Former Indian opener Virender Sehwag believes that cricket and Bollywood aren’t interlinked and doesn't think that the entertainment industry is a logical next step for circketers. Sehwag, who is currently hosting the “Viru Ke Funde” web series also revealed why he doesn’t do a TV show.
Sehwag has been entertaining one and all even after his cricketing chapter ended with his hilarious tweets and active presence on social media. His latest venture is a web series that has already earned plenty of admirers.
While speaking about the connection between Bollywood and cricket in an exclusive interview with IANS, Sehwag said: “In context of Indian Premier League, there is nothing that Bollywood is doing except buying teams because they have a lot of money. Cricket is separate and Bollywood is different. Cricketers don't need Bollywood and Bollywood doesn't need cricket. They are doing really well on their own platforms.”
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While there have been many cricketers who have been making the news in the entertainment industry with several Indian cricketers in particular, appearing on TV shows and films, the former Indian opener firmly believes that it is their stature that makes them do it.
Cricket in India has a massive fan following and the 38-year-old believes that it is for that reason that you see more and more cricketers, such as Harbhajan Singh and Yuvraj Singh, appear on TV shows.
"Cricketers have a good fan following. If you look at all the cricketers who have played for India, they have fans in millions on social media. If you are making something with a cricketer then you are sure that people will watch it. The TRP will go up which is why cricketers are being roped in for TV shows, films or any other social media platform," he said.
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Entertainment industry not back-up plan
Indian all-rounder Yuvraj Singh’s marriage to Bollywood actress Hazel Keech might have dominated the headlines recently but the opener doesn’t believe that cricketers think of the entertainment industry as something they would or should be doing after they call time on their cricket career.
“Entertainment industry is not a back-up plan for cricketers,” Sehwag said. “I am not doing anything on big scale to entertain people, it's just on my Facebook or my Twitter on Viu (Vuclip's video streaming service Viu), where people can watch 'Viru Ke Funde'. I am not going commercial. I am just giving it to my fans rather than going to TV."
He also revealed why he doesn’t do a TV show instead, by adding: "If you do a TV show, you have to have at least a 30-minute or a one-hour show. Then you have to depend on a script as well, here ('Viru Ke Funde') I am not doing that”.
"I am chatting with my friends on 'Viru Ke Funde'. They all play cricket. They have questions for me and they think that I am a bigger player so, I can give better answers. But they don't understand that I am human being as well and I am facing the same problem. I don't have answers to everything. What I give them is my own off field or on field stories," he added.
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