Car code

When Rahul Dravid says driving in Bangalore’s chaotic traffic is more difficult than playing Test cricket, it’s time to sit up and introspect. After all, who knows cricket better than The Wall? The former cricketer was speaking at the launch of the city police’s “I Won’t Honk” campaign, which he flagged off this week. Batting for a change in road manners, Dravid recalled his younger days when he would merrily cycle around the city, without worrying about angry honking or being hit from the rear. “We need to inculcate driving discipline if we want to live in a better city,” he said. Amen to that.

Bollywood Brett

Mahi and his boys in blue may be mauling the Kangaroos on field, but Brett Lee, the Aussie speedster, continues to say, “I love India.” Lee has retired from all forms of the game, including T20. And it seems that it’s Bollywood that he’s looking at in order to reinvent himself. Lee has been bitten by the acting bug ever since he made his debut in Harman Baweja’s film,Victory. But then Victory turned out to be an innings defeat, and no roles have come his way since. Lee, however, remains optimistic. He continues to brush up on his Hindi in the hope that he will land a role bigger than just a cricketing cameo. Howzatt?

Mamata magic

Guess who Krishnamachari Srikkanth’s “ideal” woman is? Well, believe it or not, among his pantheon of “ideal” women is none other than West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee. Of course, the former cricketer also included the chief minister of his home state in his roll of honours. “I admire the chief ministers of West Bengal and Tamil Nadu — Mamata Banerjee and J. Jayalalithaa. They have fought hard in life and come up. It not an easy job to govern our country, but they both command respect. The way they rule, they are born leaders,” says Srikkanth. Amma has her admirers, but that’s a rare compliment for Didi from an out of towner. Now let’s see if Srikkanth scores a special honour from the Bengal government.

Charity drive

Karun Chandhok was at the PalmerSport – Bedford Autodrome in Bedford, UK, last week doing a “charity drive”. This is a charity event that is held every year, where celebrity drivers lead six teams comprising everyday folk and race against each other in high performance cars. The event is the brainchild of NSPCC, a UK-based body that works towards ending cruelty to children. The money collected through ticket sales is then donated to a charity. The 29-year-old Chandhok, as you may have realised, was the captain of one of the teams. That’s the way to go, Chandhok!

Southern comfort

Since its release on June 30, 2011, director Abhinay Deo and producer Aamir Khan have been trying for a satellite release for their cult movie, the rip-roaring Delhi Belly. But despite innumerable cuts, rewrites and some reshoots too, the film has not been able to get past the censors and into our living rooms. But wait. Delhi Belly may have found a following down south. UTV Motion Pictures’ Tamil film, Settai, which will be released on April 5, is a remake of the comic caper. Arya, Santhanam and Premji Amaren are playing Imran Khan, Vir Das and Kunaal Roy Kapoor, respectively. And guess what the film will be called in the dubbed Telugu version? Naughty Boys. Well, that does leave a lot to the imagination.