Emraan Hashmi: Take whatever Nargis Fakhri says with a pinch of a salt

It may not be one of the most challenging roles that he has ever played, but Emraan Hashmi is definitely trying to experiment with his career in his upcoming film ‘Azhar’. The film is based on the life of talented cricketer Mohammad Azharuddin who was entangled in the controversy of match fixing and this controversy completely tarnished his career of being a cricketer. Later, he was found not-guilty of any charges, but it did have an impact on him. Emraan is set to convey his story in probably in the most subtle way possible. In an EXCLUSIVE interview with Bollywood Bubble, Emraan Hashmi spoke at length on how he ended up being on-screen Mohammad Azharuddin.

Excerpts

The inception of the film….

Emraan says, “Ekta Kapoor called me two years and said that I want to make a film on Mohammad Azharuddin and that was it. I said yes and the script was written down. Then the task was to make the script more authentic and once that was done, then we started shooting last year.”

Why he chose to do it…

“I did the film because of the controversy. It’s the film at the end of the day for the Indian audience and it does that beautifully. Controversy is the reason why people would want to come and see it. A lot of things happened in cricket back then apart from his life obviously. People who don’t follow cricket, like women generally don’t follow cricket, there is a lot in the film, a very emotional experience and it is a very interesting film.”

His preparations…

Claiming that he is not a fanatic follower of cricket, he says that the real Azhar trained him to be a cricketer. “Azhar came and coached me for like 3 months and we went to the field, learned all the shots that he played. In the 5th month, we went to London and shot on the ground.” He had to undergo physical training as well and he revealed that he lost weight to just fit into the role of Azhar.

When asked how Azhar is in real life, he says…

“Azhar was kind of a bit guarded when we started off, but he has now really opened up and was very frank afterwards. Very down to earth and humble. He is a very patient man.”

So why ‘Azhar’ is not a biopic…

“Everything in the film is real, but the reason why we are not calling it as a biopic is because we have tweaked it slightly and we used a bit of cinematic liberty. We have dramatised a bit, but not over dramatised some portions and of course songs come in so that’s when it does not stay as a biopic. So I would say that 80% is fact that you would see on screen.”

The competition with other films based on real-life…

“Pressure is with every film, but eventually we have made a film which is very, very true to how things have happened and accurate as far as the facts go. So I am very hopeful that audience would like it. We giving to them a sweet spot between an over dramatic film and also a realistic film.”

 Talking about the two leading ladies…

“I don’t have Prachi and Nargis side-by-side, I wish I had. But it was very tough. You get married to one and then divorced and you get married to other one. I wish I had them side-by-side. It was fun working with both of them. Prachi, I have known for a long time now and with Nargis I was working for the first time and it was fun.”

On what he has to say when Nargis Fakhri doubts the fake moustache to be made up of pubic hair…

Recently, Nargis had made a statement and called kissing Emraan Hashmi gross because of the artificial moustache. To this he exerts, “It was ridiculous. Please, whatever she (Nargis Fakhri) says take it with a pinch of salt. Trust me there is no truth behind this story.”

His book made a tremendous impact…

“I am very happy that I got support from everyone. I got support back then when my son was diagnosed and post that a lot of readers have come forth, bought the book, read it and the book has received great reviews. So yes, it’s pretty commendable.”

The real Azhar too faced a trauma and lost his son…

“Azhar did open up about his son and we spoke about it. He kind of opened up about it and it was an emotional time of his life and he shared that with me. Even I have been through certain experiences of my son being diagnosed with Wilms; so yes, there was some connection.”

While signing off we quizzed him about his thoughts over the ongoing allegations posted against Kangana as he was her first co-star, he refrained from passing any comments.

Also Read: Unfolded – The other side of Emraan Hashmi!