Cast: Shreyas Talpade, Naseeruddin Shah
Direction: Nagesh Kukunoor
Inspiring effort
Shreyas Talpade has made his presence felt in Bollywood, and how! The film is about Iqbal Khan (Talpade), an 18-year-old deaf and dumb village boy, who dreams of playing for the Indian cricket team one day. And the story reveals how he achieves his dream with the help of his alcoholic coach Mohit (Naseeruddin Shah).
The film is devoid of remarkable twists and turns, songs (except the background score) and emotional overdoses, but you’re still bound to love it. The film moves on smoothly and at no point does it become either too slow or too fast.
Shweta Prasad, as Iqbal’s kid sister, does an excellent job too. But the heart of the film is, of course Naseeruddin as Iqbal’s drunk, witty and yet responsible coach.
The humourous scenes of interaction between him and the ‘dangerous’ women of Iqbal’s family are memorable. But no, the story isn’t that fresh. You’ll find traces of Lagaan and even a bit of Black influence in it. But, with so many remakes being released now, these can be surely overlooked. And so can the over-dramatic climax.
Salim-Suleiman’s music touches the heart. The background score Aashayein by Sukhwinder Singh has been used with good effect.
In a cricket-crazy country like this, Iqbal is bound to make an impact. A special appearance by Kapil Dev is the icing on the cake. Watch Iqbal. You’ll love it.