Review on the Film Azhar. Review on Azhar

Touching on Azhar's blazing test journey prophesied by his maternal grandfather(Kulbhushan Kharbanda), who tells him that he should invest in the flick of the wrist, not futile conversations, we are shown how the Muslim boy with `Mohammad' in his name, becomes an overnight rage after he slams back-to-back centuries. It is interesting to see how cricketers like Ravi(Gautam), Manoj(Karanvir) and Navjot(Manjot) who patronize him initially, later resent his rise as the Indian captain. The trappings of fame also rock his personal life. He strays from his arranged marriage to Naureen(Prachi) to an extra-marital affair with a Bollywood actress, Sangeeta(Nargis). And if that is not all, his career is threatened by a match-fixing allegation that forces him to take legal recourse.

His desire to play a hundred tests remains a pipe dream because he is banned after his 99th nine. Without giving away too much, here one must add that the court-room drama with Reddy(Kunal) defending him and Meera(Lara) against him, is partly banal, partly an eye-opener. Emraan bears no physical resemblance to Azharruddin. However his mannerisms—the blinking of his eyes and swagger add to a knockout performance.