Cine stars descend on Sanawar school for cricket match

Sanawar, April 5
Several Bollywood celebrities, including old students of the 167-year-old historic Lawrence School, Sanawar, today descended on the school premises to participate in a cricket tournament which was played between the hosts and Mumbai Heroes.

The tournament is being organised on the premises of the Sanawar school on April 5 and 6. It will include a series of matches that will be played among four teams " Staff XI, Sanawar XI, Roy Bois OS and Mumbai Heroes.

The Roy brothers, Rahul and Rohit, sponsored high-mask floodlights worth Rs 50 lakh to their alma mater. Day and night matches will be played in the new floodlights which have been installed on the 1,700-m field nestled amidst the pine whiffed aura of pine trees.

Having spent six years in the school, Rahul along with his twin brother had joined the school at an age of 12 years. It was a perfect place to shape us into better human beings, Rahul confides while sharing his bonding with the school.

Instrumental in bringing his Bollywood friends to the tournament along with film director Apoorva Lakhia, he says the school had been their guiding force and the values inculcated here had helped them go through rigours of life.

He said the availability of sports facilities was a crucial requirement for youngsters today. Roy thanked Salman Khan and Sohail Khan, owners of Mumbai Heroes, for their generosity for making this tournament possible and said they would endeavour to make it an annual feature.

Mumbai Heroes, clad in pink uniform with Suniel Shetty leading the team, won the toss and decided to bat first against Roy Bois, led by Rohit Roy. Suniel Shetty, after winning the toss for the Mumbai Heroes, urged the crowd to cheer for the guests and lend their whole-hearted support to them.

The cine celebrities that are a part of the Mumbai Heroes include Suniel Shetty, Bobby Deol, Sohail Khan, Aftab Shivdasani, Armaan Kohli, Vatsal Shethe, Jeetu Verma, Shabbir Ahluwalia, Varun Badola, Shahwar Ali, Salil Ankola, Manoj Bidwai, Tanisha Mukherji, Pooja Bedi, Amrita Roychand, Nim Dausang, Barkha Bisht, Bunty Walia and Apoorva Lakhia.

Bobby Deol, Apoorva Lakhia and Pooja Bedi are ex-students of the school. Talking to The Tribune, Pooja Bedi said she had spent 12 years in this school and memories were haunting her right from the moment she entered the school gate.

Recalling how she perpetually figured in the drill book, which was a symbol of punishment, she reminisced about the ghost stories which had been passed on from generation to generation.

Vatsal Shesthe of the "Tarzan -The Wonder Car" film fame, while sharing his experience, said it was a welcome break for them. Enthusiastic about his new television serial, "Ek Haseena Thi", which is going on air from April 14 on television, he said he was playing the character of a rich spoilt brat. He said it was a suspense thriller and a role which was very different from his real self.