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 Basu Prasad

Top Rated Indian Movies #77 | 10 wins & 13 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Shreyas Talpade	...	Iqbal
Naseeruddin Shah	...	Mohit
Shweta Basu Prasad	...	Khadija (as Shweta Prasad)
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

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

In the start of the movie, the villagers are seen watching the live cricket world cup match. However, when you look closely at the TV screen, you do not see the logo of the broadcasting channel (it has to be Doordarshan at that time). This clearly proves that the villagers were watching a recorded version of the cricket match, which is not possible as it was a live match.

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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

AASHAEIN...
Composed by Salim Merchant and Sulaiman Merchant
Lyrics by Irfan Siddique
Sung by Krishnakumar Kunnath

User Reviews

A great feel good movie

This is all about chasing your dreams, no matter what the obstacles. The movie is funny in a subtle way and the acting is brilliant. It is rare that such gems come out of the Indian Film industry. Overall a refresher amongst the crap which normally plays in theaters.

The story involves a young deaf and dumb boy who is crazy about cricket, and how he hides behind buffaloes to watch a coaching camp and learn bowling. Eventually he finds a teacher in a failed cricketer(played by Nassiruding shah) who leaves his drinking habit and makes it his personal battle to place Iqbal in the Indian cricket team.This movie also touches upon the corruption in the selection system and commercialization of cricket.