"I know nothing about cricket,” laughs Anushka Sharma, who plays the lead in Patiala House that releases today, and revolves hugely around India’s favourite sport. The only time that she followed the game was during one of the World Cups when she was in class 10.
“I still don’t know
why I was watching it. But there was something that had me hooked on to it. I watched every match and read up all the details. And after that World Cup, I didn’t ever switch on the TV to watch a cricket match. But I wouldn’t run in the opposite direction if my father or brother were watching it.” The actor, however, is not averse to the idea of watching the upcoming World Cup matches in stadiums across India. But they are not on her priority list.
“Any sport becomes fascinating when you watch it live, in a packed stadium with hundreds and thousands of spectators cheering for different teams and players. I don’t mind watching any game for that matter, even if I know very little about it,” says Sharma, adding that she may watch a match or two at home, if she has the time.
Back home, her brother and father, she says, are big cricket fanatics. “They won’t move from their seats, sometimes keeping their postures constant because they think if they change it, a key player will get out. My brother and his friends don’t entertain anyone in the room if team India goes through a grim situation during the match,” says Sharma, with a chuckle.
She admits that while shooting for Patiala House, she faced a problem recognising most of the cricketers on the sets. “Herschelle Gibbs and Andrew Symonds were in the news then. So, I recalled their faces clearly. But I couldn’t identify the others,” reminisces Sharma.
“But I didn’t let anyone know that I was poor with cricket. If Akshay (co-star Kumar) introduced me to one of them, I would smile and nod as if I had their match statistics running at the back of my mind. The minute Akshay turned around, I would ask Nikhil (director Advani) to tell me who had I spoken to or shaken hands with just then.”
Read the original story on hindustantimes.com
