Azhar movie review in pics: Stars Emraan Hashmi, Prachi Desai

Azhar, a biopic on the life of former cricketer Mohammad Azharuddin, which released on Friday, had a good start at the box office on its release day. It has minted Rs. 6.30 cr on the first day itself.
Read Azhar box office collections: Emraan Hashmi starrer mints Rs. 6.30 cr. on Day One
Read Azhar movie review: Emraan Hashmi is earnest, and the only saving grace in the film

The movie received great response from the viewers who showered high praise on actor Emraan Hashmi for depicting the life of the former Indian skipper on screen.
Read Azhar box office collections: Emraan Hashmi starrer mints Rs. 6.30 cr. on Day One
Read Azhar movie review: Emraan Hashmi is earnest, and the only saving grace in the film

Majority of the audience unanimously agreed that Emraan did complete justice to the character onscreen. Also coming in for high praise were the two lead actresses especially Prachi Desai whose measured performance as Azhar’s first wife left audience impressed. The chemistry between Emraan and Nargis Fakhri (Sangeeta Bijalani) too delighted many.
Read Azhar box office collections: Emraan Hashmi starrer mints Rs. 6.30 cr. on Day One
Read Azhar movie review: Emraan Hashmi is earnest, and the only saving grace in the film

Bollywood trade analyst Taran Adarsh took to Twitter to share the numbers of the movie’s box office collections: "#Azhar Fri ₹ 6.30 cr. India biz... Sat and Sun biz crucial to post a healthy weekend total."
Read Azhar box office collections: Emraan Hashmi starrer mints Rs. 6.30 cr. on Day One
Read Azhar movie review: Emraan Hashmi is earnest, and the only saving grace in the film

While it managed to hit the right chord with audience, Azhar on the other hand received mixed reviews from the critics.
Read Azhar box office collections: Emraan Hashmi starrer mints Rs. 6.30 cr. on Day One
Read Azhar movie review: Emraan Hashmi is earnest, and the only saving grace in the film

Indian Express film critic Shubhra Gupta wrote: “Emran Hashmi, usually so watchable, is buried under the inept script, which hints at shadowy dons and the guilty parties in a fuzzy, indistinct manner. But Hashmi is earnest, and the only saving grace here. Prachi Desai is rouged and demure and distressed, Nargis Fakhri as Sangeeta ( not, never, Bijlani) is pouty, Lara Dutta as the lawyer for the cricket council ( not, never, BCCI), is svelte but miscast, and Roy Kapur struggles with a bad wig and exaggerated accent, and Sharma as the bookie who makes the advances, is perenially oily.”
Read Azhar box office collections: Emraan Hashmi starrer mints Rs. 6.30 cr. on Day One
Read Azhar movie review: Emraan Hashmi is earnest, and the only saving grace in the film

While Azhar has managed to impress the audience, it remains to be seen how good the movie performs at the box office in the days to come.
Read Azhar box office collections: Emraan Hashmi starrer mints Rs. 6.30 cr. on Day One
Read Azhar movie review: Emraan Hashmi is earnest, and the only saving grace in the film

This could have been a great cautionary tale about a great sport at a time when it was just becoming the arena it has grown into—full of big money and glamour, bigger endorsements and never-ending temptations : it is, instead, an inept ‘tamasha’, not very different from the stuff Bollywood churns out, the cricket just the superstructure for tired song-and-dance and melodrama, in living rooms and court-rooms.
Read Azhar movie review: Emraan Hashmi is earnest, and the only saving grace in the film

Nope, this ‘Azhar’ doesn’t hit it out of the stadium. Cast: Emran Hashmi, Kunaal Roy Kapur, Prachi Desai, Nargis Fakhri, Lara Dutta, Kulbhushan Kharbanda Director : Tony D’Souza One and a half stars.
Read Azhar movie review: Emraan Hashmi is earnest, and the only saving grace in the film