Where Bollywood Comes Alive
Posts tagged harbhajan singh
Bhajji still bowled over Geeta?
Jul 29th
The grapevine says Harbhajan Singh is reportedly good friends with starlet Geeta Basra even now…
Meena Iyer | TNN (BOMBAY TIMES; July 29, 2010)
Harbhajan Singh, the Team India offbreaker, has bowled a googly to the media which is still wildly speculating over his reported relationship status with Bollywood starlet Geeta Basra.
The two, if some media reports are to be believed, are no longer an item. But that is baffling, because the ace spinner has been taking a keen and undue interest in Geeta’s Bollywood career of late.
BT has reason to believe that between his very recent and truly hectic Zimbabwe and Sri Lankan cricket tours, Bhajji found time to actually hobnob with a couple of important Bollywood personalities. And the reason for his networking is simple. A source says, “Harbhajan is keen to see that Geeta’s career which virtually ground to a halt after her appearance in Mukesh Bhatt’s The Train with Emraan Hashmi, gets back on track again. Harbhajan has spoken to a few people who he knows in Bollywood requesting them to take Geeta in their projects.”
Now if a A-list cricketer is going out of his field to give a maidenin-distress such importance, it could only add up to one thing. That the bowler and the Bollywood beauty continue to be friends. Harbhajan, who is in the midst of the Sri Lankan tour, couldn’t be reached for comment. But Geeta said, “He’s a well-wisher but that doesn’t mean he’s helping me in my career.
Isha and Zaheer back together?
Jul 28th
Now that the couple is trying to give love a second chance, Isha is willing to make amends even at the cost of her career
Vickey Lalwani (MUMBAI MIRROR; July 28, 2010)
Not all cricket-Bollywood link-ups go the Harbhajan Singh-Geeta Basra way. India’s fast bowler Zaheer Khan and Bollywood actress Isha Sharvani are back together and are trying to make things work, come hell or high water. In fact, Isha is making serious amendments to her list of priorities, now that Zaheer and she are giving their relationship a second chance.
Isha and Zaheer dated for nearly two years before calling it quits in 2007, post which they didn’t stay in touch. Both of them quietly stepped out of the media glare to get back to their respective careers. Interestingly, neither Zaheer nor Isha was linked with anyone else in these two years of separation from each other. Obviously, the two couldn’t sever emotional ties. Now, they’ve decided to give love another chance.
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| Isha Sharvani |
Though no one knows who initiated the reconciliation, a source close to the couple tells Mumbai Mirror, “Despite splitting up, Isha and Zaheer could never forget each other. Friends in their circle knew that a reunion was inevitable.”
But it’s come at a cost. Though Isha can’t stop smiling after Zaheer came back into his life, she has started taking liberties with her career. Recently, she bunked the shoot of Kingdom Of Dreams in Delhi and she was eventually asked to leave the cast of the musical play.
A source says, “Isha and her fellow actors had been housed in Delhi to shoot for the musical play Kingdom Of Dreams. None of the actors from the play is supposed to leave the set, but Isha did not pay heed to this instruction.
She kept meeting Zaheer in Delhi. Now Isha is out of the project. Producers of Kingdom Of Dreams, Wizcraft International Entertainment, are talking to a new actress Kashmira (she acted in the TV show Amber Dhara) to play Isha’s role now.”
Viraf Sarkari, Director of Wizcraft International Entertainment, confirmed that Isha is out from Kingdom Of Dreams. He said, “She quit Kingdom Of Dreams because of personal reasons.”
So be it. Throwing light on how the reconciliation happened between Isha and Zaheer, a source says, “During one of their meetings in Delhi, they decided to take a call on their personal life.
After sufficient thought, they felt that they should give their relationship another shot.” Isha’s mother, dancer Daksha Seth, was apparently never happy about her daughter’s relationship with Zaheer. That hasn’t stopped Isha.
Zaheer and Isha first met at a function in 2005. The touring Australian team was leaving India and Isha was performing at the event. They got talking and exchanged numbers.
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| Zaheer Khan |
Later, they kept bumping into each other at parties and social dos and were soon drawn to each other. Reportedly, Zaheer even helped Isha find a place in Khar. It was reported that they were even living-in for a brief period.
When contacted, Isha asked what the story was all about. When told to comment on her reconciliation with Zaheer, she chose to remain quiet. She didn’t, as they say, play ball. And neither did Zaheer, who also chose not to comment.
