On the face, Iqbal is a typical movie that you think you already have seen in one form or other. From the beginning it is very clear about what it wants to be and what it wants to say. You have seen the message come to you in the past through hundreds of scenes in various movies come to you in bits and pieces and preach one value – Belief !....... and belief in spite of all odds…….
But what makes IQBAL special is its story telling technique.. Its ability to make you connect to every character or situation and most importantly make you see yourself in the picture in one frame or other……. And yes it wins your heart!
Iqbal (Shreyas Talpade) is born deaf and dumb, stays in a village and has taken love to cricket even before he was born! His mother and sister (Swetha Prasad- Suberb!) are his support systems at home and do their best to support his passion much to the disdain of his father- a farmer stuggling with bad luck and meagre finances which are running out fast.
Iqbal practices bowling on a open land with raw wooden sticks a wickets and evesdrops on the local cricket academy with his sister doing the translation.
It is from here that the film takes shape with Nagesh Kuknoor blilliantly etching to shape what you already know will happen.The character cast of Girish Karnad as the Gurji running the academy typical to a good talent is equal to good funds politics and Nasserudin Shah as the talented state player victim of cricket politics and finally becoming a village drunkard though sounds typical is actually not so when you see it
Iqbal moves from one scene to another with one person perfectly knowing what is happening and why- YOU! As it goes Iqbal with all his support systems finally makes it and yes he does make you think about that one thing you always wanted to do but did not because you did not BELIEVE!
Kudos to Nagesh Kuknoor and it has to be said Subhash Ghai…for once this man has surprised everyone. Shreyas Talpade enacts Iqbal so blilliantly not only because his eyes do the talking so well but also because he has genuine acting skills.There is nothing more that can be said about naseeruding shah or girish karnad it has been proved time and again that these guys have been the benchmarks and will remain
But my last word is reserved for the man who has really come of age in storytelling nagesh kukoor-his casting, screenplay and ability to keep the movie believable has really put him in the next league.This man has come a long way from his Hyderabad Blues days and yes what makes this movie special is that he is also a story of a guy who BELIEVED!