Yahoo Finance From field to film: Indian sports stars who took a shot at Bollywood
While you may love them as sports icons, these professional athletes also have other interests which cater to the entertainment industry. There is only a small number of our active or former professional athletes who have had much success in their second career, which is acting. But here are some of the sports icons who have dabbled their feet in Bollywood, successfully and unsuccessfully.
Dara Singh
He has been one of the top Indians in his sport, and a moderately successful B-film actor. He was a professional wrestler from around the world, and has been included in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame. Some of Singh's notable film roles include his appearance in B movies that lasted less than ten minutes. He has earned a lot of respect with the rest of the film industry.
Vijay Amritraj:
His name has become associated with Indian Tennis ever since he won the Men's Singles and Men's Doubles titles on all three surfaces. He was a member of the highly publicised "ABC" all-stars of the 1970s. And has got to be involved in such action and fantasy movies as Octopussy, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, and Nine Deaths of the Ninja. He has had his first foray into the film industry as an extra as well.
Ajay Jadeja:
Around 1992 and 2000, Jadeja represented India in 15 Tests and 196 One-Day Internationals. During his tenure with the Indian cricket team, he had been the greatest fielder. In 2009, Jadeja was the leading actor in the film Pal Pal Dil Ke Ssaat. Along with Sunny Deol and Sunil Shetty, he played a pivotal role in the film Khel (2003). He has since worked as a cricket reporter and commentator for a number of tv networks.
Kapil Dev:
Kapil Dev is a cricket player from India. At the 1983 Cricket World Cup, he led India to victory. He seems to be the only player in Test cricket history to score over 5000 runs and take over 400 pitches. In 2010, he was inducted into the International Cricket Hall of Fame. He has appeared in films such as Iqbal, Chain Khuli ki Main Khuli, and Mujhse Shadi Karogi. In addition, he has actively supported several items, the most popular of which is his campaign, "Palmolive da jawab nahin."
Leander Paes:
Leander Paes has won 13 Grand Slam singles titles and 13 Grand Slam doubles titles. Actually, he is competing in Davis Cup and ATP Doubles events. Leander made his debut on the Rajdhani Express in 2013 which was not received well by the critics.
Vinod Kambli:
Vinod Kambli is well known for his friendship with Sachin Tendulkar in school cricket. He was one of the best over-the-top spin bowlers in India. As an actor, he has only appeared in two films, including Annarth (2002), alongside Sanjay Dutt and Sunil Shetty, and Pal Pal Dil Ke Saath, opposite fellow cricket player Ajay Jadeja and Satish Shah.
Sunil Gavaskar:
Sunil Gavaskar is widely regarded as the greatest Test opener in history. His record of 34 test centuries stood for around ten years until being broken by Sachin Tendulkar in 2005. After appearing in the Marathi film "Savli Premachi," he grew to fame in the film industry. In 1983, he was also a member of India's World Cup-winning cricket team. He also starred as a celebrity guest in the Hindi film "Maalamal."
The Great Khali:
Dalip Singh Rana, also known as The Great Khali, is a professional wrestler, who made his wrestling debut in 2000. Before embarking on his professional wrestling career, he was an officer for the Punjab Police. He has appeared in Hollywood films, including Get Smart and The Longest Yard, and Bollywood films, like Khusti and several television shows.
Vijender Singh:
Vijender Singh Beniwal is a professional boxer. He has won bronze medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, 2009 World Championships and the 2010 Commonwealth Games, as well as silver medals at the 2006 and 2014 Commonwealth Games. Vijender made his Bollywood debut as an actor in film Fugly, released on 13 June 2014.