Bhajji and Geeta Basra have split
Jun 24th
Another famous cricketer-film actress relationship goes for a toss
Vickey Lalwani (MUMBAI MIRROR; June 24, 2010)
India’s leading off-spinner Harbhajan Singh and Bollywood actress Geeta Basra have parted ways about two weeks ago. Not so long ago, Harbhajan had even introduced her to his parents during his sister Sandeep Kaur’s wedding in Jalandhar (Mumbai Mirror, March 19). The couple had even discussed marriage then.
Confirming the break-up, a friend of Geeta’s says, “Harbhajan called off the relationship. He is now going around telling friends that he is looking for a new girlfriend.”
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| Harbhajan Singh |
However, we hear, they still talk to each other. “There is no animosity at all. It’s just that they are no more a couple. They began to have differences, shortly after the IPL. The incompatibility levels amassed to irreconcilable proportions. Things spiralled out of hand.”
Geeta is feeling low but putting up a brave front. After all, she was very attached to Harbhajan, supporting him and cheering for him lustily on the ground in the many matches he played. “She really wanted this relationship to work. A lot of her friends in the industry want to ask her why this happened, and so suddenly. However, it would be very mean to ask her so soon.”
Standing up for Geeta, her friend adds, “She will now concentrate on her career. She has been getting a lot of offers for films. She should have realized that most relationships in the glamour world fail.”
When contacted, Geeta simply said, “No comments.”
Oh, it’s a Duck!
Romances between movie stars and cricketers usually amount to zilch
• Imran Khan-Zeenat Aman
• Ravi Shastri-Amrita Singh
• Sir Vivian Richards-Neena Gupta
• Saurav Ganguly-Nagma
• Mohsin Khan-Reena Roy
• Zaheer Khan-Isha Sharvani
• Yuvraj Singh-Deepika Padukone
• Yuvraj Singh-Kim Sharma
• Shoaib Malik-Sayali Bhagat
• Usman Afzal-Amrita Arora
Actors to replace cricketers in Priyanka’s reality show
Jun 19th
GAME FOR IT: Priyanka Chopra
Priyanka Chopra will now have new participants on her reality show
Roshni K Olivera | TNN (BOMBAY TIMES; June 19, 2010)
Finally it may not be cricketers, but actors who will get into some daredevilry with Priyanka Chopra. The muchtalked about adventure reality show to be hosted by the Bollywood actress, was to star international cricketers. The first two seasons were hosted by Akshay Kumar. The third season was announced during the IPL and even though the names of cricketers were not revealed, there was buzz that Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Harbhajan Singh and Aussie cricketers Adam Gilchrist and Brett Lee would be part of it.
A thrilled Priyanka, excited to be associated with some of the biggest names of cricket, had said, “I’ve been a huge fan of this show and I’m so looking forward to starting a new innings on television!” As per plans, she was supposed to be shooting in Brazil’s exotic locations in June. But post the IPL and India’s dismal performance at the T20 World Cup, things changed. The BCCI refused cricketers permission to participate in the show and the TV channel sent a notice to the BCCI.
Considering the stalemate, the channel has now started approaching actors like Rahul Bose, Dino Morea, Sonu Sood, Arya Babbar, and Milind Soman among others. There’s also buzz that Brett Lee, who was signed earlier, might just be part of it too and there are also attempts to rope in Jonty Rhodes.
Geeta pacifies Bhajji after MI’s defeat in IPL finals?
Apr 27th
Geeta Basra rushed to console boyfriend Harbhajan Singh after Mumbai Indians lost the IPL 3 final on Sunday
By Vickey Lalwani (MUMBAI MIRROR; April 27, 2010)
Actress Geeta Basra came to the rescue of her close friend, cricketer Harbhajan Singh, who was a picture of despair when Chennai Super Kings thrashed his team Mumbai Indians at the Indian Premier League 3 final on Sunday night. She tried her best to pacify him when he was inconsolable.
A source said, “Geeta was present in the stands throughout the final match. She was cheering for Mumbai Indians very loudly. She was hopeful till the last over that Mumbai Indians would win the final match. However, when the team could not make it, she put up a brave front for Harbhajan’s sake. She saw a terribly despondent Harbhajan walking to the dressing room. Once there, the player was inconsolable.”
