Iqbal

Quite a fabulous movie. No other way to describe it.

About the only negative point about the movie was the way it was promoted - somehow it gave people the feeling that it would be a somewhat sad movie about a deaf-and-dumb youngster. But in fact, it is quite a brilliant feel-good movie while all the time being extremely realistic and down-to-earth. Definitely one of the best films of the year.

The simple life in the village is so beautifully portrayed with no efforts to glamorise or dramatise it anywhere. It feels as if you have just walked into this village and are meeting these lovely people. Cricket of course is the theme of the film, but it is not just about cricket. It is about the life of these villagers including but not restricted to the central character, their hopes and aspirations, their despairs and disappointments. It is about the bubbly and loyal younger sister (who is in the truest sense the heroine of the film - whoever said that a hero and heroine need to be romantically linked in a movie ?). It is about the loving and supportive mother, the stern yet good-at-heart father and most importantly about the extremely adorable, alcoholic coach Mohit- portrayed by the as-usual-brilliant Nasseruddin Shah. Mohit in his time himself was a fast bowler and a victim of political selection policies.

He is initially reluctant to coach Iqbal. This is due to various factors. Firstly he prefers to drink and sleep all day. Second he does not know how he is going to communicate. This is where the sister plays a stellar role. And third, he is convinced that nothing good can come out of being a fast bowler based on his own experience. Iqbal's persistence pays off and finally Mohit is drawn completely into it. He even tries his best to convince the austere father when the situation arises.

How he goes about teaching the raw, talented but extremely naive Iqbal the art of bowling is very cleverly depicted. The idea of Iqbal naming his buffaloes Kapil, Kumble, Harbhajan, Balaji and Irfan is very appealing. As is his idea of using them as stumps in his early days to practice bowling. Using them as fielders during practise to make the batsman play the shot that the bowler wants him to (a brainwave of Mohit's) is an intelligent one.

Of course towards the end, the plot is lost somewhat but that is bound to happen. But it is not completely lost like in most movies. The predictable aspects such as fixing in matches and selection are dealt with and while the end is a little over-dramatic it can be pardoned after such a beautiful effort.