Superstitious celebs

Lucky charms can boost one's self-confidence, study says. On learning this I have compiled an array of famous personalities influenced by superstitions. Some common, some weird and some outright FUNNY!







Vidya Balan


Lucky charm: Kajal
The Bollywood beauty only uses the Hashmi brand of kajal, which she gets all the way from Pakistan. And get this- She refuses to use any other kind of kajal.







Cameron Diaz


Lucky charm: chain
The Hollywood star is besotted by a chain which she received as a gift because she was told it can prevent ageing. It is almost always with her. At 37, she looks gorgeous and is one of Hollywood's highest paid actresses. She could be right after all!





Salman Khan


Lucky charm: bracelet
Arre! Ab to kuch kehna hi nahi chayi hai! We all know Sallu's beloved blue sapphire bracelet on his right wrist which he considers as is protecter. 





Geoffrey Rush


Lucky charm: Daffy Duck toy ( I warned you....!)
In 1997, hours before winning an Oscar for his role in the movie 'Shine', Geoffrey Rush was asked if he had a lucky charm. He pulled out a plastic Daffy Duck toy from his pocket. The charm worked! Two years later at the 1999 Oscars, he still had the toy with him although this time he didn't win the award, only a nomination.









Shilpa Shetty


Lucky charm: So how many of you'll wear two watches? No, I mean at the same time....Shilpa does! Her lucky charm is a watch on both hands while watching her team play.







Saurav Ganguly, Mohammed Azharuddin and Zaheer Khan


Lucky charm: handkerchiefs 

The three of them Saurav and Zaheer, and Azhar during his playing days, always had a handkerchief on them on the field. While Saurav has a red handkerchief which he considers is lucky for him, with Zaheer it is a yellow one and with Azhar it was a black one ( yes, the media actually observed ALL this!). 

Barack Obama

Lucky charm: Hanuman idol, a bracelet and a picture of Madonna with child.

You might find this hard to believe! One of the charms US Prez Barack Obama carries with him is a tiny idol of Hanuman. The others are a bracelet belonging to a US soldier deployed at Afghanistan, a gambler's lucky chit and a small locket with Madonna and child. When I say Madonna and child I don't mean the singer! I mean the Christian Madonna!

Prez Obama's carrying a Hanuman idol is believed to have been influenced by his childhood spent at Indonesia. Like the hIndus here, Indonesian Hindus consider the monkey god as very powerful and a protector against evil. However, unlike the Indian Hanuman, Obama's Indonesian idol has four hands.

David Beckham

Lucky charm: Armani underwear (yes ARMANI!) and new shoes for each match.

Ever since he started representing Los Angeles Galaxy, the celebrated British footballer always wears a new pair of shoes for every match. He believes this brings him luck. Also Beckham, who models for Emporio Armani never plays a match without wearing Armani underwear.

Serena Williams

Superstition: Checks shoelaces and bounces ball five times before match.

Lucky charm: Shower sandals

The reigning Wimbledon champion never forgets to check her shoelaces before a match. According the tennis star, not tying her shoelaces properly cost her a match in 2007. Ever since that defeat, she takes double care when it comes to her shoelaces. She has another pre-match superstition - bouncing the ball five times. Her lucky charm is a pair of shower sandals that she always carries to a match. Apparently she neither bounced the ball nor carried the sandals on the day she lost the match in 2007.