Bonding time: Venkatesh and Salman catch up during the match between Mumbai Heroes and Chennai Rhinos held at Sharjah International stadium
They might be there to play cricket, but films are never a distant topic. As Indian film stars reached the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in the UAE to take part in the Celebrity Cricket League, film promotions, as usual, ruled the roost.
Captain of defending champions Telugu Warriors, superstar Venkatesh was busy promoting his new film, a Telugu remake of Salman Khan’s Bodyguard, with none other than Salman himself.
“It’s a Telugu remake of Salman’s Bodyguard. It was very supportive of him to speak well about my film and me. Salman has been a good friend for years,” says Venkatesh. Venky is confident of his team’s chances of winning the CCL this year. “Obviously, I’d want my team to win every year,” he laughs, while admitting that there is tough competition this time around.
While most of the Hindi film stars walked around the stadium flaunting their star status, the South superstar kept a low profile. “This time all the other teams look promising and have come fully prepared. It means we will have to work harder. But I can assure you that my team is very confident,” he smiles. “Cricket has always been my favourite sport. I play cricket as and when I get the time. It was a dream-come-true to play cricket with the other Telugu actors. We are so busy with our films that there is no time to meet up. But having them all in one team strengthens our bond,” says Venky.
His counterpart, Salman Khan, is the face of Mumbai Heroes and was seen heavily promoting his team. Since Venkatesh’s nephew RaNa Duggubatti is a popular name in Bollywood and T-town, wouldn’t it have helped if RaNa were roped in as the brand ambassador of the Warriors?
“RaNa is not interested in cricket. He has never been inclined towards playing any sports. Above all, he is busy with his films and I didn’t want to disturb his schedule,” says Venkatesh sympathetically.
Mohanlal
Prior to the match, Mohanlal and his team were seen discussing the strategy. According to the grapevine, the team feels that Mohanlal, an ardent fan of the sport, is the best captain they could have asked for. The actor’s presence at the practice session is expected to encourage the players to give their best.
* * *
Sridevi
While the rest of the owners promoted their respective teams, it was the Kolkata team that suffered the most. The owner-cum-brand ambassador, Sridevi, couldn’t make it for the matches in Dubai. Though her husband, Boney Kapoor, got Riya Sen and Raima Sen to fill in for her, the impact wasn’t the same. He was heard telling his team that Sridevi was busy shooting for her film.
* * *
Kangana Ranaut
The actress who is the brand ambassador for Sohail Khan’s Mumbai Heroes admits that she is clueless about the game. “Honestly I’ve never followed cricket but when Sohail approached me to be the face of Mumbai Heroes, I just couldn’t turn it down. Salman too has been very supportive,” she said.
Source:http://www.deccanchronicle.com/tabloid/hyderabad/when-cricket-met-bollywood-136Captain of defending champions Telugu Warriors, superstar Venkatesh was busy promoting his new film, a Telugu remake of Salman Khan’s Bodyguard, with none other than Salman himself.
“It’s a Telugu remake of Salman’s Bodyguard. It was very supportive of him to speak well about my film and me. Salman has been a good friend for years,” says Venkatesh. Venky is confident of his team’s chances of winning the CCL this year. “Obviously, I’d want my team to win every year,” he laughs, while admitting that there is tough competition this time around.
While most of the Hindi film stars walked around the stadium flaunting their star status, the South superstar kept a low profile. “This time all the other teams look promising and have come fully prepared. It means we will have to work harder. But I can assure you that my team is very confident,” he smiles. “Cricket has always been my favourite sport. I play cricket as and when I get the time. It was a dream-come-true to play cricket with the other Telugu actors. We are so busy with our films that there is no time to meet up. But having them all in one team strengthens our bond,” says Venky.
His counterpart, Salman Khan, is the face of Mumbai Heroes and was seen heavily promoting his team. Since Venkatesh’s nephew RaNa Duggubatti is a popular name in Bollywood and T-town, wouldn’t it have helped if RaNa were roped in as the brand ambassador of the Warriors?
“RaNa is not interested in cricket. He has never been inclined towards playing any sports. Above all, he is busy with his films and I didn’t want to disturb his schedule,” says Venkatesh sympathetically.
Mohanlal
Prior to the match, Mohanlal and his team were seen discussing the strategy. According to the grapevine, the team feels that Mohanlal, an ardent fan of the sport, is the best captain they could have asked for. The actor’s presence at the practice session is expected to encourage the players to give their best.
* * *
Sridevi
While the rest of the owners promoted their respective teams, it was the Kolkata team that suffered the most. The owner-cum-brand ambassador, Sridevi, couldn’t make it for the matches in Dubai. Though her husband, Boney Kapoor, got Riya Sen and Raima Sen to fill in for her, the impact wasn’t the same. He was heard telling his team that Sridevi was busy shooting for her film.
* * *
Kangana Ranaut
The actress who is the brand ambassador for Sohail Khan’s Mumbai Heroes admits that she is clueless about the game. “Honestly I’ve never followed cricket but when Sohail approached me to be the face of Mumbai Heroes, I just couldn’t turn it down. Salman too has been very supportive,” she said.
No comments:
Post a Comment