Jai ho! Katrina to rock IPL finals

Are you ready to rock this Sunday at the IPL final in South Africa's Wanderers Stadium at Johannesburg?

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You better be, for the organisers have got a party lined up for you... and taking the stage to get it kickstarted and rollicking is Bollywood hottie Katrina Kaif! Yes, it's Katz who will perform at the finale of this great cricket circus, not the Kambhakht Ishq lead pair of Akshay Kumar and Kareena Kapoor (their participation in the closing ceremony was nixed for some reason), as was widely believed in Bollywood and cricket circles.

The sexy Katz is slated to perform (what else!) A R Rahman's Oscar-winning song Jai Ho! among a medley of others on Sunday. She's not the only one. Joining her in this never-seen-before package of entertainment is multi-million-selling British reggae singer Eddy Grant and American R&B artiste and hearthrob of millions, Akon, who will sing his famous hits Smack Dad, Right Now and I Wanna F@#%k You.

Eddy Grant, you will remember, was noted for using his music to politically protest against the apartheid regime in South Africa. His Gimme Hope Jo'anna went on to become a world hit in the 80s. In which Jo'anna, of course, meant Johannesburg, which is strangely where the IPL final is being played. The song's lyrics went:

"Well Joanna she runs a country, she runs in Durban and the Transvaal
She makes a few of her people happy, she don't care about the rest at all
She got a system they call apartheid, it keeps a brother in subjection.
But maybe pressure will make Joanna see, how everybody could live as one
Gimme hope, Jo'anna..."

Katrina, who is hugely excited at going to Johannesburg, told BT yesterday before leaving, "To be able to perform in front of millions of people is going to be a different high. It'll be like walking the dream. It's the biggest televised show and who won't be excited!" The actress, who just got back to Mumbai after a long outdoor schedule with Akshay for De Dana Dan, didn't have time to rest because she had to rehearse her steps with Shiamak Davar who's also performing there. "I am so excited that I forgot about being jet-legged," Katz added.