Sporty act

Beauty queen and champion swimmer Nafisa Ali was able to make waves in both fields

Great looks, first-class performances in their discipline, being media savvy and articulate — these are qualities, which filmmakers look for, when they look around for sports stars for their movies. But mere excellence in their respective sport is not enough, as no sane producer would even think of casting Sachin Tendulkar in a movie. A look at his ads should be enough to drive them away!

Despite lacking histrionic skills, many sportspersons had their own egos and would not agree to be cast in side roles, except on rare occasions. If cricketers dominated in getting film offers, it was only because of the tremendous popularity of the game in the country and the public and media adulation of cricket stars. Yet, there are instances of representatives from other disciplines trying their hand in films.

Tennis legend Leander Paes is good-looking, sought after by Page 3 crowd and the media loves him. No wonder, he bagged two Bollywood roles, one of them being Rajdhani Express.

A rare instance of someone making waves in both the fields was versatile former beauty queen and champion swimmer, Nafisa Ali. She won medals in various swimming meets and Bollywood beckoned her in movies like Junoon and Major Saab. Never keen on being a glamour queen, Nafisa has played major roles in Lahore and as Hrithik Roshan’s mother in Guzaarish. In between, she flirted with politics, first joining the Samajwadi party and then the Congress.

Versatile Rahul Bose, too, has combined his roles on screen and as a stage actor, activist and columnist very well, while also playing rugby for the national team, participating in the 1998 Asian Rugby Football Union tournament. Fear of injury has kept him out of competitive rugby but Rahul is always ready to turn out for friendly matches at the Bombay Gymkhana. If more sportspersons have not made their mark in films, it is because the two areas are totally different and very few sportspersons have displayed any kind of acting talent. And the public, too, has rejected them in their new role. While many sportspersons like P. T. Usha and Milkha Singh can certainly inspire movies based on their lives but as for them playing any roles in films, forget it.