02 htcityNew Delhi, Friday, March 30, 2012

entertainment

CRICKET’S FAMOUS FIVENavdeep Kaur Marwah■ navdeep.marwah@hindustantimes.com

Come April 4, and everyonewill be glued to their TVsets to watch season 5 ofthe Indian Premier

League (IPL) kick off. While thefollowing weeks would see manyexciting matches, there will alsobe some ‘entertaining’ game

analysis. We caught up with fouryoung and happening presenters,Archana Vijaya, ShibaniDandekar, Gaurav Kapur andSamir Kochhar from the SETMax show, Extraaa InningsT20. We also had a quickrendezvous with formercricketer Navjot SinghSidhu. Here’s what theyall had to say.

This Delhi boy has experience inpresenting cricket shows. Talking aboutthe coming season of the show, the 32-year-old said: “It’s going to be veryexciting as we have stand-up comediansand cheerleaders from the US to pep upthe whole studio atmosphere.” Kapur hasalso acted in films such as Darna ManaHai, A Wednesday and Quick GunMurugan, et al, but has no projects inhand. “I have no Bollywood projects atpresent. That’s probably because most ofthe films that I have been part of didn'twork at the box office. So, now I have tohunt for work,” said Kapur, who doesn’twant to take part in any reality show ashe finds them awful.

Gaurav Kapur

This Delhi boy wants to see actor ShahRukh Khan’s team, Kolkata KnightRiders, do well this time. “Each season,we see Shah Rukh happy during theinitial part of the tournament but nottowards the end. So I’m hoping to see achange this time. It is always good tosee ’underdogs’ win,” he said. Kochhar,who was recently seen hosting thereality show, Survivor India, believesthat taking part in reality shows as acontestant is not his cup of tea. “I lovehosting reality shows and I don’t seemyself being a contestant in them. Butas they say, never say never... It has tobe a really cool and interesting show forme to say yes to it.” When asked abouthis upcoming ventures, the 31-year-oldactor-host said, “I will be seen in(filmmaker) Vikram Bhatt’s upcomingfilm, Dangerous Ishq.”

Samir Kochhar

It’s her second time being a presenter onthe show. And Vijaya is looking forwardto showing her Indian avatar. “You’dmostly find me in Western wear. Butafter the response I got for the sari earli-er, I’ve decided to don a lot of Indianwear this time,” she said. Vijaya, whoshot to fame by winning a reality show,says she loves reality shows, but is betteraway from them. “I came into this glam-our industry because of winning ChannelV India’s reality show, Get Gorgeous. So,there’s no denying that I love realityshows. But I would not like to be a part ofreality shows such as Bigg Boss becauseI feel that they are not real. I’d love to bepart of a ‘real’ reality show,” said the 29-year-old. Is Bollywood too, on hermind? “Things are working positively inthat direction. Bollywood is not far fromthe radar,” she said.

Archana Vijaya

The man who is never short of words isall praise for the IPL. “It’s the best thingthat could have ever happened to cricket.Twenty20 cricket is like cricket in aFerrari lane... it’s fast and furious,” saidthe 48-year old. And, Sidhu is quiteconfident that their show this year, willbeat actor Vidya Balan in the entertain-ment quotient. “She (Vidya) said it threetimes (Entertainment) in her movie (TheDirty Picture), but our show is going to befive times in terms of entertainment,”said Sidhu, who also believes that “Indiahas now become the mecca of cricketbecause of its commercial aspects.”

Navjot SinghSidhu

Sister of VJ Anusha Dandekar, Shibaniloves the Capital. “I love coming to Delhiand I’m here at least once a month. I love gorging on delicious food fromKarim’s, Moti Mahal and Nirula’s whenev-er I’m here,” said the 32-year-old, whostays in Mumbai. About the show, shesaid: “This season is going to be a lotbigger and better than the previous ones.I’m really looking forward to it.” And,what about her upcoming ventures? “I have recently done a cameo in anAustralian film. I’m looking for Bollywoodprojects but nothing is finalised as ofnow. There are many things in thepipeline. I also want to concentrate on my singing career,” she said.

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ShibaniDandekar

These cricket presenters get talking about IPL, their upcoming projects, and reality shows

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