Iqbal (2005) is a coming-of-age sports drama starring Shreyas Talpade, Shweta Basu Prasad and Naseeruddin Shah, with Girish Karnad as Guruji, the academy coach who stands in the hero’s way. Iqbal follows the story of a deaf and mute village boy who dreams of playing cricket for India. Thrown out of an academy for outshining its star pupil, he trains under Mohit, a former cricketer turned alcoholic.

Iqbal won two National Film Awards, for Best Film on Other Social Issues and Best Supporting Actor for Naseeruddin Shah. It had three Filmfare nominations, won Best Story at IIFA, took both supporting acting awards at the Screen Awards, and swept the critics’ categories at the Zee Cine Awards with Best Film and acting wins for Shreyas Talpade and Shweta Basu Prasad.