The caller tune on his phone is ‘Ae Zindagi Gale Laga Le’ and very much like the lyrics of the evergreen song, Sreesanth has embraced life in all its myriad shades. After being cleared of spot-fixing charges, Sreesanth has taken to a whole new ball game by replacing the white sunscreen used liberally while on the cricketing field for the greasepaint favoured by actors.
He is now an actor who is busy shooting for the Bollywood film Cabaret produced by Pooja Bhatt and is also a part of a big budget trilingual movie, which was announced some months back. Though there were rumours of him being cast in a Malayalam movie, they remained just that.
Sreesanth takes some time off from the shoot of Cabaret to speak exclusively with DC about signing his debut bilingual project in Malayalam and Telugu. Titled Team 5, the title is misleading and has nothing to do with cricket. Sreesanth explains more, “I play a biker in the film.
Producer Raj Zachariah approached me with the script and the character I play is very novel; there are going to be some bike stunts in the film which I am looking forward to. The film is a big budget one and it will be shot in Hollywood style, looking at the sport and also capturing adventurous moments along with a romance track happening. The message would be that adventure is not a crime but a sport!”
Sreesanth mentions that like most youngsters, he too was a bike buff, but always played it safe. He states, “If you are a good rider, everything is safe. I am learning some bike stunts and I would love to do the stunts myself without using a body double. The last bike stunt I remember doing was when I was 19 and I feel that thrill returning. The biggest challenge for me is to do the stunts myself and I am up to it. Yes there is a risk, but that is how life is and whatever worse had to happen to me has already happened! I am looking forward to exploring my adventurous side, that too in my mother tongue. Doing a Malayalam movie is totally exciting.”
Incidentally, Sreesanth will also start shooting for his trilingual project soon and is suddenly turning out to be a very busy actor. Saying thanks to God, Sreesanth opines, “As long as I am working and breathing and learning something new I am content. Nothing should stop you except your death and as long as you breathe, you should not give up on pursuing whatever small or big talents you have!”
While he was earlier the busy cricketer, he will soon be the busy actor. What does wife Bhuvneshwari think of his new career? He laughs and quips, “She said that I will be a good actor otherwise I would never have been able to woo her. Jokes apart, she is a huge encouragement and though she is my biggest critic, she is also my biggest support!”
Sreesanth mentions that his dad has been a part of plays and films, his brother-in-law is a singer, his brother has acted in movies and his elder sister was also an actress. He adds, “I guess the acting genes run in the family but I went after cricket and now I am back to the acting arena. Mahesh Bhatt sir appreciated my work in Cabaret and that is huge. I have been listening to a lot of scripts but have been careful in selecting films.”
With life taking so many new and exciting turns, does he miss being a cricketer? He candidly replies, “Yes, I am missing cricket and this is the question I am most often asked. All I can say is that I am fit, I am training and whenever I am not shooting or in the gym, I am in the cricket field. If the BCCI allows me, I am just hoping that sooner or later I will get to play first class and club cricket. I am optimistic about returning to the Indian team.” We all hope so too.
