Cricketers and their Bollywood equivalents

Yes, De Villiers has a Bollywood equivalent actorOf the countless parallels that are being drawn in this whole wide world every passing day, the handful that compare cricketers with Bollywood actors lack rationale and hence, explanation. It is a job of much cumbersomeness to validate the choices in the post concerned that merely slaps one picture against another and sells it as an article.For the imaginative mind, even Salman Khan can propose to be Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s equivalent although the former’s crap chartbusters are far removed from the Indian captain’s calm, calculated success stories.It takes a lot of justification and well-researched rationalization to offer similarities between two entirely different fields as cricket and acting especially when the criterion is reduced to just the Bollywood industry.This author, therefore, pleads merciful treatment as he attempts to enlist seven cricketers and their Bollywood counterparts, stating his reasons every time.

#1 Harbhajan Singh and Shah Rukh Khan

Harbhajan and Shahrukh during the IPL Awards night in 2010

Harbhajan Singh’s exploits as a front-line spinner for India are well documented in the reviews of all the matches he has won for the team. The 2001 Kolkata Test in the series against Australia that fetched him 32 wickets, for instance, remains a fine example of what he was capable of on his day during the early 2000s.

Come 2011, and a string of poor performances struck him out of the selectors’ list after the English tour. In spite of the lack of credible performances, his supporters continued to clamor for his inclusion in the teams against Australia, West Indies and the Asia Cup.

He failed to make the most of his limited opportunities whenever he got them and gradually fell behind the likes of Ravichandran Ashwin and Amit Mishra.

For those growing up in the 90s, Shah Rukh Khan is a cult figure in acting. Having performed in more than 80 films and earned numerous accolades and awards, the purported King of Bollywood has now reduced to nothing more than an eyesore performing in films that defy logic, science and common sense.

SRK rose to prominence in the second half of the 90s with films like ‘DDLJ’ and ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’ and continued to dominate the industry right through the 2000s with critically acclaimed movies like ‘Devdas’, ‘Swades’, ‘Chak De! India’ and ‘My Name is Khan’.

Once the very face of Indian entertainment, his decline began with ‘Ra.One’ - a film that was more than a hundred rungs below his own standard - and continued with Rohit Shetty’s ‘Chennai Express’ and Farah Khan’s ‘Happy New Year’.

However, despite his terrible performances of late, SRK continues to enjoy the same amount of fan-following, much like Harbhajan. If present shortcomings being overshadowed with past laurels were to be a criterion for a parallel, this would be it.

#2 Mitchell Johnson and Naseeruddin Shah

Australia’s Beast

Although Mitchell Johnson shares his birthday with Shah Rukh Khan, his story is neither as sought-after nor as sensational as the publicly-adored actor. The Queenslander is a shy person off the pitch, but at 34, he continues to deliver goods at 155 kph and is currently positioned at No.6 in Test rankings and No. 7 in ODI rankings.

The fact that Johnson is more successful in the longest format of the game establishes the kind of grit he possesses besides his talent. His propensity to meander into waywardness may seem annoying once in a while, but he has always managed to garner critical acclaim with comebacks that speak of extraordinariness and self-belief.

If parallel cinema was Test cricket, Naseeruddin Shah would be Mitchell Johnson. Adorned with three National Film Awards, the Padma Shri and the Padma Bhushan among numerous others, Shah is a legend in his own right in Indian cinema.

The best part, however, is that his achievements are not limited to parallel films alone. Shah is an equally revered actor in mainstream cinema and considered as one of the greatest stage actors in the country.

For every ‘Iqbal’, he had a ‘Mirch Masala’ and for every ‘A Wednesday’, he had ‘The Dirty Picture’. As the impeccable Jack of all trades, he continues to mesmerize thousands by his diverse avatars, much like Johnson with or without the moustache.

The Indian cinema’s living legend

#3 Imran Tahir and Nawazuddin Siddiqui

Tahir leads the South African spin attack currently

‘Imran Tahir is the epitome of a journeyman cricketer’, says Crincifo and it cannot be any truer. Having begun his first-class career in 1996-97, Tahir had to wait till 2010 for a national call-up.

And even then, eligibility issues cropped up that ruled him out of the South Africa team till December 2010. It came as a relief when he was granted South African citizenship by naturalization in January 2011 and was drafted into the squad a week later.

Once in, Tahir delivered goods on a regular basis and soon made his Test and T20I debut for the Proteas. He has already scalped a 5-wicket and five 4-wicket hauls in his 49-matches old ODI career at an average of 22.94.

At 36, the legspinner doesn’t have much time in hand, which makes one wonder what he could have ended up with had he not had to wait 15 years for his debut.

For Nawazuddin Siddiqui, ‘Gangs of Wasseypur’ was like a debut movie. Nobody remembers his performance in Aamir Khan-starrer ‘Sarfarosh’ (1999) and 13 years of hibernation later, he was suddenly the talk of the town. It took a long time for Nawazuddin to make the cut and once he did, he hardly ever looked back.

Anyone who has watched ‘Kahaani’, ‘Kick’ and ‘The Lunchbox’ will swear by his ability of being inside the skin of his character. Even his performance in ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ earned many plaudits.

It is the way he lets his character overshadow the actor is what makes him one of the best in business right now. Imagine what his achievements could have been had he received proper exposure and more opportunities.

Critically acclaimed Nawaz

#4 Virat Kohli and Ranbir Kapoor

Kohli is dashing like many in Bollywood

The similarities between Ranbir Kapoor and Virat Kohli are more than what is ostensible. Of course, both are extremely promising youngsters at the dawn of their respective careers and considered prodigies nonetheless.

