MUMBAI: Shah Rukh Khan, who co-owns the IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders, will perform at the opening ceremony of the sixth edition of the Twenty20 extravaganza along with his ?Jab Tak Hai Jaan? co-star Katrina Kaif.

Red Chillies Entertainment has also roped in international rap star Pitbull.

The ceremony will take place at Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata on 2 April.

IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla said, "The Opening Ceremony of the Pepsi IPL 2013 will be as outstanding as the cricket that we will witness over the subsequent seven weeks. We are in for a spectacular commencement to what promises to be a memorable tournament".

The event will also feature flying drummers, Chinese percussionists and fireworks.

MUMBAI: Bollywood entertainer Salman Khan has topped the list of most popular actors in 2012, according to the Ormax 2012 Report. He is followed by superstar Shah Rukh Khan in second place and Hrithik Roshan in third spot.

Other actors in the top ten included Akshay Kumar, Aamir Khan, Ranbir Kapoor, Ahay Devgn, Shahid Kapoor and Amitabh Bachchan.

Among the ladies, Katrina Kaif took the top honours followed by Kareena Kapoor in seond place and Priyanka Chopra at rank three. Aishwarya Rai, Kajol, Madhuri Dixit, Deepika Padukone, Rani Mukherjee, Anushka Sharma and Vidya Balan figured in the top ten as well.

The Ormax report also carried the top ten most popular TV choice for kids where Pogo?s Chhota Bheem led the race. On second spot was Doremon while the third spot was taken by Ninja Hattori. Jerry from the iconic Tom ?n Jerry pair was among the top five in the list. Other characters included Shinchan, Jackie Chan, Tom (from Tom ?n Jerry), Ben, Mr. Bean and Oggy.

From among the Hindi GEC character for kids, the most popular was SAB TV?s Jethalal from the show Tarak Mehta ka Oolta Chashma. The second spot went to Inspector Daya from Sony? cop drama C.I.D. while the third place was taken by Tapu (also form SAB?s Tarak Mehta...). Other characters that made it to the list include Anandi from Colors? Balika Vadhu, Daya from Tarak Mehta..., Gopi from Saath Nibhaana Saathiya on Star Plus, Abhijeet from Sony?s C.I.D., Pihu from Sony?s Bade Acche Lagte Hain and Akshara from Star?s Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai.