The Spotlight: Mumbai Indians Players on the Silver Screen

When it comes to cricket, India is a country where the sport is adored and worshipped. Among the many franchises of Indian Premier League (IPL), one team that has won the hearts and admiration of millions of fans globally is the Mumbai Indians (MI). Over the years, besides leaving a considerable footprint in IPL, some players from this renowned team have also glamorised themselves by taking their talent to another platform – The silver screen. In this article, we’ll take an extensive look at those exceptional players who dared to venture into Bollywood while excelling in cricket.

Sachin Tendulkar is revered as a God in Indian cricket. But his journey wasn’t always a bed of roses. This beautifully narrated journey was depicted in ‘Sachin: A Billion Dreams’, an award-winning biographical sports drama directed by James Erskine. Fittingly since he’s known for playing himself best, Tendulkar starred as himself in the 2017 film funded by Ravi Bhagchandka under Carnival Motion Pictures.

Harbhajan Singh proved to be more than just a remarkable spinner when he ventured onto the big screen with ‘Bha Ji in Problem.’ It’s a Punjabi comedy film released in 2013 starring Gippy Grewal, Harbhajan Singh, Ragini Khanna among others and directed by Smeep Kang, with superstar Akshay Kumar producing it.

Suave and stylish, Zaheer Khan’s silver screen appearance came as a pleasant surprise to many. He was part of the film ‘Kai Po Che!’ – an adaptation of Chetan Bhagat’s 3 Mistakes of my life. Although he had just a brief role in the movie alongside Sushant Singh Rajput, his screen presence didn’t fail to impress.

Punjabi heartthrob Yuvraj Singh has shared the large screen not once but on two separate occasions. His first shot at acting was in ‘Mehbooba’ where he made a special appearance. Later, he featured in Punjabi cinema with ‘Bhajjo Veero Ve’ facing cameras outside the cricket pitch.

Mumbai Indians all-rounder Kieron Pollard changed landscapes from cricket field to dance floor when he appeared in one episode of Destra Garcia’s reality TV show ‘QOB (Queen Of Bacchanal) Way.’ The towering West Indian cricketer stole millions of hearts with some graceful dancing that took social media by storm.

No roundup on Mumbai Indians Players’ connections with movies can be complete without discussing Cricket Fever: Mumbai Indians – a 2019 Netflix original sports documentary series produced by Condé Nast Entertainment featuring unseen behind-the-scenes actions.

Having given us countless memorable moments on-field, Lasith Malinga doesn’t disappoint off-field either. While still active with Mumbai Indians, iconic Sri Lankan fast bowler made a surprise cameo appearance in ‘Madhura Raja’, a Malayalam action movie. Fans enjoyed this crossover and the lines between cricket and cinema blurred once more.

The fiery brothers from Baroda, Hardik and Krunal Pandya are known for their flamboyant lifestyle. They added to it when they featured in videos of two popular songs by rapper Emiway Bantai – ‘Firse Machayenge’ and ‘Bantai’ respectively. Deviating briefly from their intense cricketing schedule, the duo showed they can groove with pace as much as bowl with it.

Rohit Sharma aka Hitman’s association with silver screen began when he stepped into dubbing studio for Hindi version of MARVEL’s superhero blockbuster “Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse”. Breaking away from his clean hitting image on 22 yards pitch, Rohit have fans another reason to cheer about him off-field too.

In conclusion, Mumbai Indians’ players’ brush with stardom beyond cricket has been intriguing and entertaining for all fans across India. Whether appearing in movies or advertisements, their charisma remains constant; continuing to inspire their followers both on-and-off the field.