Indo-Pak star match bowls over crowd By Prerna Suri (Khaleej Times)
19 March 2004
DUBAI - Bollywood action hero Sunil Shetty and Pakistani rock star Salman Ahmed, captained India and Pakistan respectively for a thrilling celebrity cricket match which had the crowds constantly at their feet at the Sharjah cricket stadium on Thursday(18.3).
The IIFA 'Celebrity Peace Cricket Match' - a one-day match played between Indian and Pakistani film stars - saw fans from both the countries cheering their hearts out for the two teams, who played with the intention of promoting love and friendship between the two countries.
Said Sonu Nigam, the dimple-cheeked singer, "I haven't practised my cricket in ages, and am just happy to be here. I think it's high time that we put our petty rivalries aside and move on towards building a more prosperous relationship between us."
Thousands of screaming fans welcomed the stars with many of them jostling with one another to catch a glimpse of their favourite actors and possibly, even click a picture with them. "I just shook hands with Sohail Khan and I'm feeling on top of the world as I absolutely love his movies," said Iqbal, an eight-year-old. Winning the toss, the Pakistanis decided to bat first with Salman Ahmed and Salim Sheikh opening the match.
Sunil Shetty sent the crowds dizzying when he caught a magnificent ball, sending Saud back to the stands. A surprise visit by Benazir Bhutto boosted the morale of both the teams and further promoted the idea of peace and harmony amongst Indians and Pakistanis.
The match had its 'thrills and spills' moments with the crowd cheering the team at every ball thrown.
"I'm an Indian, but I'm rooting for the Pakistani team to win as I feel that this is a friendly match and no hard feelings should be fostered between both the teams. I'm sure that this step will definitely bring the people closer together and we should have more events like these promoting peace in the region," said Kapil Mehra, a visitor from India.
From the young to the elderly, nearly everybody cheered when a sixer or a four was scored by any of the team members. Wishing the teams the best for the match, Wiz Sabbas Joseph, Founder and Director of Wizcraft, said "We have received an overwhelming response from the UAE audience for this event since it is for a charitable cause."
The charity match was jointly organised by Sunil Shetty's production house Popcorn Entertainment and Wizcraft International Entertainment, organisers of the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards.
Proceeds for this year's match will be donated to the IIFA trust in India and Imran Khan's cancer hospital in Pakistan. The IIFA Trust benefits families of those who are injured or who have their lost their lives while working in the Indian Film industry.
The sponsors for this event were NECC (National Egg Coordination Committee - India) with Damas and Khaleej Times as associate sponsors.
The telecast partners in India are Sahara Manoranjan TV and GEO TV in Pakistan.
MR PERFECT
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for once, north americans get something pakistani, that the uk doesn't!
u'll probably get it soon. huge audience there...
umair...did u see ARY last week?! they showed MILAN 2003! i wanted 2 ask u, who was on the show? they only showed half and they are showing the rest this saturday (i think). do u remember who was on that show? noor and who else?
and any news on super music masti?! when will they show that?!
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NFAKFan said:
for once, north americans get something pakistani, that the uk doesn't!
u'll probably get it soon. huge audience there...
umair...did u see ARY last week?! they showed MILAN 2003! i wanted 2 ask u, who was on the show? they only showed half and they are showing the rest this saturday (i think). do u remember who was on that show? noor and who else?
and any news on super music masti?! when will they show that?!
i didnt see the show . sorry but i have seen it before. on this show their was noor rehim shah haroon shaida mini sajad ali abrar ul haq fuzon and a dance group .
Their is no news on the super music masti peace concert which am so angry about . . i really wana see it but zee's not showing it. dO U GUYS HAVE ary DIgital now in Canada . .
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umair16 said:
i didnt see the show . sorry but i have seen it before. on this show their was noor rehim shah haroon shaida mini sajad ali abrar ul haq fuzon and a dance group .
Their is no news on the super music masti peace concert which am so angry about . . i really wana see it but zee's not showing it. dO U GUYS HAVE ary DIgital now in Canada . .
yup! we get ary digital, ary one, geo and ptv prime now! i'm go greatful for illegal satellite! lol.
wicked..so fuzon was @ milan 2003!! i will definately set my vcr!
as 4 super music masti...i think ary might show it, cause in their commercials they have a clip of a bunch of concerts? who knows tho....lets wait and see...
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Yep the concert just gets better do watch it . . when abara ul haq comes its amazing everyone get up from their sit's .
as for super music masti i dont thing ARY digital are showing the conmcert becuase the media sponsorship was done by Zee tv.
Ary might show some other one cos they have been showing it for the past 3 years. I dont know whos doing the media for the super mjsic masti this year but i hope its zee or Ary.
Did u enjoy Norr and her swinging hair . my mum was shock at how she was doing that on stage. lol looked coooool carnt wait to see her this year.
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can't wait 2 see abrar! they showed fuzon 2day, and they rocked! shafqat sang ankhon ke saagar real good, and the other 2 songs were be-suray. lol. but even still, his be-suray songs r better than 99%....!
lol @ noor's hair. my mom was also shocked. she looked nice tho.
the only actresses we've gotten 2 see in toronto r nirma, roop and deedar.
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well fuzon is tooo good man they r out standing i jus seen them yesterday performming live in concert here in karachi and they r simply brilliant shallum xavier was at his best playing excellent chords and shafqat's voccals is excellent toooooooooooooooooooooooooo gud.
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charizmatic said:
well fuzon is tooo good man they r out standing i jus seen them yesterday performming live in concert here in karachi and they r simply brilliant shallum xavier was at his best playing excellent chords and shafqat's voccals is excellent toooooooooooooooooooooooooo gud.
did they sing anything from or say anything abt, their upcoming album by any chance?!
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Mumbai, Mar. 26 (ANI): The cricket fever and the easing of relations between India and Pakistan has found yet another platform. This one was a peace initiative in the form of a cricket match held on March 18 in Sharjah between the two nations. It was aptly called the Indo-Pak Celebrities Peace Cricket Match. The event was sponsored and telecast by Sahara India.
Suneil Shetty's Popcorn Entertainment and Wizcraft effectively managed this event and attracted a good number of Indian and Pakistani celebrities for this match. The proceeds of this charity cricket match are earmarked as to go to Imran Khan's hospital and to the IFFA Charity Trust in India.
The cricket match was full of suspense, action and excitement. Indian stars included Suneil Shetty, Sanjay Kapoor, Dino Morea, Sohail Khan, Ritesh Deshmukh, Aftab Shivdasani, Sonu Nigam, Arshad Warsi, Sharad Kapoor and some other well known faces and names.
The Pakistan line up included award-winning actor Humayun Saeed and top Lollywood actresses Reema, Resham, pop group Junoon, and other well-known actors from television and films.
"We have so much in common then why should we have any such boundaries. Both the nations have to work together to solve our differences. This is a very positive move and we are very confident that the entertainment fraternity of both nations will carry this message to the people of India and Pakistan," said Akashdeep, Creative Head of Sahara's Film and Mega Series Department.
Interestingly, it was Salman from Junoon band, who scored a mighty 90 runs. From the Indian side, both Ritesh and Aftab batted extremely well. But unfortunately, Javed Jaffrey had to be taken to the doctor immediately when he broke his nose while batting. Suniel Shetty showed excellent team spirit as he batted for his team even though he had injury in his thumb while playing. (ANI)
