10 Sports Celebrities Who Turned To Acting!

Sports and Bollywood have had this unique equation where the two are linked in more than one sense. With relationships of actors and sports personalities to films based on them, we have also had special cases in which sports persons became Bollywood actors!  While some we love in the filmy avatar for others we are glad that they step back as quickly as they came.

Here’s a list of sports celebrities who took to the silver screen as actors -

Vijender Singh - The boxer who represented India on several international platforms and won several medals for his impressive swings at the Olympics and Commonwealth games became quickly popular as the good looking boxer from Haryana. His impressive personality couldn’t resist the spotlight and he took to actor making his debut in 2014 with Fugly. Unfortunately the film wasn’t received well by the audiences and he has not been seen on the silver screen again since!

Deepika Padukone -Bollywood’s Mastani, Deepika Padukone was a sports enthusiast and played badminton at the national level as a teenager! She gave up her sports career and took the film industry by storm with her impressive acting skills, for which we are really thankful!

Rahul Bose -Bollywood’s beloved rugby player Rahul Bose made his silver screen debut with Jhankaar Beats in 2003. He has been seen in several films since and gave a few memorable performances. The actor who was last seen in Dil Dhadkne Do did not give up his Rugby career though and continues to represent India in the sport! A balance maintained well we say!

Dara Singh -We remember Dara Singh well for the broad chested wrestler he was and how he marked India on the map with his wrestling capabilities! We remember him no less for his charismatic screen presence though, for he several remarkable performances to the film industry as well. He starred in films like Kal Ho Na Ho, Jab We Met and simply won our hearts!

Genelia D’souza – The Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na actress was a national level footballer as a teenager, she was also a state level spinster. She started modeling at the age of 15 and eventually became an actress and has worked across several regional films and won hearts in Bollywood!

Mahesh Manjrekar – We know him as an actor and director but very few maybe acquinted with his sporty streak! Yes the actor was cricketer and was professional trained by Ramakant Achrekar who was also the coach of none other than Sachin Tendulkar! The cricketer in him however was subdued by the actor in him!

Ajay Jadeja -One of the best fielders that Indian cricket has seen, Ajay Jadeja took to the silver screen when he made his forgettable debut in 2003 with the film Khel. The cricketer was seen romancing Celina Jeitley in the film and for those whose remember the otherwise flop film will be really glad that that he gave up his career in acting!

Vinod Kambli -The former batsman of the Indian Cricket team made a disastrous decision of joining films and made his debut in a 2002 flop Annarth. Kambli who is now a popular cricket commentator and expert was last seen in a Kannada film in 2015.

Leander Paes – This tennis sensation has represented India internationally and won several laurels to his name. Paes was drawn to acting and he gave a really forgettable performance in the film Rajdhani Express. He returned to tennis and we couldn’t be gladder about it!

Brett Lee – He is one sportsmen we imported to Bollywood! The retired Aussie bowler with his charming looks is ready to make his Bollywood debut the film Unindian this year and we are yet to see if we will love him on-screen as much as we love him on the cricket field!