Sania Mirza and Shoaib Malik are living out a real life Bollywood story.

The Indian tennis star Sania Mirza (at 23, the ONLY Indian tennis player currently ranked internationally, with no help from religious authorities back home who condemn the athlete because they consider her tennis outfits mini-skirts and thus inappropriate) and the former cricket captain for Pakistan (as important a position as the head of the Stanley Cup and The Super Bowl MVP combined) have suffered serious drama in Hyderabad, India were they were to have been joined in matrimony in an arranged marriage.

The pair, both famous athletes in their own right, have moved up the ceremony when word came out that Malik is already married, sending both India and Pakistan into a whirlwind of furry in both nations that are at odds anyway. The twist? The marriage allegedly took place over the telephone.

oh this is the first time I heard the news of the marriage by phone

In any case, at that point all hell boke loose, with supporters of Ayesha Siddiqui, the woman claiming to be Pakistan cricketer Shoaib Malik's wife shouting slogans and causing chaos against Malik outside Siddiqui's India residence (see pictures HERE).

Hyderabad police have questioned Malik about Siddiqui and have asked the former cricket honcho not to leave India during investigation before he marries Indian tennis star Sania Mirza. So, the two held a press conference, whereupon the father of the other alleged wife spoke up.

Now Sania Mirza and Shoaib Malik are planning to hold their wedding next week, without all the hoopla that is usually associated with an event of this kind in India.

We shall see.

Meanwhile, Charu A. Mahesh from The Times of India tried to sort out the good from the bad. Here'swhat this journalist wrote:

'Amid all the hullabaloo surrounding the ‘hows’ and ‘whys’ of Sania’s decision, a thought that does arise is … why are we making such a big deal about her marriage? Who we marry, where we settle is a personal choice and so much of noise about it is really not in good taste, and this is also what Sania is heard saying on all the news channels.

'If she is willing to marry a Pakistani, isn’t it a step, albeit a baby one, to strengthen Indo-Pak ties? From starting buses to making movies and bringing singers from the two countries to croon to the tunes of unity, we have done it all in the name of bringing the countries together. Then why is there such a hue and cry when two people decide to walk together across the geographical boundaries?'

Good luck to Sania Mirza and Shoaib Malik. From the way things are going, it looks like they are going to need that -- and a lot of extra security as well.