Sachin's ' Ferari ki Sawari'

Cricket and Bollywood are what Indians live by, and the stars of both have huge fan followings. The IPL proved to be an undeniable draw, what with Shah Rukh Khan-Saurav Ganguly and Preity Zinta-Yuvraj Singh available in package deals.

However, cricketers turned actors have not really been much of a draw on the big screen. There were players such as Sunil Gavaskar, Salim Durrani and Sandip Patel who did strive to make their presence felt, but hardly created a ripple. Syed Kirmani played the killer with the golden heart in Kabhi Ajnabee They, but even his karate moves did not impress many.

Pakistani actors such as Mohsin Khan and Mazhar Khan too failed to make an impact in Hindi films. The former married Reena Roy and his movies Batwara and Saathi did nothing for him. Mazhar Khan was better known for beating up his wife, the sensational Zeenat Aman.

Of the recent lot, Saurav Ganguly has actually acted in a Bengali film while his team mate Anil Kumble has also tried his luck on the silver screen. Vinod Kambli acted in an aptly named movie called Annarth, and Ajay Jadeja decided to do Khel after being banned from playing cricket!

The good looking Salil Ankola seems to have broken the jinx with appearances on television and a number of movies. Kurukshetra, Shiva and Deva are the three movies apart from Silence Please...The Dressing Room, a movie that links cricket and Bollywood, in which he has starred with the talented Sonali Kulkarni.

Yuvraj Singh, who captained the Punjab team in the IPL, is also set to act in a movie produced by his father Yograj Singh, a cricketer who has had a short stint in Bollywood himself. Apparently, the young man plays a 70-year-old Yograj, who spins a web and tells his own story to future generations. Yograj Singh does not want Yuvi’s attention taken away from his cricketing career and, thus, has given him just a cameo in his movie, while Yuvi will be played by his brother Joravar.

 Kapil Dev has also made an appearance in Mujhse Shaadi Karoge? But  this time, it is master blaster Sachin Tendulkar’s turn.  The maestro is all set to work in Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s ‘Ferari Ki Sawari’. Tendulkar will essay an important role alongside Sharman Joshi and Boman Irani in the film. In spite of having managed a coup of sorts, Chopra isn't ready to reveal anything. Just like the term `Gandhigiri', which was a well-kept secret until Lage Raho Munnabhai (2007) released, the real length of Sachin's role in the movie, too, is under wraps. http://www.mynews.in/News/sachin_tendulkar_to_work_in_a_movie!_N93880.html

Frankly speaking, none of these willow men have made any kind of lasting impact on the big screen. Maybe it is a case of each man being adept at his own trade. Cricket is what most of the above are good at and they should stick to what they do best. However, today, alternative careers have become attractive, with models turning cricket anchors and cricketers doing everything but playing cricket.

Whatever the cause, it is not worth the misery of failing when it comes to a second career option. It is better to retire gracefully from the limelight, rather than burn one’s fingers in the Bollywood pie, where audiences are less forgiving than cricket spectators.

Isn’t it better to shine in one career, and win laurels for the country, instead of looking elsewhere and doing a mediocre job of both? Is it the lure of money that attracts cricketers to tinsel town, or the hope of getting further entrenched in the minds of millions of fans? Do you think cricketers should act?