Sreesanth turns filmy mentor
Vickey Lalwani (MUMBAI MIRROR; November 22, 2014)

Fast bowler S.Sreesanth has put the spot-fixing controversy behind him and has moved on to a new pitch. Mirror has it that the cricketer is foraying into Bollywood. Sreesanth will have a significant role in Kaustav Narayan Niyogi's upcoming film Cabaret, produced by Pooja Bhatt.

The film revolves around a dancer, played by Richa Chadha, and Sreesanth will play her Malayali mentor. The cricketer who hails from Kerala, has accepted a signing amount of Rs 5 lakh.

Sonu Lakhwani, the film's executive producer, suggested Sreesanth's name and showed Pooja a picture of the cricketer, taken on his wedding day. A few minutes later, Pooja dropped Sonu at Sreesanth's residence. He was celebrating his birthday (Nov 7) and his wife Nayan asked Sonu to invite Pooja too. She took a U-turn.

A few minutes later, Sreesanth was showing them his wedding video. Fifteen minutes into the video, Pooja clapped her hands and said, "That's my Chetta!"

Chetta, a term which translates as elder brother in Malayalam, is based in Dubai. He meets Richa at a crucial juncture in her life and turns it around.

When contacted, Pooja justified her choice, saying, "Sreesanth speaks Hindi with a slight Malayali accent and that's just what I was looking for. Initially, we had thought of casting an elderly actor as Richa's mentor but once I met Sreesanth, the dynamics changed. His look in the film is the same as that in his wedding picture which Sonu showed me. Having Sreesanth in the film is a win-win situation--those who love him will watch the film, those who hate him will also come to see him. He is at a interesting phase in his life."

Cabaret, which also stars Gulshan Devaiah, will kick off in January 2015 in Mumbai.