★ David Rocco: Want to play football with SRK, watch Salman Khan's film !

Divya Pal, IBNLive.com | Updated Jul 26, 2013

New Delhi: When Italian TV host and food enthusiast David Rocco chalked out the plan for his maiden trip to India, his friends and acquaintances said, 'You will be surprised. Wait until you get there.' Having visited the land he knew little about several times now, David has not only developed an understanding of Indian culture and cuisine, but also realized the need to steer clear from putting forth the nation's purported and stereotypical image in his upcoming show.

David admits knowing not much about Bollywood, but he is aware of the name Shah Rukh Khan. "Sure, I'd like to meet Shah Rukh Khan. Why not? He's a huge Bollywood star, no? I saw him play football the other day on a TV show and I'd like to play football with SRK. That's what he's called, right? I haven't seen any of his movies. I think I should probably watch them before I meet him. Only when you come to India, do you realize the contribution that Indian stars make to newpapers and media at large. They are a big part of advertisements, billboards and Indian culture. They influence the society in many ways. It's amazing!"

Even though he shot a sequence with actress Neha Dhupia for his show, he knew nothing about her. "I shot a scene in one of our episode with Neha Dhupia. I knew nothing about her so I did my research. She's a great sous chef and knows her way around the kitchen. It was fun shooting with her. She was a good sport and we stay in touch on Twitter."

If you ask any international celebrity about their Bollywood quotient, you are likely to be amazed with their knowledge and the curiosity to know more, courtesy the success of 'Slumdog Millionnaire'. But David knows zilch about the industry.

"I watch very little Bollywood. Isn't it always about man falls in love with the girl, who further falls for someone else? I'm not familiar with them. But yes, I would like to take up movie watching; at least the classics. Maybe I'll watch some Bollywood films next time I visit. Someone told me I should watch a Salman Khan movie at Chandan in Mumbai. Let's see. Friends I made on my journey in India taught me a couple of Bollywood lines like 'Mogambo khush hua', 'Mere paas maa hai' etc. I taught my kids to say Namaste too. They love it!"

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