The biopic on tainted cricketer Azharuddin's life is generating quite an amount of buzz. The movie, where Emraan Hashmi plays Azhar, is said to be focusing on the cricketer's personal and professional life.
Now we hear a few of Azhar's fellow cricketers, including Navjot Singh Sidhu, Kapil Dev, Manoj Prabhakar and Ravi Shastri have demanded that they get to watch the film before its released so that they know how each of them is portrayed in the film.
A source says, `Some cricketers are anxious to see the film before it gets released because they want to know how each of them is represented. This is a controversial subject and obviously none of them want to be shown in any kind of bad light.`
`Yes, few of them have called and enquired about their role and how they have been depicted in the film and also they want us to show the film so that they get a clearer picture. We are currently in talks with them but have conveyed it to them that there are projected in a dignified manner in the film,` adds a source working on the film.
When contacted, Aman Gill, the CEO of Balaji Motion Pictures, which is producing the film, remained unavailable for comment.
Some hard facts
Manoj Prabhakar played under Mohammed Azharuddin from 1990 till the end of his international career in 1996. In the 1994-95 season, Prabhakar alongwith Nayan Mongia were accused of batting slowly which led to India's defeat in the Kanpur one-day international against the West Indies.
Prabhakar used up 154 balls to stay unbeaten on 102 while Mongia took 21 balls to score 4 not out in the 46-run defeat. Both were banned for two matches. Prabhakar was later credited with being a whistle-blower in the match fixing controversy when he accused a teammate of offering him R25 lakh to under-perform in a match, but Prabhakar too got banned in 2000.
Kapil Dev too played under Azharuddin from 1990 till 1994.
In the Tehelka sting operation, Shastri is seen telling Manoj Prabhakar (who conducted the sting) how Azharuddin admired someone's watch. After the person told him it costs five to six lakh, Azharuddin, according to Shastri went upstairs and brought down a bag containing six lakhs. Ravi Shastri
Navjot Singh Sidhu
Sidhu walked away from the 1996 tour of England for reasons which have not been disclosed by him as yet. According to rumour mills, Sidhu was upset because he wasn't told about his exclusion by Azharuddin. He heard about it from an England player while he was batting in the nets on the morning of the Lord's Test.
