Emraan Hashmi Speaks To Subhash K Jha On Why Azhar Has An Important Story To Tell
Were you a cricket player before you did Azhar?
I wasn’t a hardcore cricket buff. But I believe cricket is a part of every Indian’s DNA.We can’t escape cricket. I also played cricket. But not the professional cricket that the captain of the Indian cricket team is expected to play after experience of 20 years.I had to observe Azhar’s batting style and try to play like him without aping him. This is by far the most challenging role I’ve done so far.
How faithful have you remained to Azharuddin’s character and career?
I wouldn’t call this a faithful bio-pic. Azhar is inspired by the events in Azharuddin’s life. But we’ve taken cinematic liberties by making it a full-on masala fare.At the same time we’ve remained faithful to basic facts in Azharuddin’s life and career.So far we’ve never seen Indian cricket players upclose and personal sharing their jokes and hiccups . At the point when all the controversies were happening he was very quiet.The film speaks up on his behalf.
Azharuddin seems very supportive of the film?
Yes, he was supportive from the word go. My director Tony d’Souza and I had to do nothing major to win over his confidence. He was very frank and honest about the incidents in his life. He was very clear about the way the film would be made.And we were also very clear about how we wanted to make the film.
Was there a lot of brainstorming between Azhar and you?
We spent about a year and a half trying to understand Azharuddin’s life and thoughts. We would chat about his younger days and what happened during the match-fixing controversy. He helped us to get a perspective on the way I played the character.
Azharuddin is not the first real-life character that you’ve played?
I played a real-life character in Danis Tanovic’s Tigers. But I had never met the guy. With Azharuddin it was different. People know him and his life.I got to know him too.We got a chance to telescope and microscope 20 years of his life, his victories, the humiliation after the (matchfixing) scandal, the way he lived, spoke ,walked,the way he looked.
Did you faithfully imbibe all of Azharuddin’s traits?
I had to play him more dramatically. There were dialogues and heightened emptionsthat had to be brought in. But at the same time we haven’t dramatized the actual incidents and events to the extent that the original is unrecognizable.We’ve kept the proceedings real while giving it a Hindi-film twist.
Has the film taken sides on the question of Azhar’s guilt/non-guilt in the match-fixing allegations?
This is a story that has never really been told. We read about it. But we never knew what Azharuddin actually went through. We had to enhance the dramatic impact by maybe 20 percent to ensure audiences’ attention.
How different is your Azhar from the real Azhar?
In real-life Azharuddin is a man of few words. If you see him on news channels he is stoic. But I had to play him as more articulate and accessible. The real-life Azharuddin doesn’t show emotions.If we had not dramatized the events this would be a docu-drama. We were not interested in making that.
There is a bio-pic on another cricketer Dhoni coming up. Is that a good sign?
Any story about a sung or unsung hero is worth telling. This is a good time to capitalize on the lives of real-life heroes who are relatable(to the audience).
Lately you’ve been doing less work?
No, actually even when my son fell ill I shot and completed three films Mr X, Raja Natwarlal and Hamari Adhuri Kahani. Azhar took more time.We had to gather all of Azharuddin’s thoughts and information on him before we could start shooting.And that took time.But yes, now I’ll be signing more films.

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Jamuna Had A Love-Hate Relationship With Bollywood

