Stars won't shine for men in blue

Stars won't shine for men in blue

Film stars in the VIP stands of cricket World Cup fixtures were de rigeur… till this year

Bollywood and cricket have always shared a 'close' relationship. During earlier World Cups, several Bollywood stars squeezed time out from their busy schedules to attend a match or two, especially the ones India plays. But this time around, even hardcore cricket fans are finding it difficult to fit in a trip to the West Indies.

The cricket fixation starts with the seniors. Not many know that Lata Mangeshkar is almost obsessed about cricket. Though she might not always travel to the venue, she has always kept herself abreast of happenings in the cricket world. So you'd expect her to be glued to her TV screen if she isn't out there in the middle of the action in the West Indies.

And Dilip Kumar? Legend has it that Dilipsaab never reported to work whenever an important match was being played, especially when it was an India-Pakistan encounter. Dev Anand, Manoj Kumar and Jitendra are also said to be dedicated fans of cricket.

In the present generation, Suniel Shetty leads the pack with his unflagging enthusiasm for the game. He's not only friendly with most of the players, he makes it a point to attend most, if not all the important matches — no matter where in the world they are played.

Suniel Shetty is trying his best to sneak in a trip to West Indies - if the busy schedule for his television show 'Biggest Loser' that's being shot in Lonavla permits. "I have always managed to watch the World Cup, but unfortunately this time that's not possible because of my prior commitments. My track record has been that whenever I have been a spectator at a match, India has never, ever lost. So at least for the sake of the team, I should have been there," he rues.

Aftab Shivdasani has a similar problem. "I'd love to go and I am really trying to. But as of now, I can't really say because my plans are on hold because of date issues."

Other filmwallahs who follow the game keenly are Nana Patekar, Aftab Shivdasani, Amrita Arora, Sanjay Gupta, Kim Sharma, Jackie Shroff, Kunal Kapoor, Arjun Rampal, Urmila Matondkar, Diana Hayden, Malaika, Arbaaz — the list goes on.

Amrita Arora, who even has cricketer (Usman Afzal) for a boyfriend says, "I would have loved to go to West Indies but there's no time. However, we are planning to send our mother." However, her sister Malaika and her husband Arbaaz are expected to be there, cheering for the boys in blue.

Kim Sharma, whose boyfriend Yuvraj Singh is a part of the team, will not be part of the crowd either. "I wanted to go, but I am a little busy, and it's too far away. But I will watch it on television — I'm not going to miss a single match," she says with a giggle.

http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1084421