Cricket fever’s in the air and Bollywood’s certainly not immune. Several B-Town stars are known for their love for the game and actor Riteish Deshmukh’s one of them. So much so, that the star doesn’t even mind taking to the pitch even if it’s only in the break in between the film shots.
So it was hardly surprising when he, along with the co-stars of his forthcoming film Faltu, took to playing cricket during their break time while shooting in Mauritius.
While actor Jackky Bhagnani showed his bowling skills, actors Arshad Warsi and Riteish took turns batting, as did actor Angad Bedi.
Actor Pooja Gupta too cheered them on. And soon they not only had the entire unit but also students of the university where they were shooting in, crowding around to get a dekko at the actors take their shots. In fact, the place soon resembled a mini stadium as the boys displayed a natural flair for the game.
“Cricket’s always been my favourite sport. And as a child, I’d dream of joining the Indian cricket team someday. I think being one of the Men in Blue, is on the wish-list of every Indian at some point or the other. In fact, I don’t think anyone of us can ever resist taking to the game even when we see someone play cricket around us,” says Riteish about his love for cricket.
The actor, who’s played at school and college level, is now a part of actor Salman Khan’s Bollywood cricket team too.
“I think, this love for the sport truly unites us in a way and cuts through all barriers, just like our films do to a great extent. They don’t call it a religion here for nothing,” he points out.
Like every true-blooded cricket fanatic, Riteish reveals that he’s also excited about the on-going cricket season.
“My shooting schedules don’t leave much time to catch the real action, but I do make it a point to keep checking on the scores,” he says. And he’ll be rooting for? “Our Men in Blue, of course!” he concludes.