Echoes of Woolmer's death in 'Jannat'

MUMBAI (Reuters) - A new Bollywood film about match fixing in cricket depicts a coach found dead under mysterious circumstances during a tournament -- mirroring the death of Bob Woolmer at the cricket World Cup in 2007.

"Jannat", a fictional take on the grey areas of the game, is primarily the story of a bookie but director Kunal Deshmukh said the death of the Pakistan cricket coach did have its echoes in the film.

"The story of the man becoming a match fixer is fictional but the incident of a coach's death is certainly inspired from Woolmer's death," Deshmukh told Reuters on Wednesday.

Woolmer, 58, was found dead on March 18, 2007 - a day after Pakistan were eliminated from the World Cup in Jamaica following an upset loss to Ireland.

He was found unconscious in his hotel room and pronounced dead in hospital. Speculation about his death had included suggestions he had uncovered a match-fixing scandal - but Deshmukh said the film was not an attempt to solve the mystery.

"The film is not about Bob Woolmer and we are definitely not hinting at what happened to him, who all killed him and who were behind the tragedy," he said.

"Jannat" is slated to open in cinemas on May 2.