Live a LIFE. Review on Iqbal

We aimlessly aim to achieve an aim of life. Is it a shimmering thought of the aim or is it within us? The heart ponders for something the mind doesn’t. We ourselves relish the fact that we did something what our heart wanted us to do and also are many a times disillusioned by what our mind does. Little we know that in a deep beneath a thought evolves that we want our heart and mind to harmonize.

Iqbal.

Iqbal is a story of an aim to have a way of life. The way of life being Cricket and to live it as a fast bowler. Every aim has distortions, mirages that conjure one’s mode of reaching it. Iqbal is deaf and dumb. If this are the things that constraints’ him then his morale, energy and above all determination is what makes him go.

Life is reality and reality isn’t a fairy tale and hence Iqbal has to face the grim reality. Cricket is much more then a simple game in a modern era. He is in a family which is burdened in financial crisis and has a father who literally hates the word ‘Cricket’. Its not only the ability but mind games on the field and of course of the field. So will his persistence for the game deliver. Will Iqbal be the one who will have the honor of holding high being a man in blue? For all the answers watch IQBAL.

Relinquish to the simplicity of the movie

Produced by Subhash Ghai under his venture Mukta Searchlight. It won’t be an understatement that Iqbal is the best products of 2005 and in my opinion an inch better then Black. Simplicity works for Iqbal. The characters are believable and so does the outcome of the movie.

Performance wise it belongs to the trio of Iqbal played by Shreyas Talpade. His coach Naseruddin Shah and his sister Shweta Prasad and is accompanied with just APT performances especially by Girish Karnad and others.

Technicalities are on song in this movie. Nagesh Kukonoor has excelled in first really main stream attempt to movie making and after watching this I am his fan. The movie has been made strong thanks to BG score by Salim Sulaiman who also shares the absolutely likeable music with Sukhvinder Singh. The songs Ashayein is extremely good especially the guitar.

Iqbal is perfect on screenplay front especially the way it moves and there is no point wherein I can pin point about a scene being out of place. With 2.30 mins I am not complaining about the editing either.

Simply delving into the passion of the game has been perfectly brought up in the movie. The scenes between Iqbal and his parents and then his sister are just human and relative. Naseruddin Shah has proved that quality films are made exceptional via his presence and he delivers as I wanted him. Watch out the scenes where he coaches and confronts Iqbal. The movie isn’t any art kind parallel cinema with no entertainment instead it delivers terrifically well to the popcorn munching audience as well.

The movie works from strength to strength and there is no superhero progression of the hero, which is generally uneasy to digest, but the whole process of him being a cricketer with all the obstacles is highly acceptable.

I would definitely wont do much fault finding with this movie but for me there were 2 to not to be given importance faults like in a sequence where in Iqbal’s mother is pregnant, the scene should have been explored a bit further to concrete the cause of Iqbal’s handicap. Also the Ranji Selectors and thereafter Kapil Dev who has a special appearance as a unknown selector is little hurried and easy going which might raise doubts whether the selection procedure is all at ease.

All said and done Iqbal stands out. It was unfortunate the way I watched it coz the multiplex was not keen on starting the only show it was running thanks to the lack of audience but somehow I had a wish come true and more people flocked in to enjoy this movie.

As says Iqbal's coach, ''The day mind and brain works together. You are unstoppable. Aim.''

Cticize’s Quote:: “A simplistic inspiration. The movie has a repeat value but for that people will need to watch it at least once. The best part of the movie being Iqbal and his sister naming there 6 buffaloes by the bowlers’ and there favorite being Irfan.”

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© Cticize 08, 2005

PS:: Subhash Ghai should turn producer full time. He’s doing well.