RK, AB, SID and co take on politicos
Team Bollywood is prepping up to face-off with MPs in the capital for a charity football match.
Captain Abhishek Bachchan and his football team, including Ranbir Kapoor, Arjun Kapoor, Sidharth Malhotra, Dino Morea, Aditya Roy Kapur, Armaan Jain, Kartik Aryan, choreographer Marc Robinson and filmmaker Shoojit Sircar, TV actors Shabir Ahluwalia and Karan Wahi, amongst others, are heading to the capital for a face-off with a dozen Members of Parliament for a charity match scheduled for June 11 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.
“The idea came from Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Minister of State (Skill Development and Entrepreneurship) and Arjuna awardee and ace footballer, Prasun Banerjee who is now the MP from Howrah. They thought a match against the popular celebrity team could be turned into a ticketing event. They however refused to take the field arguing that younger, fitter MPs are easier on the eye. Prasun came on board as mentor and Rudy announced that 50 per cent of the funds raised would be donated to the skills development initiative,” Ameet Mehta whose organisation is spearheading the initiative along with Bunty Walia’s All Stars Football Club (ASFC) for the charity match informed Mirror.
Before the showdown in Delhi, AB junior’s team is prepping up for another match against the Indian cricket team, which will take place in Mumbai on June 4. “There are several initiatives and charitable organisations hoping to partner with the all-star team so we are yet to finalise the details of the match,” Bunty Walia informs, adding that the team is set to play one match each in Qatar, Singapore, Dubai and the UK as part of their first international football tour. “Government officials and local sports teams from each country will play against the B-townies,” Bunty says.
Abhishek’s star footballer, Ranbir, who didn’t miss a single practice session, showed up on the field even a day before taking off to Morocco for Anurag Basu’s Jagga Jasoos on May 7.
Captain Abhishek Bachchan and his football team, including Ranbir Kapoor, Arjun Kapoor, Sidharth Malhotra, Dino Morea, Aditya Roy Kapur, Armaan Jain, Kartik Aryan, choreographer Marc Robinson and filmmaker Shoojit Sircar, TV actors Shabir Ahluwalia and Karan Wahi, amongst others, are heading to the capital for a face-off with a dozen Members of Parliament for a charity match scheduled for June 11 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.
“The idea came from Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Minister of State (Skill Development and Entrepreneurship) and Arjuna awardee and ace footballer, Prasun Banerjee who is now the MP from Howrah. They thought a match against the popular celebrity team could be turned into a ticketing event. They however refused to take the field arguing that younger, fitter MPs are easier on the eye. Prasun came on board as mentor and Rudy announced that 50 per cent of the funds raised would be donated to the skills development initiative,” Ameet Mehta whose organisation is spearheading the initiative along with Bunty Walia’s All Stars Football Club (ASFC) for the charity match informed Mirror.
Ameet admits that it was a task bringing the politicos on board but he had over 14 signed acceptance letters at the end of six months from MPs of all ages who were willing to prep up for the match. The team is led by singer-turned-politician Babul Supriyo and comprises of actor-politician Manoj Tiwari, three MPs from Uttar Pradesh--Anshul Verma, Kamlesh Paswan and Keshav Prasad Mourya—and Saumitra Khan and Anupam Hazra from West Bengal. There’s also Parvesh Verma, MP from West Delhi and son of late Delhi CM Saheb Singh Verma, along with MP from Rajmahal, Jharkhand, Vijay Kumar Hansdak, and Rajasthan politicos Rahul Kaswan and Devji Patel. Abhishek Singh, son of Chhatisgarh CM Raman Singh, and North Mumbai MP Gopal Shetty are also part of the playing X1. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-Moon, will be chief guests,” Ameet adds.
Before the showdown in Delhi, AB junior’s team is prepping up for another match against the Indian cricket team, which will take place in Mumbai on June 4. “There are several initiatives and charitable organisations hoping to partner with the all-star team so we are yet to finalise the details of the match,” Bunty Walia informs, adding that the team is set to play one match each in Qatar, Singapore, Dubai and the UK as part of their first international football tour. “Government officials and local sports teams from each country will play against the B-townies,” Bunty says.
Abhishek’s star footballer, Ranbir, who didn’t miss a single practice session, showed up on the field even a day before taking off to Morocco for Anurag Basu’s Jagga Jasoos on May 7.
