RETROFIT
Hyderabad Biryani
Somewhere the numbers don't add up in this knotty triangle. You knowthe triangle which has the sub continent watching or should I saygaping at it. Movie, soap all rolled into one, I am talking about theAyesha-Shoaib-Sania triangle.It has all the ingredients that make a masala soap or old ishtyleHindi fillum. But guess who is having a ball? Indian media which isgoing beserk covering this triangle. Media needs juice and thistirangle has all the makings of a classic... love, sex or dhoka. Loveand romance on the internet, nikah on the phone, alleged sex in aBanjara Hills hotel, a sad miscarriage and what have you. Mind you,Shoaib Malik doesn't necessarily have unimpeachable credentials. He isone of the gang of seven banned recently by the Pakistan Cricket Boardfor allegedly fixing matches and breaching the code of conduct. In a2004 TV interview in Pakistan, Shoaib said, "I am already married. Shehails from Hyderabad in India. hername is Ayesha and I am very happy." Cut to April 4, 2010, when thesame Shoaib says - I was not happy marrying her because I had not toldmy parents and was emotionally forced to do it. In January 2008, Maliksaid, "I never got to actually meet the girl in the photographs Ayeshasent me. I was only engaged to her." Again on April 4, 2010, Maliksays that 'they pressured me into it (nikah) with the intention ofcheating. In Islam, there can only be a divorce if the nikah isvalid.' Also on the same day - I have met Ayesha (Siddiqui) a numberof times but knew her as Maha Appa, the elder sister of Ayesha. Dang,this is theatre of the absurd.
Who does one believe in this amazing story? Ayesha or Shoaib? TheAyesha-Shoaib story is not new, it goes back many years. June 2002 iswhen they reportedly got married. What has added grist to the rumourmills is the hastily convened wedding with Sania Mirza on April 15.Times Now showed Shoaib being interviewed by Arun Lal during a postmatch ceremony. Shoaib happy that he had scored 82 in the city ofHyderabad, a city where his wife lives. That was prettymuch conclusive. But a day later TOI did a puff job on page one whenit ran a tepid interview with Shoaib Malik as lead. Shoaib Malik asthey say in Hindi is hardly doodh ka dula. Which brings me to SaniaMirza, an average tennis player who was hyped into being a hell on plimsollsby Indian media. Known more for her style and attitude, she wasbereft of substance on court. A blistering forehand her only weapon.
Late last month when Geo News broke the story of Shoaib's impendingmarriage to Sania Mirza, there was more than a flutter in the dovecotesat the Ayesha residence. Dawn, a reputed Pakistani newspaper wrotethat, "Newspapers reported that Malik first met Mirza at Hobart,Australia in January, when the Pakistan squad was on tour and Mirzawas in the city for a tennis tournament.“It was after this meetingthat Mirza’s engagement with hischildhood friend broke,” a local Urdu daily reported." It added, "ThePakistan Cricket Board has fined and banned Malik for one year forunspecified disciplinary reasons following heavy defeats in both testand limited-overs series against Australia earlier this year." Dawnalso wrote that Malik, 28, was at the centre of marriage controversyfive years ago when he was reportedly broke an engagement with AyeshaSiddiqui, who was from Mirza’s hometown in India. The two hadreportedly developed friendship on the internet and Siddiqui’s fatherhad even threatened to take Malik to court. Malik has denied anyserious relationship with Siddique. The dashing cricketer was alsolinked with Indian actress Sayali Bhagat, and there were reports ofthe two meeting confidentially in 2008. That made the cosy triangle arather large cumbersome foursome.
On Monday, ToI reported Sayali Bhagat saying - Link-ups are still fineas long as they don’t backfire. I can’t avoid controversies but I canobviously controlwhether it’ll get out of hand or not. I don’t have the temperament tohandle a repeat of what’s happened...When news of two famous peoplebroke out, people didn’t have any access to them. The next famousperson they could find who had any remote connection with them was me.But I didn’t have any comments to give on Shoaib-Sania marriage. Ihave moved on in life. Shoaib and I were offered a film about acricketer and a beauty queen. Despite agreeing to the offer, theproducer and director could not get financiers for the film sinceShoaib was a Pakistani cricketer. Meanwhile 26/11 happened, and it waseven more difficult to market Shoaib as a hero.
