Shah Rukh Khan better watch out! He may have competition for his stardom from an unexpected quarter. Argentine footballer Roberto Pereyra, who plays for Watford FC in the English Premier League, decided to leave his fans as well as lay viewers enthralled by his dance performance to the famous Bollywood song 'Baazigar O Baazigar' from the 1993 Bollywood thriller 'Baazigar' featuring King Khan himself.
The 28-year old footballer is a multi-faceted talent who plays in both the midfield and as a forward. His club career started in his own country with the team River Plate in 2009 before he moved to the Italian Serie A in 2011 and played for Udinese. His career took a positive turn when the heavyweight of Italian football, Juventus, bought him on loan from Udinese in 2014 before including him as a full-time recruit.
While being with Juve, Pereyra enjoyed considerable success as his team won back to back titles in the Serie A. He joined the English club Watford in 2016 which continues to be his home. It was the Facebook page of his current team that uploaded the video of Pereyra putting his dancing shoes on. The video was meant as a tribute to Indian fans on the country's 73rd Independence Day.
In it, Pereyra is accompanied by Indian actress Radhika Bangia as both sway to the tunes of the famous song like Bollywood veterans. While Bangia's efficiency is understandable due to her professional background, Pereyra also shows great gusto in matching the steps, possibly, without understanding the lyrics and sways rhythmically to the beats.
This wasn't the only special video that Watford FC put out to cater to their Indian fan base. Bangia also featured in another video where she is with Troy Deeney, captain of the side, and introduces him to various Indian sweets. The five different deserts that Deeney takes a bite of in the video are gulab jamun, barfi, rasgulla, kaju katli and jalebi.
The Watford captain finds gulab jamun, jalebi and rasgulla to his liking while is not impressed by kaju katli and barfi. This video is another proof of how much the EPL values Indian market. Since the middle of the 1990s, the fan following for European football, especially English football, has gone through the roof. Watford, who are not the most famous side in the EPL are probably trying to create a niche for themselves among the Indian audiences.
They certainly have made a great mark through Pereyra's dance. Let's see if Shah Rukh Khan reacts to it.
