Sourav on the ball - Star spectator at football film shoot

Date : 4/27/10

He started out as a promising footballer idolising the likes of Surajit Sengupta till he began caressing the cricket ball through the covers and then went on to become the most successful captain of Team India.

IPL 3 over and done with, Sourav Ganguly on Monday turned back the clock and turned up to watch a slice of soccer action being played out for the cameras.

Tollygunge Club is where Egaro, a Bengali film on Mohun Bagan’s historic IFA Shield win over East Yorkshire in 1911, was being shot and that’s where the Kolkata Knight Riders skipper stepped out of his BMW around 4pm.

Dressed in a striped tee, denims and casual flip flops, he was in no mood to talk cricket. But when Metrokicked off with soccer, he was happy to play ball. “Every Bengali kicks a football.... I have watched a lot of matches at the Mohun Bagan ground. They used to start from 4pm and I would go straight from school. My father (Chandi Ganguly) had a life membership card which I would use,” smiled Sourav, a can of cola in hand.

So, who were his favourite footballers on the Maidan? “Loads of them…Surajit Sengupta, (late) Krishanu Dey, Prasun Banerjee...” And in world soccer? “Maradona.”

What brought Sourav to the Egaro shoot was the presence of producer Anilava Chatterjee, one of the men behind Dadagiri Unlimited, the superhit game show hosted by Bengal’s favourite sportsman.

As he mingled with the cast — that includes thespian Soumitra Chatterjee’s 19-year-old grandson Ranadip Basu — and director Arun Roy, the boy from Behala wanted to know: “1911 shaley ki footballerder khali paye khelte hoto (Did the footballers play barefoot in 1911)?”

The 37-year-old was on firmer footing when he finally did face a few deliveries on cricket. Would he, like Sachin Tendulkar, play IPL 4? “Yes, yes, of course. I will play for another two years,” he stressed. And in KKR colours? “It will depend on the auction rules. But hopefully it will be KKR,” smiled Sourav.

Finally, what about the Lalit Modi mess? “I am not a part of it,” was the dead-bat reply.

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