Azhar

The movie is not without its flaws though. The attention to detail is quite poor and product placements are too blatant.

But don't let that hold you back. The movie has all the elements of good, clean entertainment. Romance, humor, drama and some urgency make the movie a tight two hours that you won't be bored of.

I don't know whether he did it or not. The movie doesn't argue one way or the other. What it argues is legality of BCCI's verdict. Azhar was the scapegoat of a scandal that had involvement of many on the field and off the field.

Judge him however you want, don't miss the movie

~ MovieRecipe

AZHAR REVIEW :- One of the most awaited film of Emran Hashmi's career from its trailer release to today. When i saw the Trailer of Azhar that time only, i decided to watch this film on First Day First Show. Reasons are known, Emran was looking promising after a long period plus i was interested in knowing our Cricketer Azharuddin's controversial life. Finally watched the Film and i am completely satisfied with this product, it completed all my expectations which were not high.

Acting- Excellent job by Emran Hashmi. I haven't seen his some acting oriented movies so i cant decide but still i say it is his Best Performance i've ever seen. His walking Style, Batting style, Dialogue delivery everything was perfect. Not award winning though, but still Kudos for him. Prachi Desai, Nargis Fakhri and Lara Dutta failed to match Emran. They didn't have much screen space, may be that was the reason but really their Make up talks louder than their Acting. Other star cast was strictly okay.

Music :- Certainly, not up to the mark. Songs just come and go. Nothing to remember. Same with Background Music.

Cinematography :- Worse. Really some scenes looks like daily soaps, especially Cricket match scenes. Disappointing field for the film.

Screenplay :- Good but not great. Good because of 130 minutes run time, and not great because editing could have been better. Many scenes and especially songs deserves cut. 2-3 loo breaks are there but still Film doesn't make you feel bore.

Dialogues :- Superb ! Clap worthy, whistle worthy and touching. I don't want to spoil much cause it will affect the impact of those dialogues.

Direction :- First of all i want to praise Tony D'Souza for daring to make controversial film like this and want to thank him for revealing some truths about Azharuddin. Direction is very good, surpassed my expectations. Tony crafted film very well, especially Interval and Climax scene.

Final Words :- Overall a good movie which deserved your one time watch for many reasons. We love you 'Fighter Azharuddin' forever. Thanks to Balaji Production for making this film so that we realise some unknown facts about our Azhar. Go for it, and don't watch it as a movie watch it as Azhar's real life story, movies like this comes very rarely. 7/10 stars by me.

Azhar review :

Before reviewing Azhar, it's important to understand what a biopic means and how Bollywood has misunderstood it:

A biopic is a cinematic adaptation of various events of a non- fictional personality (living or dead) dramatising (to some extent) crucial aspects of his/her life.

Unfortunately, Bollywood mistakes biopic to be a cinematic "glorification" of a real life person to such an extent that it turns him/ her in to a superhero of sorts. It worked fine with 'Neerja' whose story itself, was heroic. But when you do that to a controversial figure like Mohammad Azharrudin, it ends up looking fake. Truly, the climatic revealation of why Azhar fixed those three international matches of his otherwise illustrious career takes away all the good the movie built up to right till then....

A long disclaimer read out in the start tells you that the movie is not a biopic but an adaptation of Mohammad Azharrudin's life for entertainment purposes. Wow! I wish they had also stated that it will end up making him in to a messiah of sorts while tarnishing his fellow players including Ravi Shastri and the legendary Kapil Dev.

Anyways, the film covers all the major events of the former Indian captain's life - from his childhood when his Nanajaan (Kulbhushan Kharbanda, endearing) motivates him to vent his anger through the cricket bat rather than words, his still unbeaten back to back three centuries on debut, his handling of resentful senior players on being suddenly elevated to captaincy position as well as his personal life - initially blissful with his first wife Naureen (Prachi Desai) and his subsequent affair with bollywood actress Sangeeta (Nargis Fakhri).

Presented in non linear format, the narrative flows well and certain scenes like Azhar talking cricket lingo in his awkward first meeting with Naureen and his ad shoot with Sangeeta which is the germinating point for their affair are well executed.

On the other hand, certain questions like how did Azhar learn his trademark flick shot, what made him the outstanding fielder he was, how did he handle the tremendous success he got as a captain before the match fixing allegations struck him are unexplored. I wish director Tony D'Souza had touched upon these aspects.

Even the match fixing scandal is fleetingly passed with one scene where the bookie (Rajesh Sharma) is introduced to Azhar in the dressing room and a few scenes later, a deal is struck between the two of them.

On the film's positive is Emraan Hashmi knocking it out of the stadium with a solid performance. He doesn't physically resemble Azhar but gets the cricketers mannerisms and body language spot on. Maturing as an actor with every film of his, Emraan has come a long way from his serial kisser days. Of course, he gets his lip lock in Azhar as well but now, the guy can act like never before...

The supporting cast is a mixed bag. Rajesh Sharma is convincing as the bookie. Prachi Desai is okey dokey. Nargis Fakhri still can't act and here, she doesn't even try. Azhar's fellow mates (Shastri, Siddhu, Kapil, Manoj Prabhakar) are too one dimensional and caricatured to leave a mark.

On the tech front, editing appears flawed with an entire scene repeated for no rhyme or reason. The two romantic numbers are soulful but the Oye Oye song is poorly recreated.

Overall, Azhar works better as an entertainer than a biopic. It's desperate attempt to make him a messiah is its undoing. One time watch, nevertheless!

Regards, Sumeet Nadkarni.

A poorly made movie which had a good story and a wonderful protagonist. Storytelling is the only thing which stands out. Director and Actors just donot add value to the movie. Characters r not at all worked out.

Azhar the Movie, like Azhar the Kaalpanik/ Fictional Character mentioned in a disclaimer (at the beginning of the movie) - both of them lack spine.

This movie is a sad attempt to justify a character who was poor as a husband, as a person and as a father. Quite frankly, and as several of the other reviews on IMDb are mentioning, this is a clear case of propaganda that the actual Azhar is trying to indulge in.

The famous match fixing scandal of the 90s dragged in some big players, both in SA and in India. The legal cases against them were substantiated, and these individuals were subsequently banned from the game for varying periods of time. Are we questioning the calibre of the courts when we try to show these folks, several years later, as upright? Seems kind of 'easy to portray, but difficult to believe'.

Azhar was first and always a cheat. In the game, in his marriage, in his relationships with his children (the famous affair with Jwala Gutta, who was his son's friend), and otherwise. Following the debacle in cricket, he went where most goons go - to politics. No guesses into the affiliation he sought and achieved.

Now coming to the movie. The acting is unconvincing. The plot is poor. Great actors wasted. Dialogues are juvenile, at the best. Melodrama misplaced. The characters are shallow. The direction a guffaw.

As a final statement, I'd like to say that there was no research. This is just the case of a cheat who is trying to show the world he was victimized, when it was actually the reverse. The scenes seem purported from La La Land.

1 star out of 10 is what this deserves.