Priya Gupta (BOMBAY TIMES; April 19, 2014)

We were the first to tell you that Ekta Kapoor would be making a film based on the life of former Indian captain and skipper Mohammed Azharuddin. We had asked Azhar what he thought should be the qualities the actor who plays him should possess and pat came the reply, “He needs to be stylish as people tell me my game was very stylish. Allah gave me the talent and I became stylish over time.” He had said, “Saif Ali Khan, due to his cricketing background and style, would be my first choice, but Ekta is the boss and will decide.” Well, here it is. We have learnt from reliable sources that Ekta’s first preference seems to be Emraan Hashmi. We also heard that Emraan recently told a friend in Cape Town while shooting Raja Natwarlal, how he was extremely excited to play one of cricket’s biggest icons. Well, unless plans change, it seems that Emraan will play Azhar and may soon be seen taking cricketing lessons.