Iqbal (2005)

Iqbal, the deaf and mute son of a farmer, has a passion for the game of cricket and seeks the tutelage of a washed-up, alcoholic ex-player.

Director:

Nagesh Kukunoor

Writers:

Nagesh Kukunoor, Vipul K. Rawal (story)

Stars:

Shreyas Talpade, Naseeruddin Shah, Shweta Prasad

Top Rated Indian Movies #66 | 9 wins & 11 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Shreyas Talpade	...	Iqbal
Naseeruddin Shah	...	Mohit
Shweta Prasad	...	Khadija
Yatin Karyekar	...	Anwar
Prateeksha Lonkar	...	Saida
Girish Karnad	...	Guruji
Dilip Salgaonkar	...	Bipin
Jyoti Joshi	...	Farida
Aadarsh Balakrishna	...	Kamal
Gururaj Manepalli	...	Akash
Rajita Joshi	...	Doctor
Srikanth Chitrao	...	Sunil Mitra, the Selector
Vikram Inamdar	...	DeSouza, the Team Manager
Elahe Hiptoola	...	TV Reporter
Balaji Manohar	...	Mohammed, the Team Captain

Storyline

India - a Nation obsessed with cricket - and it is not very often one comes across anyone who loathes cricket as much as farmer Anwar Khan, who feels that it is a waste of time watching some grown men playing, not only getting paid, but costing the nation millions of lost work hours. His family, especially his wife, Saida, does not quite agree with him. As a matter of fact, she broke water when watching a cricket match with a TV set perched on a branch of a tree with almost the entire village in attendance. This is how Iqbal was born, followed by the birth of his sister, Khadija. Iqbal, though deaf and dumb, shared his mother's and sister's passion for cricket, he would tend to the buffaloes, who though all female, had been named after male cricketers, including Kapil Dev. While tending to them, he would stop and watch youngsters being trained by the renowned Guruji. When Guruji finds out about Iqbal's interest in the game, he recruits him, but lets him go when a dispute flares up ...

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Plot Keywords:

cricket the sport | character repeating someone else's dialogue | sign language | deaf mute | underdog | 

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Genres:

Drama | Sport

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [India] (English)

Country:

India

Language:

Hindi

Release Date:

20 January 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

Икбал

Filming Locations:

Hyderabad, Telangana, India

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

INR 10,000,000 (India), 2 September 2005

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mukta Searchlight Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

132 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Naseeruddin Shah won the National Award for the Best Supporting Actor category for this movie.

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Goofs

When Iqbal's sister is telling him what the cricket coach is telling his student, Girish Karnad says "okay kal milenge" which means we'll meet tomorrow. But his sister tells him "Aaj key liye itna hi" which means this is all for today. This is should not be the case since she is hearing Girish Karnad and translating his exact words.

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Quotes

Mohit: [to Guruji] For a long time I wanted to say this to you, my father and all others who wanted my good, go to HELL!

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Connections

Referenced in Rainbow (2015)

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Soundtracks

MUTTHI MEIN AASMAN...
Composed by 'Kedar Bhagat' and 'Sarosh Izedyar'
Lyrics by Vimal Kashyap
Sung by Krishnakumar Kunnath

User Reviews

iqbal-a winner

Iqbal doesn't require those plain, ch..ya reviews but aggressive reviews. Call it a bouncer, a sixer, a century, whatever. The experience is as exhilarating. Welcome new cinema. Welcome Iqbal. A movie devoted to a criminally ignored aspect of cricket called bowling with so much of spunk, style, freshness, novelty and surprises that even those not interested in game find it simply irresistible. It has all the aces. Firstly, amazing stories and people happening in small towns too who are crying to be a part of mainstream but nobody really took notice of them. No need to add situational/ item numbers (read non situational)songs or beautiful bimbettes in the name of "heroines". Instead a brother-sister combo is remarkably portrayed. And when it starts talking cricket-the game, the passion, the technique, the struggle, the pain, the politics, the victory, everything beautifully woven interspersed in between in subtle humor such that it all looks as real as life itself in flesh and blood. The honors should equally be shared by background score, songs, cinematography, editing (especially), sound design and script. All performances are first rate. Ultimately, and at last a director's film-Nagesh Kukunoor's best among his six and not to forget a superb one coming from producers mukta arts years after. Three cheers. Now few Grey areas. The film slightly looses its crispness in certain parts such as-Iqbal trying hard to get Naseer to coach him; the struggle Iqbal went through after inducted in Ranji Team and lastly the film ends on a slightly abrupt note. But all these are minor diversions. Lastly, a word of advice to established set ups tried and tested, star-studded, NRI romances format of film making. Please step aside. Your turn is over. A New dawn has set. A New player in the offing. Indian films finally finding their identity. Undoubtedly, the best film released so far this year, year 2005 will be remembered for Iqbal and likes. And Box office. F... box office. To those conventional distributors, being a modest budget film it is an easy break even so you GTH (go to hell) Also, if Tax free status is not granted sooner to this film then it is better to abolish this system of promotion via tax-free. Jiyo Iqbal !