Gaurav Dubey (MID-DAY; April 29, 2016)

On April 16, we had reported that cricketers Navjot Singh Sidhu, Kapil Dev, Manoj Prabhakar, Ravi Shastri and a few others had apparently asked the makers of Azhar to show them the film, as they were concerned about how they have been portrayed in it. But nothing on that front has progressed and now we hear that Manoj Prabhakar is planning to take legal action against them.

Says a source, “Manoj was the key witness in the match fixing case and played an important role in cracking it. He thinks that he might have been portrayed negatively as the film is about Azhar’s life and will definitely show him in good light. He tried getting in touch with the makers to ask them about his character but it seems that no one is responding.”

Another source confirms the news and adds, “Manoj is contemplating taking legal action. Some time back the makers were requested by a few cricketers to hold a special preview of the project.” A source close to the makers further says that though Manoj Prabhakar has approached them for a special preview, the producers are yet to take a call.

Manoj Prabhakar and producers of the film remained unavailable for comment.

Fearing that they might be shown in bad light, a few cricketers of Azhar’s time have apparently asked to see his biopic before it gets released...
Gaurav Dubey (MID-DAY; April 16, 2016)

The biopic on tainted cricketer Azharuddin’s life is generating quite an amount of buzz. The movie, where Emraan Hashmi plays Azhar, is said to be focusing on the cricketer’s personal and professional life.

Now we hear a few of Azhar's fellow cricketers, including Navjot Singh Sidhu, Kapil Dev, Manoj Prabhakar and Ravi Shastri have demanded that they get to watch the film before its released so that they know how each of them is portrayed in the film.

A source says, “Some cricketers are anxious to see the film before it gets released because they want to know how each of them is represented. This is a controversial subject and obviously none of them want to be shown in any kind of bad light.”

“Yes, few of them have called and enquired about their role and how they have been depicted in the film and also they want us to show the film so that they get a clearer picture. We are currently in talks with them but have conveyed it to them that there are projected in a dignified manner in the film,” adds a source working on the film.

When contacted, Aman Gill, the CEO of Balaji Motion Pictures, which is producing the film, remained unavailable for comment.

Roshmilla Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; March 19, 2014)

She exploded on to the scene in ‘92 with Jaan Tere Naam and Bollywood went gaga over the Madhuri Dixit lookalike. A spate of movies followed, including Amaanat, Sainik, Dil Ki Baazi, and a few down South.

Two years later, she met controversial cricketer Manoj Prabhakar and they started a relationship, even though the sportsman was already married and a father. Reports of a secret nikaah followed and then, Farheen disappeared.

Buzz was, after a four-year-long affair and a three-year-old son, Manoj had left Farheen to return to first wife Sandhya and their son. But then in November 2006, a Delhi court settled a dowry harrassment case filed by Sandhya. But Farheen’s whereabouts remained a mystery.

Mirror has now tracked her down to Delhi where she lives with Prabhakar and their two children--16-year-old Raahil and 11-year-old Manavansh. The cricketer’s father and Rohan, his 25-year-old son with Sandhya, plus Rohan's wife (a match Farheen says she arranged) and baby, complete the family. “So you see I’m already a grandmother,” laughs the 41-year-old who is gearing up for a comeback in the Jaan Tere Naam sequel as the “young” mother of the heroine.

“I couldn’t say no to Deepakji (director Deepak Balraj Vij). I’d do even a bit role for him,” she tells Mirror in a telephonic chat. Quiz her about her sudden departure from the spotlight and she reminisces, “I turned down Baazigar opposite Shah Rukh as the dates clashed with a film I was doing with Kamal Haasan. After Kalignan, I was flooded with offers from the South and I accepted them because the money was good and they wrapped up fast. Then in '94, I met Manoj."

Farheen insists that they started off as friends but somewhere along the way, they fell in love. “He was going through a rough patch and he needed me. So, I chose him over my career,” explains the actress who made a hasty exit from showbiz and was soon firmly ensconced in domesticity.“There were a couple of offers for serials but TV is time-consuming. My children were young and I had to be around. I have a home to run and a herbal skincare business too. Besides, I was happily married, there was no pressure to work two shifts a day,” she says.

But why the vanishing act, given that a lot of former actresses continue to be public figures? The question draws a laugh: “I did not disappear. It’s just that I’m in Delhi and chose to keep in touch with just a few of my industry friends like Deepakji, Aditya (Pancholi) and Shakti Kapoor. And though both Manoj and I lead very private lives, we do socialise and people here are avid Bollywood fans and have seen my movies. I just didn’t give any interviews before this.”

Sound her out on the rumours about her relationship with Manoj and she clarifies, “Manoj is a part of my life, as are the kids and his family. But I don’t want to comment on his ex-wife or the charges of match fixing levelled against him. He's still connected with cricket as a commentator.”

Farheen credits her atheletic husband for her youthful looks. “Thanks to him, I’ve never missed out on a gym routine which has kept me in shape after two babies. Since I’m blessed with great skin, I’m told I still look like I am 30,” she says.

And how have the kids reacted to her decision to return to acting? “They show my films to their friends and tell them their mother is the most beautiful woman in the world. They know I gave up my career for them and they’re happy that I’m going back,”she says.

So Madhuri Dixit, who too has made a much talked about comeback, will have competition again? “Madhuri is beautiful, but I think I’m more beautiful, even my sons say so,” she laughs. “Had I not got married I would have given her good takkar. She is an actress par excellence but I had age on my side as I entered the industry seven years after she did. But today, I don’t think I resemble her. My hair is longer now and when I met Shatrughan Sinha recently, he told me that I look like Suchitra Sen. That’s a real compliment.”