Sunil Gavaskar, Vijay Amritraj, Sandeep Patil and a few others have done it in the past. And this year Vijender Singh and Leander Paes are all set to join the lengthy list of sportspersons to act in films. There’s more in store. Paes’ partner Mahesh Bhupathi has entered film production, thereby following the footsteps of another tennis player: Ashok Amritraj.
Boxer Vijender, who won a bronze medal in 2008 Beijing Olympics, has three projects in hand: "The One", " Patiala Express" and an unnamed venture. Tennis player Paes, another Olympic medalist and winner of multiple Grand Slam events, is acting in " Rajdhani Express" and "Agent K Bhupathi", the other half of the famed Indian Express, is co-producing " Chalo Dilli".
"The One is an action movie where I am part of an anti-terrorism squad. In "Patiala Express", I play a boxer. The film also has a love angle," says the 25-year-old boxer from Haryana. He claims to feel as comfortable before a camera as inside the ring. "Sportstars are fit both mentally and physically. We can do everything: boxing to dancing.
Acting is not difficult at all," says Vijender. Paes’ "Rajdhani Express" tells the story of four youths who travel to the big city pursuing their dreams. "What excited Leander was the film’s story which expresses the angst and anger of the common man. The film seeks to entertain rather than preach," says director Ashok Kohli. The other film, "Agent K", is an espionage thriller directed by Arindam Mitra.
Bhupathi’s "Chalo Dilli" is a road movie. His Big Daddy Productions and actor Lara Dutta’s Bheegi Basanti Production are co-producing the film along with Eros International Video. According to Ram Mirchandani, chief creative officer of Eros, Dutta and Vinay Pathak form the leading cast.
The film will be shot in Jaipur and Delhi this month and slated for release in April 2011. Sportspersons, especially cricketers, have always been closely associated with the Mumbai filmworld. In 1973, all-rounder Salim Durrani acted with Parveen Babi in BR Ishaara’s superflop, "Charitra". In the 1970s, Gavaskar acted in two Marathi films: "Svali Premachi" (The Shadow of Love) and "Zakol".
In 1988, he again made a brief appearance in "Malamaal", alongside Naseeruddin Shah and Poonam Dhillon. Hard-hitting batsman Sandeep Patil also tried his luck in Bollywood but his film, " Kabhi Ajnabi The" (1985), with heroine Debashree Roy failed to score at the box-office. The trend has continued in the New Millennium. Ajay Jadeja played a side hero in "Khel" (2003), another big flop.
In most of these roles, the sportspersons were woefully inept in the acting department. There have been some exceptions though. Former Test cricketer Salil Ankola was appreciated for his performance as a villain in "Chura Liya Hai Tumne" (2003). Syed Kirmani too put his bald pate to good use as a karate-kicking baddie In "Kabhi Ajnabi The". Pakistani cricketer Mohsin Khan, who married Bollywood heroine Reena Roy, was also impressive in films like JP Dutta’s "Batwara" (1989) and "Saathi" (1991).
The most talked-about performance, however, was that of Vijay Amritraj, who had a small cameo as James Bond’s friend in "Octopussy" (1983). Vijay’s brother Ashok, a 1974 Wimbledon boy’s singles finalist, has become a Hollywood hotshot. He has produced over 100 Hollywood movies including "Bandits" ( Bruce Willis, 2001), "Walking Tall" (2004), "Bringing Down the House" (2003) and "Raising Helen" (2004).
Like him, Bhupathi is now taking the first step towards film production. Film trade specialist Taran Adarsh says that the earlier crop of sportpersons probably failed because the timing wasn’t right or the script weren’t good enough. "But today cinema has changed. The coming of sportspersons is good news for Bollywood. They bring in variety. Which means a wider range of actors to choose from," he says.
