2013’s critically acclaimed and award winning ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’ starring Farhan Akhtar as the ‘Flying Sikh’ Milkha Singh seems to have kicked-off a trend of re-telling the stories of sporting legends from the country.
The year 2014 saw the dusky Priyanka Chopra trying to punch her way through the box-office as well, only to be knocked-down rather hard by the critics and audience alike, in her role as the living boxing legend and five time world champion from Manipur, MC Mary Kom aka Magnificent Mary Kom.
That Balaji Motion Pictures’ next ‘Azhar’ will hit screens only 13 May next year, though what’s interesting is the fact that the biopic will not only focus on the struggles and match-fixing scandals that the pro cricketer was involved in, but also delve on the passion with which he played the great game and his personal life as well.
The first look – which was recently revealed – of the film shows Emraan entering a cricket pitch, clad in India’s blue jersey, gloves, knee pads and a helmet. He seems all ready to ‘beat’ the opposite team with his bat. Interestingly, two tabeez are also seen around his neck a very a la Azhar.
Ekta decided to unveil the look much in advance as she wanted to make the most of the IPL season and through this strategy she aims at targeting the cricket enthusiasts. Nargis Fakhri is rumored to be playing Sangeeta Bijlani’s role, while Prachi Desai has been confirmed to play Azhar’s first wife in the movie.
During the teaser poster release, former Indian cricket captain Mohammad Azharuddin said that he finds Emraan Hashmi to be the perfect fit to portray him in his biopic ‘Azhar’, while the actor says the cricketer is helping him learn the nuances of the game.
“Emraan is very apt for the role. He has worked very hard. A lot of people asked me ‘Why Emraan is doing my role in the film?’ But Emraan is my favorite,” Azharuddin revealed during the teaser launch of the biopic.
Meanwhile, Emraan said that playing Azhar on screen is a challenge for him as he has no footwork in the cricketer’s “unconventional style of playing the game”. However, he is happy that Azhar himself is training him to learn all the nuances to look convincing on screen.
“There were a lot of challenges. One of them was Azhar’s style of playing cricket, which was very unconventional for that time, and I had no footwork on that. So Azhar-bhai started training me for cricket. Then I realised that I have a lot to learn in cricket,” said the actor.
While Azhar has a worldwide release date fixed on 13 May 2016, one must take into account the fact that the cricketer played most of his cricket in the late 80s and most of 90s which needs to be recreated to give a very natural and seamless feel to the audience that will watch the movie and can connect with those days.
In an earlier interaction with AnimationXpress.com, Ekta Kapoor had said that if quality comes at a price she is willing to go the whole hog. “I truly believe that Indian movies haven’t given much impetus on sound and VFX as against Hollywood. I still remember being blown away on watching Mission Impossible and I want to bring that kind of quality sound and VFX to my films, if that comes at a price… I am more than willing to loosen up my purse for it.”
With it being a production by Balaji Motion Pictures and MSM Motion Pictures, budget would certainly be not a problem and with the film already being mixed in Dolby Atmos, we are certain that some of the leading VFX houses in the country would be gunning for bagging this biopic.
Balaji Motion Pictures has been at the helm of producing breakthrough movies that are both commercially successful and creatively appreciated. The production house is known for its comedies, thrillers and dramas; constantly pushing the envelope to deliver engaging content for cinema lovers.