The recently released biopic of former Indian captain Mohammad Azharuddin, ‘Azhar’, seems to have ruffled quite a few people in the cricket fraternity since its release.After Manoj Prabhakar was reported contemplating to sue the Azhar’s makers for portraying him in bad light another former Indian cricketer, Ravi Shastri,is extremely angry after he was portrayed as a womaniser in the movie.

Actor Gautam Gulati plays the character of Ravi Shastri in “Azhar”. In the film Ravi even cheats on his wife during a tour where she accompanies him. A scene in the film shows him canoodling with another woman in a hotel room while his wife is at the same hotel looking for him. According to reports, this particular part of the biopic has infuriated Shastri.

It is said that Shastri has even gone ahead and expressed his displeasure to the cricket authorities in the country. Shastri’s family is also said to be shocked by his portrayal in the film.

Directed by Tony D’Souza, Azhar chronicles the life of former India captain Mohammad Azharuddin, who was implicated in a cricket match-fixing scandal in 2000, and banned for life. In 2012, however, the Andhra Pradesh High Court lifted the ban, describing it as “unsustainable”.
Visibly angry on the film, the former Indian cricketer has said that he does not even plan to watch the movie.

“I know him in real life and I feel I don’t need to see him in reel-life,”he said.

Calling it a closed chapter, Shastri says that he has moved on and does not intend to dig up the issue. However, the former all-rounder said that he looks forward to watching the films on MS Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar, as they would be “serious biopics”.

Reports suggest that, Shastri’s portrayal in the movie is a reflection of events that had happened when the sting operation took place. Shastri had said a number of things against Mohammed Azharuddin back then and sources say that this is Azhar’s way of retaliating.