Azhar (film)

Azhar
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Tony D'Souza
Produced by	Shobha Kapoor Ekta Kapoor Sony Pictures Networks
Written by	Rajat Aroraa
Starring	Emraan Hashmi Nargis Fakhri Prachi Desai Lara Dutta
Music by	Songs: Amaal Mallik Pritam DJ Chetas Background Score: Sandeep Shirodkar
Cinematography	Rakesh Singh
Edited by	Dev Jadhav Vipul Chouhan
Production company	Balaji Motion Pictures Sony Pictures Networks Indiana Films Limited
Release date	13 May 2016 (2016-05-13)
Running time	130 minutes
Country	India
Language	Hindi
Budget	est.₹38 crore
Box office	est.₹56.8 crore

Azhar is a 2016 Indian sports drama film directed by Tony D'Souza. The story is written by Rajat Arora and is inspired from the life of Indian cricketer and former national team captain Mohammad Azharuddin. The film is produced by Shobha Kapoor and Ekta Kapoor for Sony Pictures Networks and features Emraan Hashmi in the titular role. Nargis Fakhri, Prachi Desai and Lara Dutta play crucial supporting roles. The sports action was done by Rob Miller of ReelSports. The film released worldwide on 13 May 2016. The film was moderately successful at the Box Office, but was highly praised for its acting and storytelling style. Hashmi's performance was appreciated by many critics. Gautam Gulati's performance was also highly appreciated.

The movie begins with Indian cricketer Mohammad Azharuddin (Emraan Hashmi) scoring a century in his 99th test match, but he soon faces allegations of match-fixing as his name has been linked with a London based bookie M.K. Sharma aka Shaun (Rajesh Sharma). The India cricket board slaps a life-ban on him. Azhar decides to challenge the ban in court with the help of his lawyer friend Reddy (Kunaal Roy Kapoor).

The story shifts to 1963, when Azhar was born to a middle-class family in Hyderabad. His grandfather (Kulbhushan Kharbanda) dreamed of Azhar playing 100 tests for Team India and motivates a soft-spoken young Azhar to answer his rivals with his batting skills. Young Azhar goes for an Indian team selection match to Mumbai, where on the match day he receives the bad news of his grandfather's death. Nonetheless, he participates in the match, in accordance with his grandfather's last wish. Azhar impresses the selectors, sealing his place in Team India and he soon becomes a national hero by scoring 3 consecutive centuries in his first 3 Test innings. Azhar soon marries Naureen (Prachi Desai) and they both begin a happy married life. After a loss against Pakistan in 1991, the President of Cricket Broad calls Azhar for a one-to-one meeting. Azhar initially fears getting dropped from the team, but is surprised when he is offered the position of team Captain. Some senior players,like Manoj, Ravi and Navjot, resent Azhar's appointment as Captain, not wishing to take orders from a younger and less experienced player. But Kapil (Varun Badola) supports and encourages him to focus on his duty. While playing in an India–Pakistan match, Javed taunts Azhar, telling Azhar his Muslim heritage would be a better fit for the Pakistan team. Azhar leads his team to victory and soon becomes a successful Captain. At the peak of his career, Azhar's personal life takes a twist when he meets a former Miss India, Bollywood actress Sangeeta (Nargis Fakhri) during an ad film shoot and instantaneously falls in love with her. Sangeeta cautions him that he is already married and to stay away from her, but Azhar is infatuated by her beauty and does not listen to her advice. They both begin dating but keep their relationship hidden, until it is exposed by a gossip magazine. Azhar then publicly announces his affair with Sangeeta. Heartbroken, Naureen asks him for a divorce and soon Azhar leaves her to marry Sangeeta. During a cricket match against the West Indies, Azhar gets in a spat with Manoj for a slow run rate in order to complete his century, letting the team lose. Manoj is dropped from the next match and Azhar leads the team to victory. Manoj is humiliated and vows to take revenge. In later years of his career, Azhar famous for his expensive lifestyle, comes into the eyes of match-fixers. He is soon approached by a London-based bookie M.K Sharma, disguised as a diamond merchant, who later offers him 1 crore rupees to under play in a match against Sri Lanka, which Azhar hesitantly accepts.