (@i_Psycho) April 7, 2015Here's a look at what social media loved and hated about the IPL opening ceremony:
Anushka Sharma's Bad Performance? Blame it On Virat Kohli!
When Anushka Sharma took to the stage to perform numbers from PK and Jab Tak Hain Jaan, the cameras panned to show a smiling Virat Kohli, and fans started cheering-'Kohli! Kohli'.
The PK star thanked the 'wonderful' crowd on Twitter:
Fab night & What a wonderful crowd you've been Kolkata!!Thank U for d amazing love showered & stickin it out in d rain #IPLOpeningCeremony
- MEERA (@AnushkaSharma) April 7, 2015Twitter, however, was less complimentary about her and were quick to blame her boyfriend Virat, just as Anushka was trolled for Virat's role in India's World Cup defeat:
It's payback time. People can blame Virat Kohli's presence at the stadium for Anushka's bad performance. #IPLOpeningCeremony
- Keh Ke Peheno (@coolfunnytshirt) April 7, 2015Anushka's performance on stage was poor. Blame it on Virat's presence. #IPLOpeningCeremony
- sn J (@oothikicha) April 7, 2015And they too have cut to a shot of Virat Kohli. Now if you didn't like Anushka's performance, you know who's at fault. #IPLOpeningCeremony
- Pratim D. Gupta (@PratimDGupta) April 7, 2015
Shahid Kapoor's Oops! Moment
Shahid Kapoor scored full marks on social media for his 'stage-breaking' performance.
As he rode into Kolkata's Salt Lake Stadium astride a motorbike, disaster struck. Shahid nearly fell off his bike which hit the stage but recovered like a pro and went to dance to Saree Ka Fall like a boss.
Banged the bike broke the stage . Felt the love . Amaze. pic.twitter.com/PUe7777QhK
- Shahid Kapoor (@shahidkapoor) April 7, 2015Social media performed a slow clap:
Anyone else notice Shahid Kapoor bang his bike and a minute later slip on stage? Respect for playing it cool though! #IPLOpeningCeremony
- Raaj Sanghvi (@RaajSanghvi) April 7, 2015
When Saif Ali Khan Forgot His Lines
Saif Ali Khan as host left the crowd cold. He fumbled and forgot his lines and Twitter instantly branded it the actor's worst performance.
Kareena : Saif, do you think #IPLOpeningCeremony presentation was your worst performance? Saif : Haan, Bade araam se !
- Keh Ke Peheno (@coolfunnytshirt) April 7, 2015The IPL opening ceremony was sloppy. The audio was terrible. Saif didn't have any flow as MC. Thank God for @iHrithik and @FarOutAkhtar
- Anand Chulani (@AnandChulani) April 8, 2015Its WORST opening ceremony in #IPL history Uninformed Captains, Various Bloopers, Lame Duck Performance, Un-Saif Host, Feeling Cheated Crowd
- VRG (@VRG678) April 7, 2015Not content with simply dissing Saif's performance, Twitter started complaining about the absence of Shah Rukh Khan.
It's the time when you see people like Saif Ali Khan host an event and realize why Shahrukh Khan is king of hosting.
- Yo Yo LOLendra Singh (@LOLendraSingh) April 7, 2015Seriously, Today it was pretty evident SRK alone is Better entertainer and Performer then whole of Bollywood. #IPLOpeningCeremony
- NK (@EnkArsenal) April 7, 2015Shahid Kapoor, Hrithik Roshan together could not make up for Shah Rukh Khan's absence at IPL 2015 opening ceremony! #IPLOpeningCeremony
- Prashant K (@theRedSlayer) April 8, 2015
Did Farhan Akhtar Rock On? Nope, Twitter Wants to Un-Hear Him
Navjot Singh Sidhu compared Farhan Akhtar to iconic singers like Mohammad Rafi and Kishore Kumar but social media didn't agree.
Altaf Raja's voice evokes pain in the heart. #FarhanAkhtar 's voice does the same to your ear drums #IPLOpeningCeremony
- Himachali Tweeter (@TweetsFromHP) April 7, 2015#farhanakhtar that was harsh even for my ears. #PepsiIPL2015
- sonia kundra singh (@soniakundrsingh) April 7, 2015
Thank God For Hrithik Roshan
There was redemption for Bollywood in the form of Hrithik Roshan.
So electrifying was the actor's dance routine that Twitter forgot about how 'boring' the #IPLOpeningCeremony was and switched to discussing #HrithikIPLPerformance, the new trending hashtag.
The actor got the loudest cheer, both at the stadium and on social media.
The organisers should have just made #HrithikRoshan perform for two hrs. #IPLOpeningCeremony
- Deepa (@DeepNat115) April 7, 2015#HrithikRoshan gets the loudest applause and cheers from the crowd! The guy is gifted. Undoubtedly.
- Stefan (@Stefan_A5) April 7, 2015#IPLOpeningCeremony best performer is #HrithikIPLPerformance
- Sarvesh Vikram Singh (@svsraj) April 8, 2015Boring #IPLOpeningCeremony bt super refreshing n energetic performance by @iHrithik #hrithikiplperformance jst watched it on @hotstartweets
- Rozelle Laha (@rozelle_l) April 7, 2015Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world
