Brett Lee turns 43: The Aussie pacer's top 3 reasons for loving India

Former Australian pacer Brett Lee, who retired from international cricket in July 2012, turned 43 on Friday. Lee is a real charmer off the field as well and has a huge fan following, especially in India. The feeling is mutual as Lee has expressed his affinity for India on several occasions. He calls India his 'second home' after Australia.

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While speaking to a leading media network back in 2013, Lee had mentioned about his love for India. He said that India had been a special place for him as he had been coming here for more than 13 years. He added that he felt a genuine bond and a connect with India as he loved the culture, the colour, the chaos and most of all, the people. He lauded the warmth and generosity of people in India by saying that they had taken him under their wing and looked after him like a son.

Let us look at 5 reasons why India and Brett Lee share an amazing relationship:

1. He savours Indian food

Lee had once said that the day he trained exceptionally hard, put in all the efforts he required before a match and if the match went well for him and Australia, he rewarded himself a couple of quarts of Beer and Butter Chicken, declaring his love for India and its food. Lee’s love for Indian cuisine is also evident from an Indian restaurant he owns, ‘Fusions Café and Book Shop’ in Sydney. 

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2. His band’s connection with India

Brett Lee has a rock band named ‘Six & Out’. Brett plays bass guitar or acoustic guitar in the band. In 2006, during the ICC Champions Trophy that was played in India, Lee paired up with Indian legendary singer  Asha Bhosle and recorded a duet called ‘You’re the One For Me’. He was also the lyricist for the song.

3. He is a philanthropic man

Lee started 'Mewsic', which is a charitable foundation in India in 2007. The foundation facilitates the involvement of disadvantaged people in music. It also focuses on ensuring that music is widely accepted as a strong of healing, empowering and advocating marginalised children of India. Mewsic has six music centres across India.

4. Connection with Bollywood

Brett Lee was a part of the IIFA awards that took place in Singapore back in 2004. He presented an award to Preity Zinta. Lee has also starred in an Indian movie ‘Victory’ alongside Harman Baweja. He played himself in the film which is based on cricket alongside Mike Hussey, Allan Border and Jason Gillespie.

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5. His film, UNIndian

Lee released his film ‘UNIndian' in India. The plot revolved around the love life of a woman named Meera played by Tannishtha Chatterjee, who is a young divorced woman in Sydney and Lee, who plays a teacher who teaches the Aussie accent to foreign students. The movie also had some Hindi actors like Pallavi Sharda, Supriya Pathak and Akash Khurana.

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