Producer Ekta Kapoor says she chose Emraan Hashmi over the Khans to play the protagonist in the upcoming biopic "Azhar", based on former Indian cricketer Mohammad Azharuddin.

Emraan plays the controversial and popular Indian skipper in "Azhar".

The Tony D'Souza-directed film shows the rise and fall of one of the greatest cricketers in Indian history.

"I think Emraan is one of the most amazing actors. He is a nice person. It is the role of a controversial yet good hearted cricketer, who has the love of masses.

Either it would have been Khans or Emraan. We chose Emraan," Ekta told reporters at the trailer launch of "Azhar" last night in Mumbai.

Ekta, who is known for her innovative marketing skills, and plans to show the film to cricketers.


"We plan to show the film to lot of cricketers. The film is about the celebration of cricket and what happens when you are doing so well and how things change after one game goes wrong," Ekta said.

"Azhar" also stars Prachi Desai, Nargis Fakhri, Lara Dutta and Gautam Gulati.

The film is slated to release on May 13.