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DNA (January 23, 2015)

Enlarge ImageEmraan Hashmi plays Mohammed Azharuddin in an upcoming biopic on the former India captain directed by Anthony D’Souza. And who better than Azhar himself to train the actor?

Anthony confirms, “Azhar will personally train Emraan in Delhi and Mumbai. They are spending as much time together as possible so that the latter looks convincing playing Azhar and like him as well.”

The director explains the process, “Playing a living character who is a legend on the field is not the same as recreating a biographical character who is no more with us. Emraan has to get all the nuances right.”

Getting a duplicate to do the intricate shots on the field was an idea that was considered, and then discarded. “We don’t want to cheat on the authenticity level. Emraan must justify the fact that he’s playing Azharuddin,” says Tony.