The man who has made it his mission to make the Sikh dress fashionable turned down a role in the movie that has become a byword for Sikh pride.
“I got a call from the producers of
Singh is Kinng
but I said no. It was a comic role and I couldn’t see myself playing what I’m not,” said Navjot Singh Sidhu.
That didn’t stop the cricketer turned commentator, turned laughter judge, turned politician from turning film star. Except that he did so with the Punjabi movie Mera Pind-My Home, already successful in Punjab and overseas.
“It is a bigger grosser overseas than
Bachna Ae Haseeno
and
God Tussi Great Ho
,” said Sidhu who plays an NRI in the film directed by Manmohan Singh. Sidhu chose the movie “because it was the best medium to communicate my message to the youth of Punjab who sell their land and head to the West to do menial jobs.”
As other cricketers move to the small screen, Sidhu says “I’ve been offered many such shows… I can’t see myself making a fool of myself.”
As other cricketers move to the small screen, Sidhu says “I’ve been offered many such shows… I can’t see myself making a fool of myself.”
Would he have advised Harbhajan Singh and Sreesanth against doing a reality show? “It’s written on buses — ‘
Sawari apne samaan ki raksha khud kare’
. They are the masters of their own lives.” Sidhu is also well known for his fashion sense. “I feel that if they dress well, Sikhs can look better than anyone else. Fashion is a passion for me. I have hundreds of bright, colourful turbans in my wardrobe and they all match my neckties. The moment I buy a tie, I get a turban dyed the same shade.”