The beautiful game

For all their apparent enthusiasm over the IPL matches and their intense involvement with the back room politics of the immensely lucrative cricket league both Shah Rukh Khan and Lalit Modi it seems were initially more keen to invest in a football league according to sourcesSRK was hell bent on footy and wanted very much to invest in a soccer team Thats what hed spoken to Modi about way before the IPL came into existence said the source So what happenedLalit Modi and Shah Rukh KhanWell when it was explained that cricket was far far more lucrative as every sixer every catch every ball could be monetised by TV channels with advertisements he saw the light of day said the source In comparison footy hardly makes any money Is that why its believed the Indian Super League will take a long long time to break evenFrom Mumbai to RiyadhI was in Saudi only last year when Id gone for Haj said Mumbai Police Commissioner Ahmad Javed who it was announced has been appointed ambassador to Saudi ArabiaPolice Commissioner Ahmad JavedI am thrilled with the appointment and I plan to serve my country to the best of my ability said the dapper IPS officer whose last few years in the police force were not without controversy Ahmad had been pipped to the post of Commisioner by Rakesh Maria an act that had caused considerable bitternessHow has the family taken to the new appointment Shabnam is happy he said referring to his graceful wife As for the children both of them have finished their schooling so their education etc is not going to be affected With this appointment Ahmad follows in the footsteps of Mumbais former police commissioner Julio Ribeiro who served as Indian Ambassador to RomaniaMountains out of molehillsAccording to an insider the reason this long limbed spunky young actress was miffed with her senior costar and consequently didnt invite him to a party to celebrate the success of their film together was apparently because the usually impeccably mannered gentleman had only sent her one bouquet after the release of their film whereas hed sent two to her rival Of such things film industry epic wars are composed But we hear all has been forgiven and forgotten nowThe toll of politicsThe thing that had struck us during the Sharad Pawar birthday celebrations was how slim fresh faced and youthful the all powerful Maratha chief used to be before he was swallowed up by the ebb and flow of big time politicsAkbar Dumpy Ahmed then and R now and a young Sharad PawarUneasy lies the head that wears the crown is a truth well proven and that affairs of state are corrosive and wearying can be seen from the faces of many a political big wig Look at most members of Parliament and you will see the toll that politics has latent on themWe were reminded of this axiom again when we chanced upon these photographs of or Delhibased friend Akbar Dumpy Ahmed From a beatific 20 something chartered accountant in an elegant suit in London he metamorphosed in to a crumpled kurta pajama clad member of his Dosco school mate Sanjay Gandhis inner circleThe two photographs once again proving just how toxic politics can be for the souls of men Fortunately Ahmeds pretty wife former Miss India Naina Balsaver is kinder I never got to see the young 22yearold Akbar but the 40yearold was just as handsome and the even older Akbar I believe is the best looking with a face and fit bodymind that speaks volumes Imagine what hed be like in another 20 years said the former Miss IndiaSingers on trackYou gotta admire his chutzpah Even as Vijay Mallya fends off the long arm of regulators and creditors his plans to celebrate his big birthday in Goa this week are on targetSonu Nigam and Enrique Iglesias PicAFPAnd though no cards have been sent out and he swears its on a smaller scale the fact that hes engaged two big ticket entertainers indicates that its not going to be too underplayed Yes on the first night of festivities popular Bollywood singer Sonu Nigam will serenade guestsAnd the next night Latin heartthrob Enrique Iglesias will do the honours Incidentally it was VJM whod brought Iglesias down to India many years ago for his first public performance in the countryAre you seriousSometimes real life comes up with situations that not even the finest comic writer can match Apparently when a group of the Capitals best heeled young people had gone out recently for a night on the town there was much consternation when this Lamborghini and Ferrari owning crowd post dinner and dancing were standing on the steps of a five star hotel awaiting their limousinesRobert VadraThe reason One of the expensively dressed baba log had barked loudly into his cell Robert Gari jaldi lao without realizing that the well buffed and equally expensively dressed Robert Vadra was part of the group and standing within ear shot and had gone noticeably red in the faceFortunately the awkward moment that could have been seen as an insult to the countrys most famous soninlaw passed without incident and there was no display of muscle flexing and the menacing Are you serious from the usually quick to take offence Vadra