Real Kashmir Football Club Review: Familiar but Refreshing Sports Drama

BOTTOM LINE
Familiar but Refreshing Sports Drama

PLATFORM
SonyLiv

RUNTIME
8 Episodes | 5 hours 50 minutes

What Is the Show About?

Sohail, disillusioned with journalism, starts a professional football club, RKFC, in Kashmir with coach Mustafa and financier Shirish. After recruiting a temperamental local star, Shah, a disastrous tournament in Delhi quickly intensifies internal strife. To appease Shirish and improve results, Sohail hires international coach Douglas. The club then faces a critical moral decision: whether or not to play a league-qualifying match against a security forces team.

Performances

Two performances significantly anchor the show: Manav Kaul (in his second OTT release about Kashmir this year) and Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub. While Kaul subtly embodies unexpressed gloom and hope in Shirish, Ayyub’s vulnerable portrayal of Sohail, who confronts all obstacles, makes a solid impact. Among others, Abhishant Rana, Mu’Azzam Bhat, and Afnan Fazli stand out with their strong screen presence.

Analysis

The recently released Tamil sports drama Bison, helmed by Mari Selvaraj, sheds light on a village uniting to protect a dream and a sportsman rising above dire circumstances and social barriers as a national kabaddi player. Similarly, Sony LIV’s web show, Real Kashmir Football Club, uses sport as an antidote in the time of chaos and a harbinger of hope.

Based on true incidents, Real Kashmir Football Club traces the origins of a private football club in the region in the 2010s (its highs, lows, and its significance to its players, owners, and residents). It doesn’t claim to be a full, authentic picture of the place in its entirety; rather, it offers an alternative narrative for discovery and better understanding.

Politics is integral, but unlike the many stories of the region that reduce the place to a one-dimensional debate about conflict, it spotlights a possible panacea. It tells the story of a journalist and a businessman battling all odds: a money crunch, political threats, internal strife, delicate relationships, and tall egos, all for one unified dream.

Within the club’s story, many Kashmiri lives are embedded in the subplots: a youth carried away by local politics, a middle-aged man hesitantly depending on his wife, a boy who lies about playing football instead of cricket, a private employee who takes office permissions to coach, and an entrepreneur made to feel guilty for running an alcohol business, to name a few.

The show follows beats similar to most underdog sports sagas: scant resources, a wasteland becoming a pitch, administrative issues, the ‘make or break’ situation, desperation for victory, and clashes among the team and staff, all leading towards an impossible success story. These elements bring relatability, yet the details are specifically sketched against the unique backdrop.

The focus on the club, rather than a single individual, allows the filmmakers the liberty to build a strong context for the off-field action. There are moments when characters are vulnerable, break down, and wonder if the drama is worth it. No one is treated like a saint; they are just men who believe in a sport, battling it out on the ground while overcoming personal struggles back home.

Despite many parallel threads, the narrative remains focused, gentle, and consistently watchable. However, it does allow for a few clichés: the women, while progressive and independent, generally appear as supportive, often sacrificial figures. It’s the men who always make the big decisions. Perhaps hinting that football is above gender is a dimension the story could have realised.

Real Kashmir Football Club is a refreshing, alternative take on Kashmir told through the journey of a private football club. While the trajectory is familiar and its destination known, it’s a show made with warmth (sometimes perhaps a little too sugar-coated for comfort?), significantly benefiting from strong performances, a feather-light treatment, and technical finesse.

Music and Other Departments?

Indian Ocean does a fantastic job in encapsulating the rustic, local soundscape within the score, which provides much-needed authenticity to the setting. While the Kashmir backdrop often makes a cinematographer’s job easy, Saurabh Monga deftly captures the club’s journey through his sharp visuals. The editing is seamless, and the episode runtime (around 40 minutes) is ideal for building compelling sequences and characters. Some of the writing choices could’ve been novel and less straightforward.

Highlights?

Inspiring, refreshing story

Feel-good storytelling, neat execution

Strong performances, good casting

Drawbacks?

Falls into a predictable template

Convenient writing choices

Lacks urgency and heightened drama at times

Did I Enjoy It?

Generally, yes

Will You Recommend It?

Certainly, it’s a comfy (if not pathbreaking) watch for sports enthusiasts

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 Real Kashmir Football Club Review by M9