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 #92 | 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

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 Salim Merchant
Lyrics by Irfan Siddique
Sung by Krishnakumar Kunnath

User Reviews

Take a bow Nagesh Kukunoor

Everybody wants to see the underdog triumph. But what we Don't want to see in the process is unnecessary over-the-top pity/sympathy created for the underdog. Nagesh Kukunoor understands this. He gives us the kind of cinema which is entertaining, simple and intelligent. The plot itself is simple but it's always difficult to keep it simple and yet entertain. "Iqbal" achieves this. The moment we see Iqbal(played wonderfully by Shreyas Talpade) with his rag-tag "kit bag" slung over his shoulders,carrying it like it was his most prized possession and steaming in bare feet with that look in his eyes, we want him to win. We want him to knock the socks out of the opponent (batsmen, wheeler-dealer coaches and anyone who's in his way), we want to see the world recognize him. That's what "iqbal" does to you. Iqbal's journey ( I wouldn't call it a struggle because the triumph was in his journey) takes us into his village with its rustic dusty backgrounds, buffaloes named after cricketers and a drunk ex-almost-was Naseeruddin Shah, not to mention his family. Shreyas Talpade holds his own against Naseer who seems as though he just woke up drunk in a haystack and carried on from there without knowing there was a film crew around him. Shweta Prasad as Iqbal's sister is just gifted, she brings a maturity to her character which is beyond her age, outstanding. The cricket part is handled very effectively and doesn't look amateurish.The dirt behind the selection process, you-help-me-i'll-help you situations is shown well although Kukunoor solves it simply as well. It might just be a tad more complicated than that in the real Indian cricket world. Nagesh Kukunoor seems to be growing as a film maker with each movie. His "Teen Deewarein" was splendid and Iqbal is a step further in the right direction. He has handled the potentially could-have-been-overdone story to a nicety and manages to bring out the emotions without the usual " look at me, i'm all pitiable and lovable" stuff. Iqbal isn't pitiable, but he sure is lovable.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [India] (English) Vidio [Indonesia]

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