The wait is finally over. The makers of "Azhar" have revealed the first look of Gautam Gulati, much to his fans delight. In the photo, Gautam is seen sporting a moustache and looks flamboyant and sophisticated.
The actor, who rose to fame with his stint on controversial show "Bigg Boss 8," will essay the role of cricketer-turned-commentator Ravish in the Emraan Hashmi-starrer "Azhar." Gautam's character Ravish is apparently inspired by former Indian cricketer Ravi Shastri.
The suave actor in an interview with Mumbai Mirror said he fell in love with his character instantly. "When I read the script I instantly fell in love with the character. He's a flamboyant, sophisticated cricketer who'd played an important role in Mohammad Azharuddin's life when he was just starting out," Gautam told the daily.
Talking about his preparations for the role, the popular actor said he watched commentary videos to get into the skin of his character. "You'll see me doing a lot of commentary, so besides the reading sessions I watched a lot of commentating videos as part of the prep. Cricket commentary is not an easy job, it requires presence of mind and impromptu lines. It was great fun, [sic]" he said.
Gautam also spoke at length in an interview with India Forums regarding his preparations for the character. "I did a lot of preparations to play this character. I had to go through his history and study a lot about him. This helped me because when I was on the sets I never had to look at my lines. I was prepared like whatever the director will tell me I will exactly do the same and play my character, [sic]" he said.
Directed by Tony D'Souza, "Azhar" is produced by Ekta Kapoor under the banner Balaji Telefilms. The film is based on the life of former Indian cricket skipper Mohammad Azharuddin and will highlight his achievements, the match-fixing controversy and his much-publicised affair and marriage to Bollywood actress Sangeeta Bijlani. Apart from Emraan and Gautam, "Azhar" also stars Prachi Desai and is slated for a May 13, 2016, release.
