Howzat!!! A look at Bollywood through cricket-tinted glass

Lily

B.R
Staff member
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Cricket fever is in full swing with the ongoing ICC World Cup, and Bollywood's certainly not immune — the stars are known for their love of the game and are seen in the VIP stands cheering for their country and their favourite players.

Keeping up with the spirit, tabloid! plays a friendly cricket match — matching Bollywood actors with oft-used cricket terms and phrases that describe them best.

Bowled (when a batsman is out after the ball hits the stumps):

Dino Morea, Zayed Khan and Aftab Shivdasani — these boys might not have officially announced their retirement, but producers and moviegoers have realised their talents clearly lie somewhere else.

Though Morea is often spotted at Bollywood parties, the failed actor is concentrating on his restaurant business. Shivdasani's (he debuted as a child actor in Mr India in 1987) five releases in 2009 sent him back to his days of obscurity. And Khan's last film, Blue, made his fans (considering he has any) feel rather blue.

Captain's knock (A high-scoring innings by the captain that changes the course of a match):

"Maybe the country doesn't pray for me like they do for Sachin Tendulkar, but I know I'm on a good wicket as well," says Shah Rukh Khan, the reigning star for almost two decades.

From Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge to My Name is Khan, he's delivered one hit after another. Suffice it to say that he's King Khan indeed. Now, he has set his sights on Hollywood and has roped in Martin Scorsese as producer of his Indo-Western epic, Xtreme City, which will see him star alongside Leonardo Di Caprio. Unstoppable.

All-rounder (a player good at both batting and bowling):

Delivering a hit is Mr Perfectionist's habit — that's Aamir Khan to you and me. Actor, singer (Ghulam), producer (Dhobi Ghat, Delhi Belly) and director (Taare Zameen Par) — he has done it all.

"He brings to the table a kind of intelligence that makes a film's quality superior with every passing moment," says filmmaker Kunal Kohli of Khan, whose choice of recent roles ranged from a college student in 3 Idiots to a villain in Ghajini and a painter in Dhobi Ghat.

Khan is also a wizard in marketing his movies.

On a sticky wicket (a pitch that's difficult to bat on):

With both the Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab IPL teams caught up in legal drama, Preity Zinta and Shilpa Shetty have both been flung into a professional chasm. The off-screen sports careers of both seem to be crashing, while their on-screen careers have recently been limited to guest appearances.

Hat-trick (usually a bowler taking wickets off three consecutive balls):

Akshay Kumar is losing his charm with the audience, completing a hat-trick of flops with Action Replayy, Tees Maar Khan and Patiala House.

"I am not upset with failure, but I do feel bad when a film doesn't work despite hard work," Kumar says.

Even his small screen venture as host on Master Chef India wasn't appreciated much. Does Kumar need an image change?

Innings declared (A team ends its batting turn when they think they have enough runs to win a test match):

Rani Mukherjee made her debut opposite Amjad Khan's son (we can't even recall his name) in Raja Ki Aayegi Baraat back in 1996. Fifteen years later, having done over 40 films, including some blockbuster hits, her roles just seem to be going downhill. Her much-hyped last release, No One Killed Jessica, didn't do much at the box office.

"I feel bad when people say that Rani Mukherjee is finished," the actress says. "My career is already made. Nobody can make or break my career."

Rani, don't try too hard — maybe it's time to call it a day.

Duck (a batsman out without scoring):

Like a batsman who fails to get a single run, Harman Baweja's Bollywood scorecard is empty. It was a double blow for him when his debut film, Love Story 2050, turned turtle at the box office, and then his girlfriend walked out on him.

But Baweja didn't let the break-up ruin his friendship with Priyanka Chopra nor did the flop dampen his spirit when he teamed up again with Chopra in What's Your Rashee?. But that tanked too.

Even his cricket-themed film, Victory, couldn't win over a cricket-mad audience.

Hit wicket (a batsman getting out by dislodging the bails of the wicket behind him):

Everything was going well for Vivek Oberoi — he scored high in his debut film, Company, and followed it up with hits like Yuva and Saathiya.

The actor then famously accused Salman Khan of harassing him about his professional relationship with Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, whom Khan was dating at the time. He put his foot in his mouth by saying: "Salman Khan is making my life hell."

Oberoi admitted on Farah Khan's chat show Tere Mere Beach Mein that his public falling-out with Khan stalled his career. "What I did was very wrong, but I didn't kill anyone, neither did I harm anyone. I did not hurt anyone's personal life, but I was made to suffer a lot."

Many apologies to Khan later and he still hasn't salvaged his career.

Silly point (a fielding position close to the batsman):

Bollywood stars make news in whatever they say or do — especially for uttering words that would haunt them for life. Here are some stars caught at silly point:

Sushmita Sen shocked everyone when she said: "Ricky Martin has gone on record to say that I was the inspiration behind his song Maria."

Rakhi Sawant on the criticism she receives for what she says, does and wears: "Try as much as possible to criticise me, even Gandhiji and Jesus had such kind of criticism."

Kareena Kapoor, when she was dating Shahid Kapoor, said, "I am the only actress who suits Shahid Kapoor."

We wonder what Priyanka Chopra has to say about this.

Ajay Devgn, seemingly unaware of his dancing skills (or lack thereof), said: "I don't mind dancing, as long as I can relate to the steps."

Talking about your two left feet, Ajay?

Appeal (when a bowler or fielder shouts at the umpire to ask if the batsman is out):

In Bollywood there's only one appeal that counts — sex appeal. And Katrina Kaif has loads of it. "I'm very happy to have made it to the top of the list again," Kaif said after being voted the World's Sexiest Woman by Eastern Eye and FHM for the third time last year.

She beat off strong competition from her contemporaries like Freida Pinto and Priyanka Chopra.

Stumped (way of dismissing a batsman):

Mallika Sherawat deserves an Oscar for expanding her social network in Hollywood. Despite a spate of flops, like her last release, Hisss, we're stumped how Sherawat manages to rub shoulders with real A-listers, like she did with the who's who in Hollywood at the Oscars last month. From Nicole Kidman to Sandra Bullock, she added to her friend list.

She tweeted from the award show: "Was with Sandra Bullock, she is so funny and smart and looks absolutely beautiful:)"

And: "Lovin being here, such energy in this room! Nicole Kidman is so sweet, said I looked stunning OMG:) She's gorgeous and TALL!"

Man of the Match (an award given to the player with the best performance):

In just three years in the industry, Ranbir Kapoor has proved that he is a powerhouse of talent. From a lover boy in Saawariya to a smart politician in Rajneeti, he has been praised by all.

Added to that, he's a big hit with all his leading ladies — Sonam Kapoor, Deepika Padukone, Priyanka Chopra, Katrina Kaif... Rumour has it he's also bowled over Nargis Fakhri, his co-star in Imtiaz Ali's Rockstar.

"I have been infatuated with women ever since I was in school," he says.

We don't doubt that for a minute.

Googly (a deceptive spinning delivery batsmen struggle to read and play):

"He's the next superstar, after me," said Shah Rukh Khan of one-film-old Ranveer Singh.

Band Baaja Baaraat was the surprise hit of 2010, with Singh winning the best debutant award at all the award shows this year. Singh, who is dating Anushka Sharma, is on a roll and has signed a three-movie deal with Yash Raj production company. His next film is Ladies vs Ricky Bahl.

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