Namya Sinha■ namya.sinha@hindustantimes.com

India plays Australia in theWorld Cup quarter finalstonight, and the tensionacross town is palpable.

Debashree Banerjee hasn’tslept for three nights, AtulRawat is smoking 32cigarettes a day, andShantanu Banerjee has takensick leave. “I cannot sleep! Ikeep thinking that we have toplay against Australia in aknock-out round,” saysBanerjee, 26, an advertisingexecutive. As thing heat up inthe knockout rounds of theWorld Cup, experts say stresslevels are higher than ever.

“The number of anxietycases goes up by 20% duringkey matches. People forgetthat it’s just a game,” says

psychiatrist Dr DeepakRaheja, adding, “Recently, wetreated a young man who hada nervous breakdown afterhe lost a crore on bets duringthe first round of matches.”

Making matters worse isthe fact that the tournamentis clashing with the boardexams. Counsellors saythey’ve been inundated bycalls from students unable to

concentrate. “One studentwas even diagnosed withinsomnia — he would watchthe matches till late, and thenkeep analysing them. Astress buster became a stress

giver!” says Dr JitendraNagpal of VIMHANS mentalhealth centre.The match stress is also

taking a toll on work lives.“People are so distractedduring matches that they’reSMSing or calling for score.It affects their productivity,”says Devika Mathur, an HRmanager with an MNC. Forsmokers, the tense momentsin a match are an excuse topuff even more. “We see a25% rise in cigarette saleswhenever India is playing,”says Atin Khanna of Juke BoxCafé Bar in Nehru Place.

Vaishali Bhambri

Networking alwayspays. Sometimes, inunexpected lakhs.When Lahore-based

Yasin Arshad’s real-lifefriends abandoned him as hestruggled for funds to treathis ailing mother, he createda Facebook page called 'SaveMy Mother's Life', andlanded over R26 lakh fromfriends he’d never met!“I tried all ways to gather

funds, but in vain. It was thenthat I created this page,hoping to draw attentionfrom the government and theinternational community. Ireceived an overwhelmingresponse,” says Arshad, 24,who holds the social network-ing site in high regard.His mother is now healing

after undergoing a successfulliver transplant at the Apollohospital in Delhi. But, thejourney wasn’t easy. “Manythought it was a money-mak-ing scam. So, I gave refer-ences and put up my mom’smedical reports to prove myauthenticity,” he says.It took just seven months

for over 2,500 netizens andNGOs from all over the worldto spring into action.“The word spread like

wildfire and the maximumnumber of donors were fromFacebook. I am glad that myvirtual friends — strangers— trusted me,” he says.

stoppressRANBIR TURNS DIRECTORActor Ranbir Kapoor may bedirecting the behind-the-scenes segment for the DVD ofhis upcoming film, Barfee.Ranbir will be given a specialcamera for the shooting. “Itwould be interesting to see themaking of the film from anactor’s point of view,” says thefilm’s producer, Siddharth RoyKapoor. HTC

NEW DELHI , Thursday March 24 , 201 1 , 12 PAGES www.h indus tan t imes .com

Kim’scrimebusterdreams P12

Shalu takesMunni, Sheilahead on

Song: ShaluLyrics: Munni bhimaani, Sheila bhimaani, Shalu kethumke ki duniyadeewani…

TALK TO US■ Do you get stressed out duringa match? Tell us about your moststressful match moment athtcity@hindustantimes.com

Shrinkswarn against needless stress asWorldCup action heats up

IT’S JUST A GAME

MICHELLE’SDESI DANGLERSUS first ladyMichelle Obamawore earrings thatlooked like Indiankundan work, to theofficial dinner at theNational Palace inSan Salvador, ElSalvador, onTuesday. The designhas fashion blogsabuzz with reportsthat she pickedthem up on her Indiavisit last year. AP

24-year-old Yasin Arshad raisedR26 lakh through Facebook

Facebook is not justabout making friends andsharing thoughts. It canbe a life saviour

Yasin Arshad

In a country where cricket is religion, peopleforget that it is just a game, and it becomesa cause of grave anxiety

Dr Deepak Raheja, psychiatrist

■ On February 27, a 20-year-old boy inIndore, Madhya Pradesh, died ofheart attack during the dramaticIndia vs England World Cup match

■ In 2007, an Indian fan in Kolkatacommitted suicide after India lost toSri Lanka in the ICC CricketWorld Cup

■ In 2006, a study found that thecardiac emergencies in Munich were

2.66 times greater than usual duringthe football World Cup

■ In 1998, it was found that afterEngland lost to Argentina in a tensesoccer match, there was an increasein hospitalisation for heart attacks

Matches can kill!

The city’sheart comesto a stop asSaif shootsfor his film

For more pictures and allthe goss, turn to page 4 >>

AgentVinod inCP

A still from Jalebi Bai,another item numberMallika Sherawat has upher sleeve

Prashant Singh■ prashant.singh@hindustantimes.com

Munni and Sheila arethe girls fromyesterday — it’s Shalu

who claims they’vesuccumbed to her charm.Mallika Sherawat, 35, is setto sizzle in a new itemnumber, Shalu, in AftabShivdasani-Nisha Kotharistarrer Bin Bulaye Barati.The song’s lyrics say screenhotties Sheila (Katrina Kaifin Tees Maar Khan) andMunni (Malaika Arora Khanin Dabangg) have bowed outto Shalu’s charm.“It’s a very energetic

track. ‘Munni’ and ‘Sheila’are very famous, so wethought of including the twowords to make our songmore interesting,” saysChandrakant Singh, thefilm’s director. Sherawat isbelieved to be charging R3crore for her two item num-bers in the film. Shalu will befilmed on April 4. “In thesequence, the actors are onthe run from the police andunderworld goons, and entera nautanki area. That’s whenthe song starts,” says Singh.

He owes hismom’slife to FB strangers

PHOTO

:RAJ

KRAJ

PHOTOS: SUSHIL KUMAR AND ZABEEH AFAQUE

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:AFP