Mumbai, Mar 29 (Media Release) : Lara Dutta whose last onscreen appearance was Fitoor will now be seen playing the role of a no-nonsense lawyer in Azhar. The actress described her character as a fearless lawyer who stands for the truth and is unafraid of her colleagues. “It's a challenging role and I had fun playing it because it's a totally fictional character but integral to the narrative,” says Lara.

She shot for most of her scenes in Hyderabad with a few sequences in London. The actress will be seen as Azhar’s arch nemesis in the film that goes out of her way to prove that he was responsible for the match fixing scandal. Lara has worked hard to fit the bill of a lawyer. As a part of her preparation, she met with a lawyer friend to understand her working style and observe her body language. Director Tony Dsouza is deeply impressed with her acting prowess said, “She went through all the legal documents pertaining to the case. We also had regular reading sessions. She really worked very hard for the role.”

Tony added, “Lara in fact, was so much into the character that sometimes even off the camera she would speak the lawyer's language,” he signed off.

Directed by Tony D’souza, Azhar is based on the life and times of one of India’s most loved cricket captains, Azharuddin and chronicles his rise and fall as country’s most controversial sportsman yet. The film stars Emraan Hashmi, Prachi Desai, Nargis Fakhri and Lara Dutta along with others. Produced by Ekta Kapoor, Shobha Kapoor, N. P. Singh and Sneha Rajani, the film is slated to release on May 13th, 2016. It is Balaji Motion Pictures and Sony Pictures Networks’ production.