Taking a different route, in Azhar, he plays former Indian cricketer Mohammad Azharuddin. Emraan shares some interesting insights on the life and times of the cricketer.
Mastering the character
“We started with a lot of research material put forth by the director of the film and his team. I had to work on that for the initial three-four months and that involved browsing through reports, interviews available on YouTube, etc. Imbibing and bringing alive his mannerisms, the way he plays cricket in real life was difficult. It was a completely different ball game, and took me at least six-seven months to crack a lot of things. (Azhar) trained me for over three months, etc. The other challenge was showing his emotional journey as a captain of the Indian team and his inner turmoil when there were allegations of match-fixing. A lot of mental prep had to be done,” Emraan says.
Cricket runs in the blood
As a true Indian, Emraan feels cricket is in his blood. “I have always followed cricket very closely since childhood. However, I haven’t been able to follow it as closely as I do in the past 10-12 years because of my busy schedule. I keep going back to the days when Azhar, Sachin and Kapil Dev used to play. Those were the ‘glory days’ of cricket; there used to be certain frenzy and madness for the sport. It was the frenzy that I enjoyed the most, and there weren’t as many formats as we have today. Since I knew about the game, Azhar’s captaincy and his life, and the scandal, so I was very greedy to lap up what I got.”
Training days
Emraan is grateful to Azharuddin for teaching him the tricks of the trade. He shares, “I have always been a gully cricketer, but I don’t have any technicalities. Luckily, Azhar bhai got down to train me in that part, and he was right there to teach me the nuances of the game. Practicing was a nerve- wrecking experience. My wrist used to hurt a lot after three long hours of playing and after 100-103 throw balls. There used to be a bucket of ice kept on the sets to dip my wrists. Earlier, I used to a lot of weight training but to prep for the film, I gave up on that and did athletic training for almost six-seven months. Since leg glance technique strains your nerves, I did a lot of yoga that helped in opening up my wrists,” shares Emraan.
Revelations about Azhar
While shooting for the film, there were some interesting revelations about Azhar. Emraan puts forth, “I didn’t know that he was so attached to his grandfather, and he deliberately orchestrated him getting into cricket, and he eventually fulfilled his promise. Azhar bhai tells me that there used to be a tree in his school, and he had a visual of his grandfather there with his hands folded and disciplining him. He used to be unforgiving when he missed a shot or didn’t play well. There are several such finer nuances about him that one can make at least a ten hour long movie on him, but we decided to take only the key moments of his life.”
Traits similar to Azhar
There are a few striking similarities that Emraan feels that he shares with Azhar. He reveals, “I have seen a fair share of obstacles in my life like him. Azhar segregates his personal and professional lives, and similarly, I like to compartmentalise the two. He is very grounded and humble and I also strive to be the same.”
