Bollywood vs Cricket

Although the government may have most of the power, the real rulers of India are its Bollywood and Cricket stars.  These are the people who are adored by hundreds of millions of Indians who live in the country or in one countless countries around the world where Indians reside.  Even I’ve caught the bug a bit given that I’ve started watching at least one Bollywood movie a week and I’m surrounded by cricket crazy people including, but not limited to, my driver and housekeeper who worship the ground that these cricket players walk on.

So given the above, it was nice to see that an event agency organized a celebrity football match where top Bollywood stars, including Ranbir Kapoor and Abhishek Bachchan, would be playing against top cricketers inside the cavernous Nehru Stadium in Delhi.  These types of events go a long way in raising the profile of and generating more awareness for the sport in the country.

I ended up attending the match and slightly enjoying myself. I’ve always found that the initial excitement of seeing a celebrity quickly wears off if you are just watching from afar, especially if they are engaged in an activity which is not their core talent. The game did have some funny moments, but overall just seemed like a poor excuse for these celebrities to run around a bit and try to impress each other with their lackluster football skills.

All in all, I’m glad that the match took place and that I attended as it certainly made my Mom, Dad and the rest of my family members around the world jealous that I was so close to these “Gods.”