Mumbai: Director Tony D’Souza is set to make a biopic on former India captain Mohammed Azharuddin and our sources tell us that Emraan Hashmi, who will be playing the lead, will meet the cricketer-turned-politician later in the week.
Tony, who has been Azhar’s friend from many years, bagged the project ahead of Kunal Deshmukh, who had already done substantial research for the project.
Whether Deshmukh will share his research work on Azharuddin with the new director is entirely his call, say sources.
Deshmukh was apparently shown the door because of the failure of Emraan Hashmi-starrer Raja Natwarlal. A source reveals, “The film’s producer Ekta Kapoor felt that the Deshmukh-Hashmi combo was not correct for the box office.”
That Tony D’Souza will be directing the Azharuddin biopic has been known for a while now. What wasn’t known was that the filmmaker has been friends with the cricketer for many years.
“I’ve known Azhar over the years. He has gone through amazing ups and downs. My interest in cricket ended when Azhar bhai stopped playing. The cut-off point for my passion for cricket was 2004. Prior to that I was as passionate about cricket as I am about cinema,” reveals Tony.
When quizzed about taking over the project from Kunal Deshmukh, he says, “I’ve no idea what came before. All I know is that I am doing the project now.”
Tony is thrilled to have Emraan Hashmi playing Azharuddin. “He will surprise the audiences. Emraan has never been seen playing a real-life character, and that too a cricketer.”
Tony, who will be taking Emraan to meet Azharuddin later this week, adds, “I will use my own comfort level with Azhar bhai to make Emraan comfortable when he plays the character.”
