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| It is no secret that Azharuddin did not have a good relationship with Ravi, Kapil, Manoj, Navjot |
Last month, four former cricketers Navjot Singh Sidhu, Kapil Dev, Manoj Prabhakar and Ravi Shastri demanded to know how they were being depicted in Azhar, a sort of biopic of their contemporary Azharuddin.
Mid Day had reported that they were keen that they had not been shown in bad light. They had been assured by the filmmakers that the portrayal of their characters was dignified.
With the release of Azhar on Friday their worst fears may have come true.
It is no secret that Azharuddin did not have a good relationship with these men. The film goes by his version of events and shows them, well, in bad light.
It does not even attempt to conceal their identity.
As an Indian Express review notes, in the movie Azhar, Ravi is a womaniser, Manoj is a lout, Navjot a joke and a coward. and Kapil loses his goodness for sometime but regains it.
The worst treatment is perhaps reserved for Ravi, who is shown being jealous of Azhar's rise to captaincy. A lecherous character, Ravi is seen coming out of a hotel room pulling up his zip, while a starlet follows him adjusting her saree.
Real life Sangeeta Bijlani feared that she would portrayed as a home breaker as Azharuddin had left his wife Naureen to marry her. In the film, her saving grace is a dialogue she mouths - You have given her your name, don’t cheat her.
The film gives a spin to Azhar's match-fixing controversies. He takes a crore from a bookie so that no other cricketer in the team gets tempted. But goes on to win the match with a fabulous knock and throws the money back at the bookie.