V. P. Sathyan grew up poor in Kannur and played football on village grounds before joining the Kerala Police team, which he helped make one of the strongest sides in Indian football. He went on to captain Kerala and then the national team in the 1980s and 90s. Prajesh Sen's biopic, his debut as director, follows that rise, but its real subject is what came after: injuries, the sudden loss of status that faced Indian footballers once they stopped playing, and the strain on Sathyan and his wife Anitha. Jayasurya transformed himself physically for the role and shared the Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor for it. Mammootty appears in a guest role. It is a moving portrait of a sporting hero largely forgotten outside Kerala.
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