HYDERABAD: Soon after she won the prized silver medal at the Olympics on Friday, Sindhu was trending online and continues to, till today. People started digging into her social media accounts to realise that she is like any other 21-year-old who loves to enjoy and freak out with friends. Her fans were on a clickathon when a dubsmash featuring her surfaced on social media in the weekend.
The dubsmash also features Vijay Prabhakar, son of actor-turned-politician Vijaykanth and owner of Chennai Smashers, a Chennai-based franchise that plays in the Premier Badminton League.
Talking about the trending video right now (with over 21 different names and with thousands of views each), Vijay shares, “We were waiting for a bus after the match at the stadium in Hyderabad early this year. Sindhu was bored and proposed the idea of making a dubsmash video and that too in Tamil, a language she was not even familiar with.”
“We chose a dialogue from ‘Nanum Rowdy Thaan’, the 2015 action movie starring Vijay Sethupathi and Nayantara. We watched the scene. She mugged the lines and we made the dubsmash. She is a big selfie and dubsmash freak,” he smiles.
Interestingly, Sindhu’s Instagram video of the same with 14,944 views as on Monday has been captioned as: ‘Enakku Tamil nalla teriyum #dubsmash #TamilGirl #ThreeTakes #Funny...’ And typical of a 21-year-old, it is laced with multiple smilies. Speaking about their friendship, Vijay says, “Sindhu plays for my team. She is a jovial down-to-earth and fun loving girl. At the same time, she is serious and passionate about the game. On the court, she is focused only on the game. After the match, she is the coolest person, one can ever meet.”
Vijay was not aware that Sindhu didn’t have her phone with her when she went to Rio. “I kept sending her WhatsApp messages as though it were a live commentary, giving my expert comments unasked for. It was like, hey you did good on point 17 and so on. I should have known her dedication and her ability to stay off screens when all she had was the medal in mind.”
“She replied to my messages yesterday and I was surprised and overwhelmed to see a spate of replies to each of my messages. Sindhu is so sweet. She thanked me for the love and support. I watched all her matches. I ensured all my friends, who didn’t even follow badminton watch the match. She did a brilliant job,” he concludes.
School Cool
While crackers were burst and hoardings were put up, Sindhu’s school Auxilium at Mahindra Hills, Secunderabad was among the first to celebrate. Sindhu had studied in the school from LKG to Class X and they were glad that Sindhu’s parents chose their school. “We cut cakes and recalled her stint with us,” the school informed.
Speaking to Express on her flight back home, Sindhu recalled how her school had always given her permission and attendance whenever she had to leave for tournaments. “So did my college - St Ann’s Mehdipatnam. They too considered my case and let me pursue my passion. From notes to extra classes, they had been there for me. I would attend a week before the exams and the teachers would sit with me and help me out in every possible way. Both my school and college principals would go an extra mile to co-operate with my schedules.”
Sindhu recalled how her friends at the academy, with whom she would go dining and have the best of the fun too, encouraged her thorougly.