Geeta rushed to offer moral support to him. “Geeta went up to Harbhajan and urged him to take the defeat in the right spirit. However, it took some time for him to gain composure,” added the source.
Geeta confirmed this saying, “All his friends tried to cheer him up. Bhajji plays from the heart. He is okay now.”
She added, “Haar jeet toh laga rahta hai. All said and done, Mumbai Indians was unarguably the best team in IPL 3. Doesn’t the fact that they finished with maximum points say it all?”
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| Harbhajan Singh | Geeta Basra |
Dhoni catches 1st IPL Semis at Asin’s place?
Apr 26th
Guess where Mahendra Singh Dhoni decided to watch the first IPL semi-final in Mumbai? At good friend Asin’s Lokhandwala residence
By Kunal M Shah (MUMBAI MIRROR; April 26, 2010)
Bollywood and cricket has been a sizzling combination for a long time. Right from the time of Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi and Sharmila Tagore to the several more recent attractions, between Deepika Padukone and Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh and Geeta Basra, not to forget, Sushmita Sen and Wasim Akram.
The new friends in town seem to be Ghajini star Asin and Indian skipper MS Dhoni. Apparently, the cricketer visited Asin’s house at Lokhandwala on April 21 to watch the first IPL semi-final between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians.
A source said, “Dhoni reached Asin’s house in the evening just before the first IPL semi-final between Mumbai and Bangalore kicked off and he stayed there till the match ended. There was flutter in the actress’ building when the Indian captain was spotted entering her flat, and everyone was eager to catch a glimpse of him. After the match ended, Dhoni luckily managed to slip out of the building without attracting any more attention.”
Sources say that the Asin-Dhoni friendship began over a year ago. “They have done two commercials together and have been meeting up in connection with the promotion of a particular brand, which they jointly endorse.
Asin was also present during Dhoni’s birthday celebrations last year.
There have been whispers about their relationship in t
he South film industry where Asin is a huge star. Both seem to be extremely fond of each other.
That Dhoni visited her residence only lends more credence to rumours about their growing friendship,” added the source.
Neither Asin nor her spokesperson replied to our calls and text messages.
Geeta Basra meets Bhajji’s parents
Mar 19th
Bhajji and Geeta Basra are ready to take their relationship to the next level
By Vickey Lalwani (MUMBAI MIRROR; March 19, 2010)
They’ve been an item for some time now, and cricketer Harbhajan Singh seems ready to take his relationship with actress Geeta Basra to the next level. A few days ago, Harbhajan even took Geeta home to meet his parents.
Geeta had been invited by the cricketer to attend a very private family function – his sister Sandeep Kaur’s wedding in Jalandhar – and the way she was welcomed by the family indicates she may become a part of it in the near future.
“Friends of both Harbhajan and Geeta have been nudging them to formalise their relationship. When Geeta was invited to attend the wedding in Jalandhar on February 20, it was very much a meet-the-parents kind of trip,” says a source.
Geeta also did not deny that she had met Harbhajan’s parents. “Yes, I did interact with them in Jalandhar, but it’s not like it was just me and them. Several other guests were also present then,” she said.
Last week, when Harbhajan was playing for Mumbai Indians against the Rajasthan Royals at the Brabourne stadium in Mumbai, Geeta was seen cheering wildly for him and rooting for his team. “Mukeshji and Nitaji (Ambani, who own the Mumbai Indians team) had invited me. So what if I was cheering for Mumbai Indians? Am I not from Mumbai?” said Geeta.
But ask her if some major announcement regarding her relationship with Harbhajan is around the corner and she counters, “Harbhajan is a very good friend of mine. But right now, I’m completely focused on my career.”
Big B organizes Paa's show for Bhajji
Dec 8th
Amitabh arranged a special show of Paa for Harbhajan Singh
By Kunal M Shah / Yogen Shah (MUMBAI MIRROR; December 08, 2009)
Watching Paa was part of the Indian cricket team’s celebrations after defeating Sri Lanka 2-0 in the recently concluded series. A few team members Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Suresh Kumar Raina, Rohit Sharma and Dinesh Karthik watched the film in Nagpur yesterday.
However, Harbhajan Singh missed out on the film as he is in Mumbai. So he called Amitabh Bachchan, who promptly organised a show for him at suburban preview theatre in Mumbai. Our source said, “The Indian cricket team is in Nagpur for the T-20 cricket match with Sri Lanka, which will be held tomorrow (December 9).”
