IPL 2023: How DJ Zen created magical moments for MS Dhoni with Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan hits

Chennai Super Kings’ captain Dhoni and his ‘intro’ numbers at Chepauk, courtesy DJ Zen, have been viral hits in IPL 2023

MS Dhoni strides onto the ground. DJ Zen pushes a button.

Thousands of fans, all dressed in yellow at Chepauk stadium, go wild.

This has been a familiar sight for Chennai’s cricket lovers in this edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Playing superhit Tamil cinema tracks to go with each player, especially Dhoni, DJ Zen — manning the console at IPL for the first time — has been making a lot of noise, quite literally.

If it was ‘Once upon a time, there lived a ghost’ from Kamal Haasan’s Vikramduring the start of the season, it was the Vishwaroopam track that accompanied Dhoni’s walk to the crease in the last league phase. Rajinikanth’s iconic Tamil ‘introduction numbers’ added to the goosebump-inducing moments as well.

KC Senthil Kumar aka DJ Zen is the man behind this magic. “This IPL has been most memorable for me,” says Zen over a telephone call, “I’m happy that I have played a small part in enhancing some tremendous cricketing moments on the ground.”

While songs being played at the IPL are not new, this year, MS Dhoni’s entry into the stadium has been among the most-anticipated moments this season. DJ Zen plans for that crucial 1-minute 15-seconds-long celebration with utmost detail. “Dhoni takes an extra few seconds to get ready, and that gives the audience time to cheer and then settle down, before he faces the ball. When he enters, we go with music, because the ground is anyway very noisy then. When he takes to the pitch, we play the lyrics , so that the audience relate to him. “

He is referring to tracks from hit Tamil films such as Padayappa, Baasha and Vikram, which not only have peppy music but also lyrics that match the situation that game is poised at. So, when Shivam Dube hits a couple of sixes, Zen played ‘Doobey Doobey’ from Gehraiyaan. Or when Ravindra Jadeja starts batting, he went with a melody like ‘Mannipaaya’ (Will you forgive me?), based on what the southpaw said in an on-ground interview in the last match.