2005 · Film
Iqbal
Nagesh Kukunoor's sports drama about Iqbal, a deaf and mute village boy who dreams of bowling for the Indian cricket team against his father's wishes.
Reviewed by Movie Mandala, Sun, 18 Oct, 2026
Where to watch
IndiaAs of 18 October 2026, Iqbal is free to watch in India on Prime Video.
- Checked Sun, 18 Oct, 2026Open ↗
The story
Iqbal Khan is a deaf and mute teenager in a small village who has one dream: to play cricket for India. He practises bowling in the fields near home, using the family's buffaloes as fielders, with his sister Khadija as his biggest supporter. His father thinks cricket is a waste of time and wants him to become a farmer. When Iqbal's efforts to get into a cricket academy run into obstacles, he turns to Mohit, a hard-drinking former cricketer living in the village, and asks him to be his coach.
Spoiler-free: only the set-up.
Who it suits
A gentle, family-friendly underdog story for cricket fans and for anyone looking for an inspiring film to watch with children. It runs a little over two hours and deals with disability, a strained father-son relationship and a coach's drinking, without graphic content.
Curation to help you choose, not a review.
Background
Iqbal was written and directed by Nagesh Kukunoor, with dialogues by Mir Ali Hussain, and produced by Subhash Ghai under Mukta Searchlight Films. It was Shreyas Talpade's first lead role in Hindi cinema.
The film opened in Indian cinemas on 26 August 2005. Wikipedia reports a budget of ₹2.25 crore and a box-office total of about ₹5.60 crore. At the National Film Awards it won Best Film on Other Social Issues, shared by Kukunoor and Ghai, and Naseeruddin Shah won Best Supporting Actor for playing Iqbal's coach, Mohit. It received three nominations at the 51st Filmfare Awards, including Best Director and Best Supporting Actress for Shweta Basu Prasad. Talpade and Basu Prasad won Zee Cine Critics awards, and Basu Prasad also won a Screen Award for Best Supporting Actress. The film was screened again on 18 August 2016 at the Independence Day Film Festival.
The facts
- Language
- Hindi
- Hindi
- Hindi original
- Genre
- Sports drama, Coming-of-age
- Runtime
- 132 min
- Director
- Nagesh Kukunoor
- Cast
- Shreyas Talpade, Naseeruddin Shah, Girish Karnad, Shweta Basu Prasad, Yatin Karyekar
Questions people ask
- Where can I watch Iqbal in India?
- As of 18 October 2026, Iqbal is free to watch in India on Prime Video.
- Is Iqbal in Hindi?
- Yes. Iqbal is a Hindi-language film.
- How long is Iqbal?
- Iqbal runs for 2 hours 12 minutes (132 minutes).