‘I can sing, act... & I love Bollywood’
Brett Lee is a little bit like IPL – an irresistible mix of aggressive cricket, showbusiness, music and glamour. But for Brett, it all begins and ends with the game.
At the age of 10, he dreamt of being the fastest bowler in the world. At 29, he bowled his fastest delivery, and the second fastest in the world, at a whooshing 160.8 kmph, in his first over on March 5, 2005 at Napier, New Zealand, against Craig Cumming. “It was like a dream come true!” he says, smiling.
After a good Australian summer, Brett’s looking forward to an Indian summer now. “I will be in Mohali in two weeks’ time and I’m really excited about it. I made my Test debut against India and I have always been very fond of this country,” he says. His plan is to get closer to people who watch and love cricket. “We have to get up, close and personal with everyone who appreciates the game,” he says. “It is the T20 format and so I’m sure it will be fun to play and watch the matches as well. All the teams have good players, but our strategy is to give our best shot.”
But cricket is not all that Lee is looking forward to here. “Every time I visited India in the past, I never got a chance to discover the country. So this time, I want to see different places, eat a lot of Indian food and meet lots of people. Sounds like a plan?” Sure does, Binga. That’s right – Binga is Brett’s nickname. “It comes from this chain of electronics stores in New South Wales called Bing Lee,” he laughs.
His elder brother Shane introduced him to cricket at the age of eight, and the game is the love of Lee’s life. “I can’t imagine myself doing anything else apart from playing cricket. I do love music, though,” he says. Brett’s younger brother Grant is a musician, and Brett’s learnt to play the piano. He also plays bass in the band Six & Out, which comprises his brother Shane and former New South Wales cricketers Brad McNamara, Gavin Robertson and Richard Chee Quee.
And there’s yet more to this cricketer – he also loves Bollywood movies! “Oh, I love Bollywood. It’s so alive, and the movies are brilliant. I would love to work in one myself. I can sing and hopefully act too. The only thing I’ll have to work on is my dancing.” So a little brushing up his moves and Lee is ready to do a typical commercial Hindi movie. “You bet! Victoria will be my debut in Bollywood. I had a lot of fun shooting for some scenes in the movie.”
And while we’re on Bollywood, how does he like Preity Zinta, who co-owns the Mohali team? “She’s a fantastic actress,” he enthuses. “I’ve seen most of her movies. She has proved herself and she’s one of the most popular Indian actresses around the world. And as a person, she is very down to earth, full of life and very professional.”
But amidst all this camaraderie, what about the tension between the Indian and Australian cricket teams? “I agree that there have been a couple of incidences, but when you compete with another team, there are bound to be heated words here and there,” Brett says. “It isn’t personal. Too much has been written about it and it’s been blown out of proportion. If there are issues, let the teams sort things out. There is a lot of camaraderie in the game of cricket and stuff like this dies a natural death,” he explains.
Cricket, Bollywood, music – it’s no surprise that Brett has a female fan following that puts some of our Bollywood hunks to shame. But sorry girls, the man’s taken. Brett married Elizabeth Kemp, a podiatrist, in June 2006. They also have a son named Preston Charles. “You never know, he might be the world’s fastest bowler tomorrow. At least I’ll introduce him to cricket, for sure,” he smiles.
Brett Lee is a little bit like IPL – an irresistible mix of aggressive cricket, showbusiness, music and glamour. But for Brett, it all begins and ends with the game.
At the age of 10, he dreamt of being the fastest bowler in the world. At 29, he bowled his fastest delivery, and the second fastest in the world, at a whooshing 160.8 kmph, in his first over on March 5, 2005 at Napier, New Zealand, against Craig Cumming. “It was like a dream come true!” he says, smiling.
After a good Australian summer, Brett’s looking forward to an Indian summer now. “I will be in Mohali in two weeks’ time and I’m really excited about it. I made my Test debut against India and I have always been very fond of this country,” he says. His plan is to get closer to people who watch and love cricket. “We have to get up, close and personal with everyone who appreciates the game,” he says. “It is the T20 format and so I’m sure it will be fun to play and watch the matches as well. All the teams have good players, but our strategy is to give our best shot.”
But cricket is not all that Lee is looking forward to here. “Every time I visited India in the past, I never got a chance to discover the country. So this time, I want to see different places, eat a lot of Indian food and meet lots of people. Sounds like a plan?” Sure does, Binga. That’s right – Binga is Brett’s nickname. “It comes from this chain of electronics stores in New South Wales called Bing Lee,” he laughs.
His elder brother Shane introduced him to cricket at the age of eight, and the game is the love of Lee’s life. “I can’t imagine myself doing anything else apart from playing cricket. I do love music, though,” he says. Brett’s younger brother Grant is a musician, and Brett’s learnt to play the piano. He also plays bass in the band Six & Out, which comprises his brother Shane and former New South Wales cricketers Brad McNamara, Gavin Robertson and Richard Chee Quee.
And there’s yet more to this cricketer – he also loves Bollywood movies! “Oh, I love Bollywood. It’s so alive, and the movies are brilliant. I would love to work in one myself. I can sing and hopefully act too. The only thing I’ll have to work on is my dancing.” So a little brushing up his moves and Lee is ready to do a typical commercial Hindi movie. “You bet! Victoria will be my debut in Bollywood. I had a lot of fun shooting for some scenes in the movie.”
And while we’re on Bollywood, how does he like Preity Zinta, who co-owns the Mohali team? “She’s a fantastic actress,” he enthuses. “I’ve seen most of her movies. She has proved herself and she’s one of the most popular Indian actresses around the world. And as a person, she is very down to earth, full of life and very professional.”
But amidst all this camaraderie, what about the tension between the Indian and Australian cricket teams? “I agree that there have been a couple of incidences, but when you compete with another team, there are bound to be heated words here and there,” Brett says. “It isn’t personal. Too much has been written about it and it’s been blown out of proportion. If there are issues, let the teams sort things out. There is a lot of camaraderie in the game of cricket and stuff like this dies a natural death,” he explains.
Cricket, Bollywood, music – it’s no surprise that Brett has a female fan following that puts some of our Bollywood hunks to shame. But sorry girls, the man’s taken. Brett married Elizabeth Kemp, a podiatrist, in June 2006. They also have a son named Preston Charles. “You never know, he might be the world’s fastest bowler tomorrow. At least I’ll introduce him to cricket, for sure,” he smiles.
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