Kalmadi no to Games ambassador role for actor

Amitabh Bachchan will not be made the brand ambassador for Commonwealth Games, Games Organising Committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi said on Tuesday.

“We are thinking of making sportspersons as Games ambassador. We will think about cultural ambassadors from Bollywood later,” Kalmadi said. “Also, we are thinking of younger brand ambassadors.”

Senior BJP leader and vice-president of the Indian Olympic Association V K Malhotra had written to Kalmadi suggesting Bachchan’s name as the brand ambassador for the event that will be held in Delhi from October 3 to 14.

Some Congress leaders had objected to Bachchan’s presence at a government function in Mumbai recently. Later, Bachchan had written in his blog that son Abhishek was sidelined during the Earth Hour event in Delhi, where he was the brand ambassador.

Reacting to Kalmadi’s rejection of his suggestion, Malhotra said the age issue was irrelevant as most of the key people involved with hosting of the Games were above the age of 55.

Malhotra had earlier said that Bachchan was the brand ambassador of 1982 Asian Games and should be made ambassador of the Commonwealth Games as well.

“Bachchan is an Indian and he is an icon. If we want to make the Games truly successful then we should try to mobilise and get support from every Indian and also recognise the services of the Indians who have brought laurels to the country and Bachchan is one of them,” he said.

“Not a single meeting of the OC has been held so far to discuss the appointment of brand ambassadors. But I will raise before the Executive Board of the OC,” he said.

Kalmadi said that a final decision on brand ambassadors will be taken in the executive board meeting, after consulting all members.