Covering Bollywood and the Hindi Cinema

Shahrukh Khan was present at the inauguration of the Sunfeast Open in Kolkata to wish Tennis Pro Sania Mirza luck. Sania, thrilled to be sharing the platform with the superstar, said that Chak De! India would galvanise Indian women into taking up sports.

“As a woman athlete coming from India, I believe that Chak De! India is great inspiration,” said Sania. “It encourages women to follow their dreams, not only in sports but in all spheres of life.”

While Sania spoke about her injury and other things, Shah Rukh ’s brand of humour kept popping up.

“I have always been some sort of sportsperson,” he said. “I used to knock around different kinds of balls.”

As they stood next to each other posing for the camera, the glamour quotient could hardly be missed. It prompted anchor Charu Sharma to suggest that Shah Rukh  and Sania could form a great mixed doubles team. Soon enough, Shah Rukh  was asked if it was possible that Sania could be offered a role in a film opposite him. “Sania may get film offers,” he said. “But then who will lead Indian tennis? I feel that we should all let her stick to tennis.”

Shah Rukh  said it was imperative that Sania, being an inspiration for a generation of youngsters, played the sport. “Maybe after she wins many tournaments in the next 20 years and if I still look young enough we can do a film together.”

The laughter had hardly died down when the actor added, on a serious note, that people should encourage sportspersons and not be too critical of their failures.

On his part, Shah Rukh  said, he would encourage his son to take up hockey. “I am a hockey player. So was my father,” he said. “I told my son recently that I will teach him hockey and he asked me ‘How do you play it, papa?’

“I told him that you play it with a stick and a white ball. One day I saw him playing snooker and pool in the house. He called it hockey.”

Having essayed the role of the driven Kabir Khan, Shah Rukh  has unwittingly become an unofficial ambassador of the game in India. Many also believe that the film inspired the Indian men’s hockey team to the recent Asia Cup win.

But Shah Rukh  dismissed the idea. “No sport will do well because of a film,” he said. “In fact, it is sports which inspires us to make films like Chak De! India.”

While Shah Rukh did not exactly sing ‘Chak De Sania’, which is what Wednesday’s event was titled, he got a chance to promote his new release at the same time.

When one of the photographers screamed, Om Shanti Om, he shouted back, Om Sania Om.