Cricket and Bollywood share an inseparable bond in this country. Over the years, well-known cricketers have played roles in various Hindi films, and even film stars have stamped their presence on the cricketing field through events like the Indian Premier League, and the Celebrity Cricket League.
With big-budget biopics on cricketers now being made, the relation between cricket and Bollywood films is stronger than ever.
So, we decided to have some fun, and tried to liken current and former Indian cricketers with featured Hindi films. So let’s find out what it would be like if Indian cricketers were actual Bollywood movies.
Rohit Sharma as Happy New Year
The 2014 Shahrukh Khan-starrer movie, Happy New Year, was promoted on a huge scale by its producers. With a star-cast featuring names like Shahrukh Khan and Deepika Padukone, Happy New Year showed promise before its release, but the movie flattered to deceive, and received negative reviews.
Similarly, Rohit Sharma’s talent has seen various endorsers throughout his career, including MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli. Also, during his initial years, Rohit showed glimpses of his unprecedented ability, but has failed to stay consistent with his batting performances.
Ajinkya Rahane as The Lunch Box
The epistolary romantic film, The Lunch Box was a win with the critics. An extremely well-made movie, The Lunch Box was a front-runner for being India’s entry in the Oscars.
With a strong script and some impeccable acting, The Lunch Box did not make much noise at the box-office in terms of promotions, and silently grossed over a 100 crores.
Likewise, the unassuming Ajinkya Rahane is a favourite among the connoisseurs of the game. A text-book technique with a solid temperament, Rahane goes about batting in a calm and restrained manner. But despite the lack of flamboyance in his batting, Rahane still manages to score those crucial runs in the middle-order.
Rahul Dravid as Chak de India
Chak de India not only did extremely well at the box-office, but it also received a thumbs-up with the critics. The movie had a likable script, aided by some strong screenplay. Inspite of the absence of a female lead, item songs and a big budget, Chak de India went onto become one of the highest grossing sports movies in Bollywood.
Similarly, Rahul Dravid is someone who is admired by one and all. He became a legend of Indian cricket despite spending majority of his career under the shadow of Sachin Tendulkar. And much like the movie Chak de India, Dravid never had to rely on theatrics on the field to earn a huge fan following.
Virat Kohli as 3 Idiots
A gripping storyline, highly entertaining, and an out and out blockbuster - this is what the Aamir Khan-starrer 3 Idiots was all about.
On the cricket field, Virat Kohli is style and substance moulded in one. He scores consistently, and does that with a touch a charisma. And the best part about Virat - he gets better with every game, just like the box-office collections of 3 Idiots.
3 Idiots was a genuinely entertaining movie in Indian cinema in a long while, pretty similar to Virat Kohli, who is one truly complete batsman for India since Sachin Tendulkar.
Sachin Tendulkar as Sholay
Sholay is the most iconic movie of Indian cinema. The interesting part about the movie is that it received poor returns in its first two weeks, and only the viewership only picked up in the third week. Soon, it went onto to become an all-time blockbuster. It also had one of the longest theatrical runs in Indian cinema.
Probably the greatest Indian cricketer of all time, Sachin Tendulkar scored his first ODI century only in 1994, after playing 79 matches. He went onto break almost every possible batting record in cricket today. A legend in every possible manner, Tendulkar has a cult following, even after retiring from competitive cricket.
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