“Bishen Singh Bedi’s Spinbowling Was Sheer  Poetry”

The ever-resourceful filmmaker  R  Balki  had the rare  privilege  of  directing the  legendary bowler Bishen  Singh Bedi just months before his  passing forth on  October 23.

Speaking  emotionally on the loss Balki, an avid cricket buff says, “His spinbowling was sheer  poetry: there’s no  other way  to describe  it. What  he did with  the ball on the field was  just  indescribably beautiful.You had to see him doing it to know what  I mean.For cricket fans he was  the poet on the field.”

Says  Balki, Bishen Singhji was  also a great humanitarian. “He could never allow  wrong to go unchecked.  As a man with a  powerful voice  he spoke  up on issues fearlessly. He didn’t care what about the repercussions. He spoke his mind  regardless  of how it would affect him.”

Balki had worked with Bishen Singh Bedi’s  son Angad Bedi before he working with the legendary father in Ghoomer. He would hear riveting  stories on  the cricketing legend from his son, before Balki got a chance  to work with the Legend in Ghoomer.

Recalling the experience, Balki says, “Doing the cameo in Ghoomer was a cakewalk for  Bishen Singh Bediji.He was playing himself, of course. When I  made bold to explain what he had to do he cut me  short saying, ‘I know what  to do. I’ve faced the camera before.’  He  was a  great rancouteur  and  he told stories about himself effortlessly, as if it all happened yesterday. He always  had the greatest admiration for  Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi. And the two  families remained close friends until the  very end.”

About  Bediji health,  Balki says, “He had a stroke some time back. But he came to the  premiere of Ghoomer and he was  in good health. He  liked the film.Considering  Ghoomer is  about cricket I couldn’t have  hoped for a better compliment.”