Iqbal - Movie Review. Review on Iqbal

Iqbal is a lad from Kolipad and he wants to be a fast bowler in the Indian cricket team. He is a deaf mute. His father does not like cricket and to top it all, he chooses a village drunkard to be his coach. This is the setting in the movie and the plot is about how Iqbal finally makes it to the Indian team.

On a personal front, the movie touched me. While watching the movie, I felt for Iqbal, his coach, his family, and I wanted him to make it to the Indian team. Very few movies are made today that have sense and purpose, and gets us involved. This is one such movie. The performances are believable and the way the story is told is impressive. I have always appreciated movies made by Nages Kukunoor and I still feel ''Teen Deewarein'' is a great movie which never got its deserved audience. By taking cricket as the theme, I suppose he has tried to reach a far wider audience.

The story starts with a cricket crazy village watching the finals of the world series cricket in the year 1985. Iqbal's mother is one in the crowd, and she is pregnant with him. It is understood that he has cricket in his blood. The story leaps forward by 18 years where we see the daily routine of Iqbal, and get to see his playing field. Slowly, other characters enter at the appropriate moments and we get a clear picture of the righteousness of Iqbal's father, the love and support he gets from his sister and mother and the efforts he puts on. Finally, the cricketing part, his being removed from a coaching academy, the discovery of a coach in a drunkard, the struggle and finally the victory.

As far the other aspects, Iqbal is a very well written movie with very few loose ends. Not much light has been thrown into cricket as compared to the human struggle. Music is good, and it is well directed. The performances of all the characters are top notch. Over all, this is a movie worth watching, it would also be a learning experience if one wishes to learn from it.