Veteran Telugu actress Jamuna who passed away on Friday, shared an uneasy relationship with the Hindi film industry.She did eleven Hindi films including the iconic Milan in 1967 where Jamuna agreed to play the second lead, or the supporting role if you will, to Nutan.
Jamuna as Gauri was the Other Woman who craved for the hero Sunil Dutt’s attention whereas he had eyes and devotion only for Nutan. In later years Aruna Irani played a similar role in Caravan.
In Milan Jamuna was not keen to do a supporting role. Producer L V Prasad tempted her with three chartbusting songs. Besides, Jamuna had played the same role in Mooga Manasulu, the Telugu original of Milan. But it was the songs composed by Laxmikant-Pyarelal which convinced Jamuna to take up the second lead in Milan.
While Nutan had no solo songs in Milan, she did have the chartbuster duet Sawan ka mahina . Jamuna on the other hand, had two splendid Lata Mangeshkar solos: Tohey saawariya naahin khabariya and the magnificent Ghazal Aaj dil pe koi zor chalta nahin.Not only these, Jamuna also had a hit duet with Mukesh based on her character Gauri: Bol Gauri bol tera kaun piya.
But then, fate intervened. After the film released one of Jamuna’s solos, the poignant and memorable Aaj dil pe koi zor chalta nahin was snipped out of the film.
Here is what happened: the Ghazal , one of Lataji’s all-time greats, was very much a part of Milan when it released on 17 March 1967. But then it was seen to hamper the flow of the film and edited out. The beautiful song occurred right after intermission. Producer Prasad, a shrewd filmmaker, got to know that audiences prolonged their loo breaks as there was a song after the break. Hence the sacrifice of a seriously sonorous melody.
Jamuna hardly did Hindi films after Milan. Her last Bollywood appearance was in Raj Kumar Kohli’s Raj Tilak where she was lost in a multistarrer as the royal queen.
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Karan Johar Moves Alia Song From Switzerland To Kashmir

The romantic duet in Karan Johar’s Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahaani which was to be shot in Switzerland and which was delayed due to the film’s leading lady Alia Bhatt’s motherhood, is now being relocated to Kashmir.
Purely out of the love for new mom Alia.
Says a source in the know, “Karan loves Alia like his own daughter. He would do anything for her. He postponed the release of Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani as the love duet could not be shot before Alia’s maternity leave. Karan had decided to shoot the song in Switzerland after Alia’s maternity love. But now he has relocated the song to Kashmir as Alia doesn’t want to leave her baby girl behind for long stretches.”
And as Karan Johar argued, snow is snow. How does it matter whether it is Switzerland or Kashmir?
This song would be Karan Johar’s tribute to his idol Yash Chopra. Alia would be dressed in chiffon sarees while Ranveer, for a change, would be seen in formals.
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Bobby Deol’s Switchover To Villainous Roles

After Prakash Jha’s webseries Ashram where Bobby played a sleazy godman, and Love Hostel where he was a ruthless assassin, he is playing the villain to Ranbir Kapoor in Sandeep Vanga’s Animal.
Bobby says it is not conscious career decision to play negative characters but a conscious decision to play interesting characters. “ I don’t look at characters as positive or negative.When I watch films there is always one character that stays with you. I want to play that character.”
Prakash Jha’s Ashram proved a gamechanger for Bobby. He admits finding challenging roles is tough. “I am trying. I am doing Sandeep Vanga’s Animal with Ranbir Kapoor , Parineeti Chopra. Then I am doing the family film Apne 2 which I am very excited about.”
In an earlier interview with this writer Bobby spoke about his long absence from screen before Prakash Jha’s Ashram. “My fans would ask why I wasn’t being seen on the screen.And I couldn’t tell them it was because I wasn’t getting good roles. But my fans stood by me. They gave me the strength to keep looking for the right roles. Thankfully I found the roles I liked. My new films have given me some new fans. I am thankful I am still here. Yeah , I am in a good space right now.”
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Undekhi A Dark Compelling Thriller Set In The Heartland

Undekhi the forthcoming webseries from Applause Entertainment and Sony LIV which starts streaming from July 10, looks like the kind of thriller that won’t let us rest easy until we see the last episode. It is mounted with a stress on growing pressure.
One promo shows a rotund cop investigating a gruesome murder in a dense tribal area.The other promo shows a politician gunning down a dancer on stage in front of the public and the press.
Wild West comes to the North. Undekhi is a thriller set in Manali, Himachal created for Applause by Siddharth Sengupta. It’s a gripping story that sees Harsh Chhaya making an impressive comeback as a drunk Papaji in a super-rich amoral Punjabi family. And Surya Sharma (Prince from Hostages) really shines as Rinku , the main bad guy and Papaji’s nephew. It’s got a terrific cast of other characters, many of whom we all recognize as names .
The talented Harsh Chhaya makes a debut of sorts on the digital medium with Undekhi.
Says Harsh, “I have never played anything so wild and mad. I am looking forward to Undekhi, hope it works for the audience too.This is a debut in a sense that this is the first one I shot for the OTT platform.But the other two I shot for after this was streamed before this one Out Of Love and Rangbaaz, Phir Se.
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