 Sehwag (left) with Jeevan Sharma (Right) |
Says Jeevan Sharma, cricketer's lookalike, who will take on Congress heavyweight Kripashankar Singh during the upcoming Assembly polls
Flamboyant India opener Virender Sehwag may be out of action from the ongoing series in Sri Lanka, following a shoulder injury, but the cricketer's clone, Jeevan Sharma, is taking a plunge into the thick of electoral action.
The Viru lookalike, also known as Junior Sehwag, will contest the forthcoming Assembly polls. He plans to stand against Congress heavyweight Kripashankar Singh from the Kalina constituency.
Says Jeevan, "I have not filed my nomination papers yet, but I will contest. I may stand from Kalina as an Independent candidate against Singh. I am confident I will get a lot of support in that area."
A NEW PITCH: Jeevan Sharma
NGO support
An NGO called Rights is backing Jeevan. The NGO, which has offices in Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata, works for the rights of the oppressed and fights injustice "in various spheres".
Says Rights president, Manoj Sharma, "We are against political parties any party, because power breeds corruption. We believe in fighting for the rights of people who have been wronged by the system."
Says Jeevan, "I have been a Rights member for three years and have realised that the oppressed, the helpless need to be heard."
He adds rather flamboyantly, "I want to be elected, I want my voice to be heard in the Vidhan Sabha."
Sehwag-Sachin jodi
Jeevan says he will begin his campaign soon. "A Sachin Tendulkar lookalike called Balvir Chand, who is a friend and with whom I have done several shows, is going to be the star on my campaign trail."
When asked about the possibility of losing, Jeevan says, "I may lose, but I will give everything I have to win.
I will face seasoned stalwarts like Singh just the way Sehwag faces short-pitched bowling: without flinching."
Hum Bhi Celebs
Several celebrities, especially actors and cricketers, have lookalikes who often double for their famous originals in bit parts in movies and ads.
Some of the celebrities and their duplicates are:
Amitabh Bachchan: Feroz Khan
Shah Rukh Khan: Ali Abassi
Hrithik Roshan: Rohit
Lalu Prasad Yadav: Kirti Rawal
Vinod Kambli: Ravi
Ajit Agarkar: Steven
Harbhajan Singh: Sarabjit
Anil Kumble: Mehul
Mere Jeevan Sathi...
Jeevan Sharma is originally from Ludhiana. He makes his living as a Sehwag duplicate.
He has done an ad as a Sehwag lookalike for Saras doodh in Rajasthan and also featured in an ad for a website called Monster.com.
He has campaigned for the BJP during the November 2008 Assembly elections from Chattisgarh.
