Green baize to silver screen?

Star sportsman,the young,successful face of Indian cue sport,with a list of titles that already reads longer than many at the end of their careers,Advani at 23,has got bitten by the Bollywood bug. “I want to get myself a new dimension. I don’t want to be known as just a billiards player. I’m fascinated with dancing and Bollywood,and that’s what I want to do next,” Advani says,speaking to Sportline on Wednesday,having come to the Capital for an ONGC event that got cancelled at the last minute.

“I grew up watching Michael Jackson and love break dancing. I love Hindi songs too. Dance pe chance,from Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi,is my current favourite,” says Advani. And how good a dancer is he? “When I say I’m a good billiards player people believe me. But when I say I’m a good dancer,they give me a questioning look,” laughs Advani.

But no,he’s not putting away the cue stick away just yet. Having come off a season where he repeated history,winning the points and time double in the billiards world championship,something he had done in 2005 earlier,Advani is in the middle of a relaxing-at-home-watching-movies break. “I’ve been home for about three weeks and there is another 10 days to go before I get back to the pool table. And I’m really enjoying my time off,” he says.

But talk of the world championship this past September at home in Bangalore,where he beat Geet Sethi in the points format final,and the eyes light up. Does the stature of the opponent make it extra special? “It is always a bit extra exciting when I’m playing somebody like Geet,there is added pressure for sure. But it’s about what happens on the day. A lesser experienced player might beat you if he’s better on the day,so I like to live in the moment and take it as it comes,” Advani says.

But even though he’s achieved what,he says,he had never thought he would when he started off,there are still some targets to get past. “I’m doing something I’m really passionate about and I’m going to keep setting new targets for myself till I keep enjoying my sport. As long as the thrill of playing a new game is there,I’ll keep at it,” says Advani,the calendar for the coming season still a little hazy. He gets back to competition with a petroleum companies’ event in Goa in February,while international travel will only begin some time in April.

But before that,he will sit and enjoy tennis on television. And though there might be a hidden showman in Advani,it’s not the obvious flair of Rafael Nadal that moves him. “I’m a big Roger Federer fan,and I’m really hoping that he can come back this season. I admire his natural grace,and his gracious way of accepting losses.”