Some years ago, former India cricketer Kirti Azad got into an ugly spat with the then Finance Minister and senior BJP leader, late Arun Jaitley and the Board for Control of Cricket in India which led to his suspension from Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and also ostracization by the cricket board. He became a one-man rebel army targeting both his party and the administration of the sport he played at the international level.
After the break-up with BJP, Azad has been in political wilderness trying to rebuild his career through joining the Congress. But he hasn't managed to regain the success he had with the current ruling party. Fighting the Lok Sabha election from Dhanbad constituency, he lost to the BJP candidate.
Now, the former India all-rounder is trying his luck with the silver screen. The trailer of a movie 'Kirket' was released which purports to show him as a great crusader for bringing Bihar back to the center of Indian cricket. Interestingly, it was the Cricket Association of Bihar who fought a legal battle with BCCI over allegations of spot-fixing in IPL.
The trailer suggests the movie is a low-budget film with typical Bollywood-style masala infused in it. Azad is the hero who decides to take up arms for the sake of cricketers in Bihar and build a team that can challenge the best.
Of course, there are the typical Bollywood villains sneering at Azad and scheming to undermine his efforts by hook or crook. There is also the glamour quotient with some stylish damsels thrown in the mix of things. The only thing missing is an item song with Azad shaking his leg to it. That is understandable because he is clothed in the typical Indian neta's dress of kurta-pyjama.
In essence, the movie portrays the fight of the former cricketer who was part of the 1983 World Cup-winning team against all odds and traps put up by his adversaries to bring cricketing glory to Bihar. The movie also seeks to have a Chak De! India style storyline where the talented cricketers gathered together fail to co-exist until Azad gets them to rally as one unit for the glory of Bihar.
The trailer also features former cricketers Maninder Singh, Manoj Prabhakar and Atul Wasan. Interestingly, all three were former teammates of Azad in the Delhi Ranji team and probably became part of the movie due to their association with him.
Whatever be the case, one thing is clear, the prospects for this movie, going by the trailer, don't look very promising.
