Azhar Review and Box Office Collection

Azhar, a biopic made on one of the finest batsman and the most revered captain India ever had, Mohammad Azharuddin, was released on 13th of May, 2016. It features the star cast of Emraan Hashmi as the exquisite flicker of the cricket ball Azharuddin, along with Prachi Desai and Nargis Fakhri in the lead while Lara Dutta plays a crucial supporting part.

The movie is produced by Shoba Kapoor and Ekta Kapoor under the banner of Sony Pictures Networks. It was directed by Tony D’Souza and written by Rajat Arora.

Plot Synopsis
The movie is based on the life of much maligned famously introvert Indian captain. The story begins with Mohammad Azharuddin (Emraan Hashmi) scoring a hundred on his 99th test while consequently getting alleged in a match-fixing scandal. The Indian cricket board, as a result, slaps a hefty life ban from involvement in cricket for him, which he challenges with the help of his lawyer friend.

The story then reverses back to the past, where the start of the cricketing journey for Azhar is depicted. The fate of sealing his place in Indian team along with scoring 3 consecutive hundred in first 3 of his test matches makes him an instant hit among the Indian fans.

The movie takes a turn in dwelling his relationship with his first wife Naureen (Prachi Desai) and the latter relationship with Bollywood Diva Sangeeta (Nargis Fakhri). It explores the avenue of his rich lifestyle at the peak of his career and the mini fist-fights among teammates and alike. The incoming contact with bookies and the scandals is deciphered in the latter part of the movie as part of a parallel story.

Performance
The movie has a wide cast of multiple actors, simply because the characterization required the need for such an extensive cast. Emraan Hashmi was bestowed upon the role of Indian captain Mohammad Azharuddin and does extremely well in making himself a la Azharuddin. The actor feels at ease portraying the shy Azhar and flicks the ball around the ground with the same virtuous wrist that Azhar had. It’s his performance that kept the movie afloat for the whole length of time.

Prachi Desai makes a great cast for Naureen as Azhar’s first wife and is able to garner the acting colossus that’s needed from her. Nargis Fakhri as Sangeeta Bijlani as a minimal role yet she slips into her shoes quite well.

The supporting cast of Lara Dutta and Kunal Roy Kapoor makes quite a mark on the film while Gautam Gulati and Manjot Singh are a pleasing bunch to watch.

Box Office Performance
The movie has been on a steady trail till date. It started with 6.30 cr on the first day with collections rising till 7 cr and 7.5 cr for Saturday and Sunday respectively. The movie then hit a downhill with collections raking in around 2-3 cr for the next few days.

The movie stands at 28.30 cr as of now and is on course to end the first week at the 30 cr mark. However, the collections seem pretty low when you see the clan of actors within it along with Emraan Hashmi as a starter.