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What links cricket and Bollywood
There are two things Indians are crazy about -- cricket and Bollywood. And when the two meet, fireworks are bound to happen. Just look at what followed after
Om Shanti Om's Deepika Padukone cheered for the Indian cricket team at the recent Twenty-20 match against Australia held in Mumbai. Speculation was rife that she was there to cheer the captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Though Deepika claims to be just friends with the Indian captain, reports say the actress was invited by Dhoni after she asked him for a special
Om Shanti Om preview. Whether there is any truth to that is debatable, but there is always been a strong romantic link between cricket and Bollywood. While some have 'run out' of steam, others are hoping to last at least half a century.
rediff.com takes a look at some of these partnerships.
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Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi and Sharmila Tagore
It was one of the first love stories between a Bollywood heroine and a cricketer with royal blood -- he came from an erstwhile royal family. They were superstars in their respective fields. Sharmila Tagore and 'Tiger' Pataudi met and fell in love. Marriage followed soon after. Three children later -- Saif, Soha and Saha -- the two are still going strong.
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Ravi Shastri and Amrita Singh
Theirs was a rollicking affair that set many tongues wagging. At that time -- in the 1980s -- Ravi Shastri was a top cricketer who even won the champion of champions title and the Audi car that came with it, and Amrita Singh an established actress. Love blossomed, Amrita was often spotted at the VIP box during cricket matches when Shastri was playing. There were rumours that the two were engaged. However, they did not last and each went their own way. Amrita ended up marrying the young Saif Ali Khan in the early '90s.
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Reena Roy and Mohsin Khan
Pakistani cricketer Mohsin Khan was so much in love with Reena Roy that he even quit his successful career to join films. He married Reena, took her to Pakistan and then signed on movies.
Unfortunately, his films -- Saathi, Batwara and Fateh -- flopped. His marriage to Reena flopped soon after. The actress divorced him and returned to India.
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Azharuddin and Sangeeta Bijlani It was a photo shoot for an advertisement long ago that brought these two together. The gorgeous Sangeeta Bijlani, a former Miss India, was going through a low phase after her break-up with actor Salman Khan. Azhar, on the other hand, was the undisputed king of Indian cricket. Love blossomed between the two, and Azhar divorced his wife to marry Sangeeta, but not after intense media scrutiny into his personal life. Today, Azharuddin plans a series of tony health and fitness clubs, while Sangeeta once again ponders modeling assignments. |
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Sourav Ganguly and Nagma A visit to a temple created trouble in Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly's personal life. His visit to the Srikalahasti temple near Tirupati with Nagma made people think they had tied the knot. At that time, Sourav was in Chennai for the India-Australia match and Nagma was a top actress in Tamil. More trouble came when Sourav's then pregnant wife, Dona, moved back with her parents. Nagma then told a magazine that she parted ways with Sourav to save his career. 'A smaller interest had to be sacrificed for bigger interests. Whenever India played, people said that a person was not doing well because he was emotionally attached. This is so juvenile... When it becomes too much, it starts affecting the interest of one another. Then slowly, though you're supposed to bring happiness to a person's life, you bring misery. Then it's in the best interests to move on,' she was quoted as saying in Savvy magazine. India's most successful cricket captain has not spoken about this chapter in his life. |
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Kim Sharma and Yuvraj Singh
They had an on-off relationship that finally went off for good. Kim Sharma and Yuvraj Singh were regularly seen in the party circuit, and many were baffled when they called it quits. The story goes that Yuvraj's family was not happy about having a
filmi bahu, and told him so in no uncertain terms. As a result, one more cricketer-Bollywood love story went kaput.
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Zaheer Khan and Isha Sharvani Zaheer and Isha were like teenagers in love, who preferred to be in each other's company all the time. They were spotted together soon after her debut film, Subhash Ghai's Kisna, released. Isha's career, unfortunately, did not take off. But Zaheer went on to become a star player. They're barely seen together these days, which makes us wonder whether the two are still together. Also read: Heroines who look wow in saris |
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Vivian Richards and Neena Gupta
Neena Gupta, an actress way ahead of her time, had a daughter with the dashing West Indies cricketer. Richards was a top cricketer at the time, while Neena was an upcoming actress when their relationship began. Initially, though tongues wagged, she was reluctant to admit who the father of her child was. It was only after
The Illustrated Weekly named Richards as the father of her child, Masaba, that the truth came out. Even today, whenever Richards is in India, he visits his daughter. Neena Gupta never married.
Edited by divano1 - 17 years ago
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