AR Rahman, Akshay Kumar among stars who light up IPL 2024 opening ceremony

Chennai: A high-octane dance show by Bollywood actors Akshay Kumar and Tiger Shroff set the stage on fire at the opening ceremony of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 here on Friday.

The duo kick-started their performance with a promotion of their upcoming Bollywood film, Bade Miyan Chote Miyan. They also flaunted their skills to a chartbuster from the movie.

Akshay Kumar then performed his old songs from hits like Bhool Bhuliya and Desi Boyz. The seasoned actor displayed great energy on the floor. Later Akshay took a lap around the cricket field on a bike with Tiger standing behind, holding the Indian flag. The song "Sabse aage honge Hindustani" on loop gave goosebumps to the crowd present at the stadium as they were all dancing and enjoying the gala ceremony.

The IPL 2024 opening ceremony started with a huge roar from the spectators after the presenter welcomed them with "Vanakkam Chennai,” which means Welcome Chennai.

Soon after the performances by Akshay and Tiger, playback singer Sonu Nigam’s “Vande Mataram” performance fuelled the emotions of all present in the stadium showing their respect for the Indian flag flying high on the top of the stadium.

A R Rahman performed “Maa Tujhe Salam” along with Mohit Chauhan and also the popular chartbuster 'Balle Laka' from Rajinikanth's film. The opening ceremony ended with Rahman’s iconic ‘Jai Ho’ giving goosebumps to all present in the stadium.