Brett Lee may have tried out Bollywood before, but he’s too busy for a second stint in desi films. The Australian cricketer, who featured in a cameo in the 2009 flick Victory, says there are new offers alright but he hasn’t taken up any. 'I keep getting a few (Bollywood) offers, but the timings and all make it a bit hard. Let’s see how it goes,' says the 36-year-old, who was in the city on Tuesday.
With actor Shah Rukh Khan as his T20 team owner though, staying away from Indian films must be difficult. 'Yes, I guess it is. I had the pleasure of catching up with Shah Rukh Khan the other night. I hadn’t seen him for a while since the domestic T20 league got over, so it was good to catch up. He is also very busy; we were laughing at the fact that he flew to Australia and I came to India (and still we hardly get time to meet when in each other’s countries).' SRK is known to have recently cracked a joke with Lee on cricket vs films — ‘If you don’t take 10 wickets (in the T20 matches), you’ll have to dance and sing in films,’ he’d said. Lee, however, answers in cross-tease when asked about that. 'If he (SRK) gives me an opportunity (to play in his team) next year, I’ll try taking 10 wickets, and then he will have to act with me in a movie!'
As for his favourite Hindi films, the choices clearly go by the actors who’ve been the owners of his T20 teams. They are 'the ones that feature Shah Rukh Khan or Preity Zinta (co-owner of the T20 team Lee played for, in 2008-10).'
Lee on a different ‘note’
Cricketer Brett Lee, who is also known for his musical prowess, talks to us about his collaboration with veteran singer Asha Bhosle, his new band — White Shoe Theory and his love for music. Ask him if he is able to devote time to his band from his busy schedule, and he says, 'After Six & Out, I started a new band called White Shoe Theory, and have been with them for 2-3 years. The band also toured India in 2010 and we are looking forward to bring out our next set of songs early next year.'
As far as the genre of his band is concerned, Lee says, 'The songs that my band is working on are more of commercial rock, bit different from the love song ‘You’re the One For Me’, which I did with Asha Bhosle … though that was also a lot of fun.'
Apart from dedicating his time to music, Lee’s also on a fitness high. Ask him how important it is for a fast bowler to maintain his fitness level and stay away from injuries, and the pacer says, 'I have been training really hard now. I am back at the gym five days a week and every spare afternoon I go for an extra round with my puppy.' 'I am lucky that I am not playing ODIs or Test matches, and can focus on T20 cricket. My aim is to get as fit as possible,' adds Lee, who was in the Capital as the brand ambassador for Pedigree.