Enkayaar, Bollywood Trade News Network

SHAHRUKH KHAN, PREITY ZINTA and SHILPA SHETTY

Though Shah Rukh Khan, Preity Zinta and Shilpa Shetty have had mixed fortunes in the Indian Premier League so far, they have used the platform of IPL to announce to the world their personal style statements. On account of the presence of these three stars during the IPL matches, even the spectators are coming in their finest Sunday dresses and a razzmatazz of colors are on display during the matches in South Africa. In a way, the presence of these three stars has added a particular comparative flavor in the stadium, a contrast of attires between India and South Africa.

When a film star is present in a sporting arena, it always becomes his or her ground to make his own fashion statement. IPL is no exception, and in the second season Shah Rukh Khan, Preity Zinta and Shilpa Shetty are also aggressively marketing their star value apart from channeling their efforts for the cause of their respective teams. Their presence in various stadiums during the course of matches has set the stadiums on fire and it has also prompted the fans to come out in their best Sunday attire to watch the match on the ground.

Shah Rukh Khan has used the second season of the IPL to aggressively promote the chequered Pathani scarf, also called as fiafa in the Arabic world and by mixing it with a T-Shirt or even a suit he has given this humble scarf a new positioning. It is akin to what was done by Dev Anand many years ago when he used to wear the neck scarf with all kind of dresses. Shah Rukh Khan's looks has literally floored his fans. While the fans may have seen it being sported by Shah Rukh Khan during the course of matches, as a matter of fact Shah Rukh Khan came out with it on the eve of meeting where it was decided to shift the IPL matches to South Africa.

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Preity Zinta and Shilpa Shetty are also not far behind but both of them are studies in contrast. During the course of the matches Preity Zinta would be found sporting the T-Shirt of her team and Jeans, giving a serious corporate boss type attire, and bumblebee light brown shades and serious-yet-uber chic dress sense , which neither a Shah Rukh Khan shows, nor does a Shilpa Shetty.

Shilpa Shetty is using the IPL to promote raw sensuality and sexuality. Shilpa Shetty's appearance is shot through and through with glamour, passion and a chutzpah, as if IPL is her new arena to does a cat walk. Her ultimate fashion statement came when she sported the off-white hand-woven bund gala that snugly fitted Shilpa's slim waist but remained open at the neck for her team's indigo blue scarf to show, a real head turner, and wonder if the editors at Bazaar and other such fashion magazines took notice of the same.

Preity Zinta also lives up to the warm persona that she otherwise exudes so she embraces her players with a sense of happiness and overwhelming emotions, which a Shilpa Shetty has not displayed so far. Shilpa has more of a touch me not demeanor and it was manifest at one of the IPL press conferences where she was seen sporting a hat, slim belt and knee-length black sleeveless dress. Is she inviting the international style gurus to have a look at her and use her for future assignments? Only time will tell, but one thing is for sure, South Africa would never be the same again after the miasma of fashion unleashed by this trio in the IPL in the second season.