Brett Lee is, as Brad Hogg puts it, “the naughtiest guy” among the Aussies. But arguably the fastest bowler around exudes an extremely friendly image as he meets the journalists. He tries to capture your weirdest expressions in his handy cam while you speak to him. He enacts a role reversal too. “You have exactly two minutes to ask your question,” he quips, then takes long to answer that mini question! He makes faces to make you laugh and hurriedly fall in line when you are serious.
He is always smiling, except when he is repeatedly asked to sing the song he sang with Asha Bhosle. He thinks some journalists are making a joke out of it. Ask him about Bollywood and the smile comes back. “I have learnt thora thora Hindi. The problem with Indians is that they speak half Hindi and half English, so I get confused.”
In Victory he says he has a “full fledged” role. “As I play for the rival team opposite Harman (as the protagonist Shikhawat), I had to show that anger and competitiveness on the face. But I would often burst out laughing. It is difficult to give an expression artificially,” he shares.
Amitabh’s fan
He says it is not easy not to be attracted to Bollywood. “For me Bollywood seems to be a hub of almost all Indian cultures. And it is so evident in Hindi films. I keep on flipping Indian channels to watch Bollywood films but I don’t remember their names.”
Lee has heard of Amitabh Bachchan and had gone specially to meet him. “He is so humble and dignified. I have come to idolise him,” he shares.
He admits that apart from cricket and tourism, Bollywood is the main attraction for young Australian cricketers. It is also because many film stars have been a major force in spearheading IPL. Lee, who is in Preity Zinta’s Mohali team, says she is his favourite actor and he has seen many of her films in bits and pieces.
“Indian cricketers are very friendly, especially Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Rahul Dravid and Dinesh Karthik. We do crib when ‘India jeet gaya’ (India wins) but we love them,” says Lee.
A guitarist himself, who kept on amusing the entire crew till the wee hours with his songs, he says music would be a major attraction for him in Bollywood.
“I am working on a few songs,” he admits, adding that he would like to keep his Bollywood preparations “under wraps” for now
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