The photograph that occupies the pride of place in my son’s room is that of Sachin Tendulkar’s. My son treasures it, so I’ll let him keep it. But I want one for my room too, because it’s Sachin I am thinking of all the time these days.
I’ve always admired him, but his splendid knock against Pakistan has made my admiration for him stronger. Not just because he hit a marvellous 98, but because of the person that Sachin is. I don’t watch cricket regularly, but I watched the India-Pakistan tie. And I watched Sachin, the ‘Master’ at work. I like his temperament.
He knows his strengths and doggedly pursues his goals. I saw him writhing in pain when he was hurt and I felt the pain too. I have been hurt several times while shooting. Despite the pain, Sachin continued to do his best. Hats off to the man. When he got out at 98, I was not disappointed at all. I was relieved that he could go to the dressing room and nurse his injury.
Someone like Sachin is rare. Though I’ve never been a die-hard cricket enthusiast, I’ve always craned my neck to listen to any conversation where Sachin’s name is mentioned. Greg Chappell has an apt description for Sachin: If cricket were to be a religion, then Sachin Tendulkar is God.
With Sachin, it’s like we’ve got back our Kohinoor. The world raves about him but Sachin is least affected. His rivals cannot help but be in awe of him. If they even have a grudge, they can’t hold it for long because his game floors everyone. Not just his game but his overall persona.
When I had gone to Kolkata for shooting my film Choodalani Undi, I happened to meet Venkatapathy Raju who was part of the Indian team playing against Australia. I was eager to find out something more about Sachin from him. “He is our Megastar,” Venkatapathy Raju said about Sachin. Well, I’ve found my Megastar too.
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