One has seen him in action on cricketing fields around the world, in commercials on our television screens, and heard him sing alongside Asha Bhosle. Internationally renowned paceman Brett Lee has now made his debut on the silver screen as the leading man in the Australian romantic comedy, unINDIAN .

The A$4.5-million film funded by the Australia India Film Fund [AIFF], which premiered on Wednesday at the Hoyts cinemas in Sydney’s prestigious Entertainment Quarter next to the Sydney Cricket Ground, showcases the clash of cultures as Will [Brett Lee], a teacher who introduces migrants to Australian English and culture, falls in love with Meera [Tannishtha Chatterjee], a successful divorced executive and single mother. The film’s Sydney-based co-producer and director Anupam Sharma says, “Casting Lee was our safest bet”. Earlier, Lee played himself in the Bollywood film Victory alongside Allan Border, Mike Hussey and other famous cricketers.

So did acting come as naturally as bowling to Lee? The 38-year-old says, “I have done bowling a lot more in my life, since the age of 9 or 10, whereas acting I have had to learn quickly and try and land on my feet so to speak. It has been an incredible journey and I have enjoyed every moment of it.”  Lee retired from international cricket three years ago with 310 Test and 380 ODI wickets. It is the lessons he learnt during his career as a cricketer that helped him make his debut as an actor. “I think that sport and business, whether it is film or every day working life, are very similar. There are a lot of things that you take from the sporting field into a business world or into a film set or whatever that might be. I have learnt a lot through sport: Never to give up and keep the adrenaline flowing.

“It is the same with acting. You have to keep upbeat and positive. Even if you have had a bad day at set, you never let it get you down and you keep coming back stronger and stronger,” Lee told BusinessLine .

Being an athlete and actor, both probably need training and discipline in equal measure. Lee says, “Bowling is purely being physical and having the right mindset whereas in acting, you got to be well rehearsed, well trained and well read. In terms of sport, you know when your day is going to begin and when it will finish, but with acting you could be on set for 20 minutes, two hours or 10 hours a day.” Lee says working with an established actress, Tannishtha, as his leading lady made things a lot easier. “I was a bit like a sponge around her, trying to learn from her as much as I possibly could.” So did he look for inspiration or role models in the film industry?

He says, “No, not really. I wanted to go about this film in my own way and that was really important to me. Of course, there are actors that I admire. My favourites include Leonardo de Caprio and Jim Carrey. I love comedy.” Challenging task

He found preparing and doing the emotional scenes most challenging. “To make sure that the exact emotion was spot on as it is something you can’t fake. You had to be in the moment and that was something very hard.”

He would definitely like to do more films, but will wait to see the reaction to unINDIAN . He is hoping that people, who have enjoyed watching him on the cricket field, will enjoy watching him on the big screen. The date for the film’s India release is yet to be announced, but it hits cinemas in Australia on October 15. To the millions of Brett Lee fans, his message is, “Please come and watch the movie. Hopefully they will walk out with a smile on their face. If they have half as much fun watching it as we did making it then I think it is a win-win situation for everybody.”  

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