I took eight months off from movies, it suddenly became 18 - Preity Zinta : Bollywood News

Shilpa Shetty, (Rajasthan Royals)

She deftly goes down on her right knee, elbow pointed at right angles, and comes down in one swoop upon the groundâ€¦No, Shilpa Shetty doesnt proceed to play the classic sweep shot. The actor has a shovel in hand and is planting a sapling as part of a promotion for the IPL team she co-owns, Rajasthan Royals. The shutterbugs ask her to smile. She chuckles and pastes on a grin that stays on her face for the next half-hour while Captain Shane Warne and other foreign players turn tomato red under the 2 pm Jaipur sun.

If shes tired by the multiple demands of being co-owner of the IPL franchise, none of it shows. She has flown in after a restaurant launch in London with husband Raj Kundra. Hair tossed back expertly in filmi slow motion, Shetty makes a heroine entry at the cricket practice facility at Sawai Man Singh stadium.

Looking glamorous is only the start of her work-sked. Ive become part-time interior-decorator, part-time clothes designer, and Im a model in the morning, smiling away, she says. As the head of the marketing and merchandise arm of Rajasthan Royals, she is excited about the new mini-trumpet tutaari for team mascot Moochhoo Singh and a high-end Mumbai club with a Rajasthan Royals theme.

But the actress has come to Jaipur with the sole intention of meeting the young first-timers on the team she bought last year. They could be the scariest bowlers and the biggest hitters on the field, but face-to-face with Shetty, they are star-struck. We initially didnt know what to say, but she just starts talking and speaks much more to junior players and makes them feel very comfortable, says a newbie with the team. Not much of a film buff, Royals mega-hitter Yusuf Pathan was curious about what he would say to the actress when they first met last year. The first time she didnt speak much about cricket, but now she knows everything about us. Shed come and told me had I batted on longer in our opening match, wed have won easily. You know when she speaks, its not a fluke, says the 37-ball centurion. The encouragement isnt restricted to IPL. I got gr8 innings messages from her even when I did well in Duleep Trophy and played a winning knock in Ranji (Trophy) one-dayers at Baroda. Its good to know they follow our cricket all year, he says.

Shetty says that when the Royals acquired Shaun Tait at the auction earlier this year, shed raised the pointer-torch on instructions from team planners and Warne. Almost expecting to be quizzed on her cricketing knowledge, she says, Ive made some faux pas at the beginning, but I love watching the game. And I took pains to learn more about it. I dont have the patience for longer versions, but T20 fits into my scheme of things, she says.

Shes happy lending glamour to the team and dancing in music videos, besides adding Rs.75 crore to the kitty. I was in shock when Raj suggested the idea. But it was destiny. We were at a party and casually asked about how to go about owning a team. And in 30 days, the deal was signed. Its hard-earned money. Theres the glamour, but I bring in the edge with marketing and merchandising, she says.

Screen India

"I took eight months off from movies, it suddenly became 18" - Preity Zinta