THE SOURAV-NAGMA STORY...till now (and a little more)
Its Me
the
rooftops with pictures of Sourav Ganguly and Nagma, who visited Srikalahasti
Mandir in Chitoor District, Andhra Pradesh, about 40 kms from Chennai.
The alleged affair (and marriage?) came as a major surprise to most, since
all
the articles and 'people in the know' stated that their affair started way
back in London during the 1999 World Cup, where the couple had first met.
This
seems quite unbelievable to me, since an affair of such high profile
personalities, however clandestine, would be extremely difficult to keep
under
wraps from the nosy media and paparazzi.
Assuming that the affair actually was bearly 2 years old, the first public
appearance of the star couple was a bit too public -- detailed reports are
available even on what puja they offered at Srikalahasti. The Rahu-Ketu
Sarpadosha Nirvana puja is done to help spinsters with a Ghor-Maanglik
horoscope to overcome astrological afflictions in their marital chart and to
be released from the curse of a snake deity that may prevent marriage and
marital bliss.
If Sourav did this for Nagma as a friend, then it is a laudable gesture. But
if he had matrimony in mind - however problematic, legal hassles inclusive -
then he must be a desperate man indeed.
However, showing verve in favour of love and against wordly opposition is
nothing new to Sourav. He married Dona (his neighbour and childhood
sweetheart) 3 years back amidst strong opposition from both families, by
running away from home. The two families have reconciled since.
Likewise, hooking up with married guys is not new for Nagma too. She is the
adopted daughter of Brij Sadanah (Director of Afsana, Victoria 203 et al)
and
Saeeda Khan - both dead - and the foster sister of Mumbai film actor Kamal
Sadanah. A Mumbaikar, who climbed to no 1 spot in South, she was just out of
an ill-fated relationship with Sarath Babu. After an affair of almost an
year,
Sarath went back to his legal wife, dumping Nagma, who now hardly has any
decent film on the floor. A little compassion from Sourav might have
clinched
the deal in such tender times.
Liaison between the tinsel world and the cricketers are nothing new. Lala
Amarnath was forthrite about his affairs with Begum Para, sex siren of the
forties. Nazar Muhammad- Noor jehan, Pataudi- Sharmila, Reena-Mohsin, Gary
Sobers-Anju Mahendru, Viv Richards-Neena Gupta till the very recent
Azhar-Sangeeta marriage. The last was particularly pertinent since Azhar
also
dumped his wife Naureen and kids in favour of the bolywood bombshell.
The Temple visit created a lot of flutter, but in my opinion a lot of dust
flew around, there weren't enough bulls in the stampede. The only problem
was,
Sourav was not having a good time professionally.
Dona and Sourav "apparently" had a showdown in a Delhi hotel, after which
Dona
contacted a top Delhi lawyer to start divorce proceedings.
Dona's father Sanjib Roy told the Hindustan Times: "The whole family was
there
with Sourav when this alleged incident took place with Nagma, the entire
thing
was fabricated." This is hardly likely since no one of the family was
spotted
in the temple picture published by a Chennai English daily.
Sourav's family defended him with faces straighter than his bat. Sourav's
brother Snehashish asserted that none of this would affect his batting. This
was awarded "the worst piece of foretelling" in the first quarter of 2001 !
The online gossip columns were abuzz with rumors. A good one was a
conspiracy
theory by Dubai based dons, who put the heroines close to them (Sangeeta,
Nagma) to have affairs with the Indian Cricket captains to control the
betting
syndicate and performance of the indian cricket team !
The print and electronic media showed exemplary self-restraint in playing
this
story. This was a classic case of responsible journalism, with the
Australian
series on, very little words from the horses' mouths, and very little
material
to publish, the media gallantly underplayed the gossips and let Sourav get
on
with his present business.
Time rolled...and the good times were back, atleast for indian cricket. By
March 2001, Sourav was riding the crest with victory against the aussies,
and
there was hardly any further fuel to the story. Newsmongers in Kolkata (not
on
print) were clearly of the opinion that whatever was the infatuation of our
skipper, it has passed. Even after the series, he was staying at home (Dona
is
back after a brief sojourn with her parents), exercising, playing local
cricket and all was normal.
Where does that leave poor Nagma -- a heartbreak for a second time in
succession where the legal bird got the worm, and she got the boot? She
appeared in an online chat at indiatimes, and as usual, within clear refusal
to answer any qyery on Sourav, she still claimes herself to be lucky for the
Indian Team:
--------------
Mohansomnath > Hi Nagma! What is your reaction to the articles published in
many newspapers about your unknown relationship with Saurav da?
SPEAKER_Nagma > Do I really need to react to everything that's written about
me?
Ashima > Why didn't you meet Ganguly earlier so that the team would have
started winning earlier?
SPEAKER_Nagma > Better late than never. I am glad people are perceiving me
as
a lucky mascot.
--------------
(Incidentally, going through the transcript of the above chat, I found a lot
of nicks with variations of the name Dona ! They were simply torturing poor
Nagma)
By April 2001, it was clearly over. In a mid-April interview to The Week,
she
nearly admits that she is going ahead and not getting stuck up on that one
visit to the Temple and its aftermath. She is learning to live life afreash.
The full transcript of this interview is extremely interesting when you read
it in the perspective of her possible mental state at that point of time --
the same is quoted below.
3 May 2001, in a breakthrough interview published in Times of India, both
Nagma and Dona admitted that there was was an affair, but now its finally
over. Nagma said " Yes, I am distressed, and I keep crying...I was not used
and dumped. I felt there was something genuine in our relationship. But his
circumstances drove him to choose other things over me." A very dignified
retreat indeed !
One incidence, just one incidence, rocked the lives of two celebrities, a
young wife and nearly lost India a Test series. An affair spanning two years
that came and vanished from the media within 3 months -- this story is for
the
historians who might want to trace the cricketer-actress nexus.
Yors truly
Resources:
1) http://movies.123india.com/contemporary/gossips/archives/con_red_667.html
2) http://www.tehelka.com/sports/feb2001/sp022001nagma1.htm
3) http://www.tehelka.com/sports/feb2001/sp021901affair.htm
4) http://www.indiatimes.com/chatevents/nagma.htm
5) http://www.yehhaicricket.com/chillipepper/Chilli%26pepper.html
6) http://www.hindustantimes.com/nonfram/250301/detFRO05.asp
7) http://www.hindustantimes.com/nonfram/020301/detSPO02.asp
8)
http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:www.the-week.com/21apr08/life2.htm+%22S
ourav%22+and+%22Nagma%22&client=indiatimes
9) http://www.cricketnext.com/news/next/reporters/rep379.htm
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