Both are charming and drool-worthy, but unfortunately for some, taken. And the similarities don’t end right there. Both featured in the Mirinda Crash the IPL 2015 advertisement together earlier this year.

For Kohli, the road to fame has been a troubled one, although pretty rewarding all the same. In spite of being dedicated, hard-working and consistent, he was chided for his immature aggression repeatedly by pundits during his initial days as a cricketer of international repute.

It took some time, but Kohli gradually came of age under MS Dhoni and was deservedly handed over the Test captaincy after the latter’s retirement.

Ranbir, similarly, was earmarked for greater things ever since his debut role in ‘Saawariya’ in 2007. His ‘puppy-dog sweetness’ seemed to be the only flaw in his otherwise masterful acting during his early years till ‘Wake Up Sid’ and ‘Rajneeti’ made people consider him with seriousness.

A ‘Rockstar’ later, he stamped his authority in Hindi film industry and continued to scale heights with ‘Barfi!’ and ‘Yeh Jawaani hai Deewani’.

Ranbir has marked himself in Bollywood with some really good movies

#5 AB de Villiers and Aamir Khan

‘Mr 360’ of Cricket

Abraham Benjamin de Villiers is not just your run-of-the-mill cricketer. He is the most versatile sportsperson to have walked the Earth, having already established himself in hockey, tennis, football, badminton and rugby. Even in cricket, he is as much a wicket-keeper as an out-field fielder and the sheer list of his batting records will make you go out of breath.

It’s not the figures that make De Villiers the monstrous batsman that he is, but the way he toys with the opposition when he wants to. There is no unplayable ball in his book and the number of options he generates for every delivery regardless of its merit separates this versatile genius from the other few with all cricket shots in their armors.

Much like De Villiers, Aamir Khan is now considered the most versatile actor in Bollywood, but he had had to ply his trade for a longer time in this case. From a romantic lover in ‘Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak’ to revenge-seeking freedom-fighter in ‘Mangal Pandey’, from a care-free but responsible citizen in ‘Rang de Basanti’ to a good-man-gone-bad terrorist in ‘Fanaa’, from the village boy in ‘Lagaan’ to the college-goer in ‘3 Idiots’ - Aamir has explored and experimented far beyond the average actor’s notions.

What’s more is that the ‘thinking’ man of Bollywood has been reasonably successful and critically acclaimed in every one of his ventures – be it ‘Taare Zameen Par’ or ‘PK’. He is probably the only actor to have achieved this rare feat of acting in all possible genres of Indian cinema and excelling in them.

‘Mr Perfectionist’ of Bollywood

#6 Ishant Sharma and Shahid Kapoor

Ishant has intilled fear in many batsmen

Strange as it may sound, it would not be the slightest exaggeration to state that Ishant Sharma had once instilled fear in the heart of Ricky Ponting. Fast and furious, he was a force to reckon with during that particular series against Australia. He ran in hard, hit the deck and generated pace and bounce that bothered the batsmen more than a fair bit.

But transiency is what Ishant was all about. From being a fast bowling prodigy, he rapidly metamorphosed into a hapless bowler with zero accuracy and no sense of line and length. Even on good days, he would go wicketless despite creating a number of ‘ooh’s and ‘aah’s.

In all fairness though, he does produce decent performances occasionally, which going by the standards he has set for himself in the last few years, are enormous accomplishments.

When Shahid Kapoor had begun his career, he was supposed to be the chocolate boy of Bollywood, earmarked for success in romantic films. Down the years, he has proved his supporters wrong by churning out a lot of idiotic love stories and commercial failures till Imtiaz Ali’s ‘Jab We Met’ happened.

During the next 7 years, Kapoor tried many things and acted in several box-office flops but the promise that was once shown was never actually converted into results. His performances in ‘Kaminey’ and ‘Haider’ stood out not because they were among the world’s best but because they were the best he had done in several years.

Shahid is a versatile actor

#7 Kane Williamson and Irrfan Khan

Kiwi’s ‘Mr Consistent’

New Zealand No. 3 Kane Williamson is not the among most famous wielders of the willow right now, but statistics suggest that he has already amassed 2860 runs in this calendar year across all formats at an average of 62.17.

Further, the Kiwi youngster had scored 2804 Test runs including nine centuries before the age of 25 - bested only by the legendary Jacques Kallis in the history of the game.

Not unlike his Bollywood equivalent, Williamson has been equally prolific at home and overseas. His ICC Test and ODI rankings are a testament to that fact. Regarded highly by even Martin Crowe, the classy right-hander appears to be New Zealand’s sole hope every time while chasing humongous targets, although his modesty may not allow him to admit that.

When you are talking class, you cannot forget one name - Irrfan Khan. Be it the Hindi film industry or Hollywood, Irrfan has done it all and with enough chic. He made his presence felt with ‘The Warrior’ and went on to feature in prominent films like ‘Maqbool’, ‘Metro’ and ‘Slumdog Millionaire’.

Focused and meticulous, Irrfan believes in doing his homework which is evident when he pulls off Simon Masrani in ‘Jurassic World’ with as much ease as the adult Pi in ‘Life of Pi’. Scheduled to appear alongside Tom Hanks in the film adaptation of Dan Brown’s ‘Inferno’, one is never sure of what to expect next of the delightfully talented ‘Paan Singh Tomar’ man.

Irrfan has established himself as a brilliant actor in all acts