Boy this is getting convoluted.
Now interestingly, Sania Mirza was so smitten by Malik after themeeting in Hobart in January that she called off her engagement withchildhood sweetheart Sohrab Mirza. There are too many gaps andinconsistencies in this love triangle. Before you could say JackRobinson, she had announced her marriage to Malik on April 15. Andthat is when the fur started flying. Madam Ayesha and her team beganbowling beamers and Malik was ducking and weaving. The clincher is thealleged miscarriage. That cannot happen without cohabitation. No sir,not yet anyway. The wall to wall coverage from Mail Today has beenvery good, as they seem to have covered most of the components of thisbizarre drama. Finally, where is this Ayesha. Yes, I heard her onHeadlines Today answering questions with aplomb, but why doesn't shemake an appearance in public?
Finally, a ToI story datelined Hyderabad which appeared on Tuesdaymorning. Speculative, but juicy nevertheless. And perhaps explainingsome of this stranger than fiction type of drama. The story titledShoaib and Dubai reasons for Sania's break up goes like this: WhenAyesha Siddiqui, in one of her several telephonic interviews to newschannels, wondered why Sania Mirza announced her wedding with ShoaibMalik within weeks of breaking up with Hyderabad-based bakery owner’sson, Sohrab Mirza, she posed a question that many people have beenasking. Some leading Hyderabadi Muslims who are well acquainted withthe tennis star’s family claim that Sania has been interested inShoaib Malik for over five years but had agreed to an engagement withSohrab to please her family.
‘‘The Adil Mirza (Sohrab’s) family is very well respected in Hyderabadand the two families have known each other for long. Sania’s parentswere not too keen on her marrying Shoaib earlier as they were notparticularly pleased with his background,’’ says a family friend. Whywas the engagement called off? While the Mirza camp has been claimingthe two were ‘‘incompatible’’, there is speculation that the break-upcame because she was insistent on marrying Shoaib Malik. The familyapparently gave up its earlier opposition rationalizing that Malikwas, after all, a well-known personality.
Some family friends insist that Sania is completely smitten by Malikbut others say that it’s not a simple love affair. They say it is a‘‘strategic’’ move where both partners have a common destination inmind - Dubai. Sania, who crashed out of the Dubai Open earlier thisyear, has routinely been extended a warm welcome by the people and thegovernment there, which was glad to host a tennis star who had becomea poster girl for their local community’s young girls. Therefore, whenshe decided to settle down in Dubai with Shoaib, it did not surprisemany. It wasn’t just neutral ground, but one that would leverage thecareers of the two sportspersons, says another family acquaintance.
Sania has been slipping consistently in her World Tennis Associationsrankings and Malik has been banned for a year by the Pakistan CricketBoard. On its part, Dubai is trying hard to turn into a sportsdestination and is in search of sports stars who can showcase theupcoming facilities in the city. ‘‘Sania wanted to settle down inDubai and wanted someone who could support that. A lot of World TennisAssociations tournaments like Dubai Open and Qatar Open are being heldthere and she gets appearance money for these tournaments,’’ says asports analyst.If she is based in Dubai, she will become a bigger star as there arehardly any sports personalities in Dubai, which is currently investingheavily in sports. There is also talk of a cricket league on the linesof IPL and this could possibly be a strong reason for Malik to bestationed in Dubai.
I am confused, my mind is in a whirl. Wonder whether you can make moresense of this nonsense. After all a failed, under the scannerPakistani cricketer is marrying a failed Indian tennis player. Wedgedbetween them is a Hyderabadi woman who claims she is Shoaib's firstwife. All she wants is an honourable divorce. Wow, what a screamer?
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