AZHAR Movie Review : Flashy, Overdramatic, Slightly Entertaining

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The almost a biopic movie based on the lives of the controversial cricketer Mohammad Azharuddin finally released in theatres around us and it failed to surprise us to any extent. We had to wait for a few hours as morning shows of this movie were canceled in many cinema halls, but the final product was more or less just ordinary except Emraan Hashmi‘s performance. Read the complete Azhar Movie Review below.

About Azhar

Azhar is a 2016 movie loosely based on the life of former Indian cricket team captain Mohammad Azharuddin. It mainly centers the match-fixing scandal, that the cricketer was a part of, under its central plot. The movie features Emraan Hashmi as Azhar, Prachi Desai as his first wife Naureen, Nargis Fakhri as his second wife Sangeeta, Kunaal Roy Kapur and Lara Dutta in primary roles along with extended cameos by Gautam Gulati, Manjot Singh, Rajesh Sharma and Varun Badola. The movie is directed by Tony D’souza and is produced by Balaji Motion Pictures in association with Sony Pictures Network.

Plot

Azhar is a cricketer who lives happily with his second wife and has just completed 99 test matches. Before he could attain the psychological landmark of 100 tests, he is accused of fixing 3 matches when a fellow cricketer from another country reveals that he met a bookie through Azhar. Azhar then goes to his long time buddy who is now a lawyer(Kunaal) to fight his case. On the other side, is a lawyer(Lara Dutta) who had once been a fan of Azhar, but now is representing the association which accused Azhar.

The story regularly flashes back to the past showing Azhar’s journey from a normal Hyderabadi boy to a shy cricketer, to a confident captain, and a bold lover. He is introduced by a teammate to a bookie M K Sharma(Rajesh Sharma) who offers him Rs. 1 crore to lose a match. Did Azhar take the money? Did he actually lose the match? Watch the movie, there already is so little to the movie, we don’t want to steal its remaining fun.

Watch the trailer of the movie here.

Story, Screenplay, and Dialogues

While the movie reads out loud a disclaimer making it clear that the story is not a biopic and has some dramatic elements(evident drama), it surely does revolve around real events and is told from the perspective of one of those elements. So it was pretty clear that it would not show him in a bad light at the end. Regardless, there is really less for the writers to add to the story and we get it. That meant that the movie should be having a great screenplay and awesome dialogues to compensate for the story.

While the screenplay is not extraordinary, it is fairly good and is definitely on the positive side. The timelines are quite blurred. For instance, the court case is mentioned to stretch 8 years, and none, I repeat, none of the characters seem to age even a bit in that span. It is not eight days, but eight years. Speaking about the dialogues, the movie surely has some awesome, over the top and quotable dialogues which might not generate applaud but your facial expressions will appreciate them.

Performances

Apart from Emraan Hashmi, no other actor has a significant role in the movie. Not even the friend, not even the opposition lawyer, and not even the leading(so called) ladies. Emraan justifies his casting and portrays the character with complete believability except the dialect and a few scenes here and there. Prachi Desai and Nargis Fakhri are under-developed characters of the wives of Azhar. While Prachi at least gets minor development, Nargis doesn’t have it. We are left wanting for it more but are unsatisfied. Nargis reminds of Rockstar’s Heer in some scenes when she cries. Except that, she doesn’t have much to contribute to the story. Prachi Desai shows some caliber but her character isn’t cooked enough for her to give more.

Lara Dutta seems to miss her colors in terms of acting. She had to be this overpowering lawyer but ends up being a loud woman. Kunaal Roy Kapur is adorable as the lawyer friend who is quite nervous in court. He surely has an entertaining screen presence.

When people like me went to watch the movie, who are huge fans of Indian cricket, we also wanted to see a true portrayal of other supporting casts including fellow cricketer inspired characters. Gautam Gulati just has a mustache and nothing else close to the skin of Ravi Shastri. Manjot Singh also does not look like Navjot Singh Siddhu from any angle. Both of them specifically disappoint in commentary sequences. Clearly some homework was missing. Varun Badola as Kapil Dev is quite believable. however, not satisfying enough. Rajesh Sharma is as brilliant as ever in the role of M K Sharma.

Music

The music of the movie is brilliant, but its use in the movie is decent. While songs like Itni Si Baat Hai and Bol Do Na Zara are soothing to watch, the other songs weren’t used quite well. Tu Hi Na Jaane is reduced to just a single line and that was the biggest thumb down. We wanted more of it. Also, Oye Oye has also been edited out pretty much and is not the expected high moment of the movie. Jeetne Ke Liye is not engaging enough. The background music of the movie is pretty impressive, though.

Direction

Speaking at an aggregate level, Tony D’souza provides a decent effort which entertains in bits and pieces. There is nothing against the movie except that it became too flashy and too cheezy at various points in the movie. The use of supporting characters was not to the mark and the movie got reduced to just Emraan Hashmi show. The story was underdeveloped and so was the characters. There was definitely some conflict missing.

However, the director gets a bonus point for the climax montage that is entertaining as hell. Even if we know what the result is going to be, we want to see it happen so bad that we actually liked it. Great job at that.

Conclusion

The movie showcases impressive performance by Emraan Hashmi and Prachi Desai(too little screen time). But others seem to disappoint. Kunaal is entertaining. The dialogues are quotable and rest of the movie is just around average. You can watch this for the weekend. We won’t stop.

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Did you watch the movie? Did you like the movie? Do you agree with our review of the movie? What part of the review did you like most? Do you think we missed some part in our review that you would like to mention? Head down to the comments section below and leave a reply. Also, do not forget to share the review with your friends. Coz it’s more fun with friends around. We will be back with more reviews of trailers, music and movies, and other stuff. Till then, #KeepLovingCinema.

Niket is a Professional Copywriter, A Beginner Filmmaker, A Hobbyist Writer, Lyricist, Poet, a Passionate Movie Lover, A Podcaster and A Struggling Entrepreneur. He Creates Content Regularly for 98.3 Mirchi Bhopal, Swudzy, Kalaeco, Hustlepuff and his own Website.
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