Reel Azhar meets real Azhar
Vickey Lalwani (MUMBAI MIRROR; September 20, 2014)

Heads turned at a Bandra 5-star a little after noon yesterday when Mohammed Azharuddin walked in and bumped into Emraan Hashmi, who incidentally will be playing the ace cricketer in a biopic being produced by Ekta Kapoor.

The actor, casually dressed in jeans and a Tee, had been at the hotel discussing the film with his writer, Rajat Arora, over coffee. During the hour-long conversation, the duo discussed the nuances of the role, with partcular emphaisis on Azhar's distinctive body language when at the crease and is mannerisms when away from the green.

As they were on their way out, Emraan and Rajat met the former captain of the Indian cricket team at the reception. They were soon joined by a crowd of curious fans.

Looking dapper as usual, Azhar greeted Emraan warmly and wished him luck on his forthcoming venture which is expected to roll soon.

"Do the part well. And when you start rehearsing the cricketing shots, I will make it a point to be around to cue you in," promised the cricketer-turned-politician.

When contacted, Balaji's CEO, Tanuj Garg, confirmed the meeting, saying, "Yes, while leaving the hotel after a script narration on the biopic, Emraan did bump into Azhar."

This puts an end to the rumours doing rounds since the past two weeks that Emraan has walked out of the biopic.