'Chirag's really good on screen' -Article

Sandeep Patil with son Chirag Patil (TOI Photo)

There was excitement in ex-cricketer Sandeep Patil's home a few days ago. His 20-year-old son Chirag was making his debut in Ekta Kapoor's serial Karam Apnaa Apnaa.

So what was it like to see his son on screen? "I was pleasantly surprised. He was really good," smiles the proud father. "My debut in films, I'm sure, was of great help to him. He knew exactly what not to do," laughs Sandeep recounting the movie Kabhi Ajnabi The he did as a hero years ago with Poonam Dhillon.

He may joke about his acting and dub it as a "disaster" but his son believes, "He did a good job."
Sandeep quips, "We cricketers sometimes laugh about our acting stints. We are becoming a complete cricket team – Sunil Gavaskar, Syed Kirmani, Salim Durrani, Ajay Jadeja, Vinod Kambli, Salil Ankola."
Sandeep admits that though he enjoyed his acting stint, his cricket did suffer. "I apologise to my fans for that. Today, I tell youngsters not to do too many things at one time."

Chirag's doing just that. He's passionate about acting, something he's wanted to do since childhood. He's playing a villain in Karam Apnaa Apnaa, and believes, "Negative characters tend to register more with audiences."

Ask Sandeep if it's upsetting that his son didn't pursue cricket and he says, "Not at all. When my sons were quite young, I saw them play and knew they wouldn't make it as cricketers."

Cricket's not high on Chirag's agenda, but he does feel strongly about the BCCI's attitude towards his father, Kapil Dev and other ex-cricketers for joining the ICL. "These people have won the 1983 World Cup, how can you do this to them?" he asks.

Chirag reveals that Sandeep was to play the role of a coach in the film Victory along with other cricketers like Brett Lee, but at the last minute after objections were raised by the BCCI, he opted out of it. "I was upset about that," says Chirag.