Some of the team members reached Nagpur early yesterday, so they watched Paa there. But Harbhajan was in Mumbai, so he called Amitabh and said he was very keen on watching Paa as he had heard some great things about the film. To this, Amitabh immediately said that he would organise a trial show for him. Amitabh arranged for a show in a preview theatre in Andheri. Harbhajan saw the film at around eight last evening with a few of his friends. Even Sachin Tendulkar had called Amitabh, but he couldn’t make it.”
Amitabh Bachchan confirmed the story and said, “Yes, I organised a show for them.”
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| Paa (Pic: Yogen Shah) |
Bhajji consults with Geeta Basra?
Dec 3rd
Harbhajan Singh asked steady date Geeta Basra to approve the office he has bought with Dhoni
By Vickey Lalwani (MUMBAI MIRROR; December 03, 2009)
Recently, Harbhjan Singh took a special woman to check out his new 14,160 square feet property on the eighth floor of Trade World Building in Lower Parel. Bollywood starlet Geeta Basra was the lucky one because the cricketer and the actress are seeing each other.
A source said, “The bond between Harbhajan and Geeta grows stronger by the day. He consults Geeta on a lot of important decisions in his life. She knew about Harbhajan’s Lower Parel property right from the day Harbhajan first set his eyes on it. She looked very comfortable in Harbhajan’s company when they went to have a look at his new property.”
Geeta confirmed that Harbhajan showed her around. However, she claimed that her visit to Harbhajan’s property was not preplanned. She said, “I happened to be in Kamala Mills in Parel because I am in touch with Harbhajan and MS Dhoni, I knew that the boys were in the same area too. So I went over and joined them. I loved Harbhajan’s place.”
Isn’t she closer to Harbhajan than Dhoni, we ask. “Well, yes,” came the frank reply. “We both are Panjus, na?” she laughed. “Harbhajan is a fantastic cricketer and a great guy. I am very happy for him about his venture with Dhoni. We do catch up whenever he is free,” Geeta added.
When we asked her to spill the beans on their relationship, Geeta said, “You should ask Harbhajan about that. All I can say is that I am a very loyal person and I have only a handful of friends. The day there is something to admit about our relationship, I will.”
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| Geeta Basra | Harbhajan Singh |
It’s an LBW for John!
Sep 12th
IN BAD SHAPE: John Abraham. For more pictures of the hot actor, log on to http://photogallery.indiatimes.com
John Abraham’s injured ankle threatens cricket climax for David Dhawan film
SUBHASH K JHA Times News Network (BOMBAY TIMES; September 12, 2009)
Poor John Abraham. The Bollywood hunk, who has been bedevilled by injuries often, has now been declared hors de combat following an ankle injury he suffered a couple of months ago. The actor, who’s busy in London doing 1:800 Love for Abbas Tyrewala, recalled he was last laid low by a virus that hospitalised him during the shooting of Kabul Express in Afghanistan. But this time, the threat is more serious.
The ankle he fractured is refusing to heal. And not only have all potential action films featuring John been put on hold, but the climax of David Dhawan’s Hook Ya Crook is awaiting completion as well. Doctors have prescribed months of rest for him. “For an athletic, outdoors guy like me, this is like death,” groaned John from London.
“Outwardly it qualifies as just a broken ankle. But actually breaking that bone is a very serious matter,” revealed John. If he continues putting pressure on the leg instead of resting it, as he’s doing now, John may well end up with a limp for life!
Incidentally, the climatic scene in Hook Ya Crook — in which film John plays a cricketer — requires the actor to undergo a rigorous cricket camp with Team India greats like Yuvraj Singh, M S Dhoni and Harbhajan Singh. “I can hit a sixer. But to look convincing, I’ve to play like a professional. For that I need to train. Then I also need to run very fast. My ankle just won’t be able to take the strain. I’m hoping it will be better by November,” said John ruefully.
He’s fortunate Abbas’s film doesn’t require much physical application. “It’s mostly about emotions,” sighed John, who returns to Mumbai to resume shooting for 1:800 Love next week. “We’re all in that mellow, romantic mood and would rather complete Abbas’s film in one stretch when I’m not physically up to doing anything else,” added John. After two months in London, he is itching to get back. “Has Mumbai missed me,” he asked.
