Cert PG
130 mins
BBFC advice: Contains mild bad language
In my opinion, films about sport fail more often than any other genre and I am sad to report that Tony D'Souza's Azhar is another in the long line of duds.
The problem that movie-makers have is that audiences for these type of pictures are more likely to be information anoraks and, therefore, the detail is important.
My initial concern for Azhar came in its opening in which a giant disclaimer distances it from the cricketer Mohammad Azharuddin and states that this is a fiction, based on true events.
So, before I even started watching what I thought was going to be a biopic, I was thinking: "What's the point?"
As the movie progressed, the clearer it became that this was going to be a superficial account of the life of the infamous Indian cricket captain.
Azhar (played here by Emraan Hashmi) gained notoriety when he was named in the match-fixing scandal which enveloped South Africa's Hansie Cronje.
At the time he had also walked out on his wife (Prachi Desai) from an arranged marriage to take up with Bollywood actress Sangeeta Bijlani (Nargis Fakhri).
D'Souza's film never mentions the full name of Azharuddin but there is no mistaking this is his story.
It begins with him being accused of match-fixing and then spins through his tumultuous life from birth up until he was cleared at a legal hearing.
Hashmi is unconvincing as a cricketer who was known for his single-mindedness but this may be down to a script which is certainly loaded on Azhar's side.
But it is the cricketing scenes and accompanying wooden commentaries and team-mate conversations and confrontations which really struck me as lame.
Seldom are sports reflected well by actors and it really does look as if Hashmi has never picked up a bat in his life.
As I have outlined, I didn't think much of Azhar but I was actually invited to watch it being filmed because some of the scenes were at Derbyshire's cricket ground.
Well, at least I think they were because it states as much in the credits and on Wikipedia but I must have blinked and missed them.
However, there were romantic scenes outside of Canary Wharf tube station which were set at the time of Azhar's romance with Sangeeta in 1996.
Only one problem - the station was not opened until 1999! It is a faux pas which sums up why Azhar is a miss.
Reasons to watch: highlights the cricket match-fixing scandal
Reasons to avoid: lacks the critical detail which would have made it an important watch
Laughs: none
Jumps: none
Vomit: none
Nudity: none
Overall rating: 4/10
Star tweet
Thanks to all the @Emraanians for supporting @AzharTheFilm and all my past films.. Love you guys #TalkToAzhar
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