“When the makers called me and said, ‘We’re doing a series on Kashmir’, I said, ‘No, I won’t do it,'” recalled the actor, in conversation with Real Kashmir Football Club co-writer Simaab Hashmi on SCREEN’s Creator X Creator this past December as the show dropped on SonyLIV. “That was my first reaction. They said, ‘Please, please just read the script.’ I read two episodes, which were quite stunning. So, I called them back and said just give me any role,” added Kaul.

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Manav Kaul confessed he wasn’t aware of the historic football club because he lived in Baramulla, which was very far from the capital city of Srinagar, the home of Real Kashmir Football Club. “When I started reading about it, I learnt that this football club brought peace to the valley. Then I wondered why this story hasn’t been told earlier. Being from Kashmir, I had no idea. So, those who aren’t from the state would be even more shocked by this story,” argued Kaul.

Manav Kaul x Mohd Zeeshan Ayyub

Real Kashmir Football Club also brings together two acting powerhouses in Manav Kaul and Mohd Zeeshan Ayyub. “I first met Zeeshan and his wife when they were a part of NSD (National School of Drama, Delhi). We just said hello-hi, but nothing after that. I knew Zeeshan is good friends with Kumud Mishra (who’s also Manav’s good friend and close collaborator in theatre), but I never became a part of their group,” confessed the actor.

That’s why he got too excited to have Zeeshan onboard the show, who made it “very easy” for him. “Zeeshan’s understanding of the script is at par with any writer. I remember we discussed a scene for two hours inside the vanity van. There was another scene, three to four pages long, which we cut down to one page, because why speak so much when there are so many visuals already?,” he added. C0-writer Simaab Hashmi also echoed with Kaul and said, “I agree! I’ve never seen what they call the actor’s ego. Because Manav and Zeeshan would give each other their lines because they thought that would suit their characters better,” hailing both as his Karan Arjun.

Manav’s creative involvement in RKFC

Manav Kaul also revealed that he was more involved in Real Kashmir Football Club than any other project he’s done, where he’s not the director or the writer. “I got the freedom to ask questions from the very first meeting. My opinions were respected. So, I read the script again and again, and suggested changes.” He’d even call up co-showrunner Mahesh Mathai whenever he had a brainwave, only for the latter to travel across Mumbai to meet him and discuss together.

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Genesis of Real Kashmir Football Club

Hashmi Simaab conceived the idea of making a show on Real Kashmir Football Club after he came across a newspaper article on the Jammu & Kashmir football team. “The first emotion that came to me was hope. It’s such a dark world there. So much is happening there, and then comes this club,” said the co-writer. However, he was concerned if there’ll be any takers for that story since it’s not as dark as what the stories of Kashmir are usually about.

When he got in touch with the Jammu & Kashmir football club, they dismissively asked him to come to Srinagar if he wanted to know more. So, Simaab just showed up, much to the team’s surprise. “You really showed up? I just said it like that,” they said. But since Kashmir is known for its hospitality, they welcomed Simaab and his associates with open arms.

“We spent quite some time there, just travelling via local buses, going into areas with curfew even though we were warned not to, and visiting Dal Lake. A shikara guy then just asked us to come to his home for a meal. We always see that wide shot of Dal Lake in films, but where are these stories of their homes and their kitchens? I saw children going to tuitions in a boat! When they invited us home, they felt embarrassed that they’re poor. But they just served the two packets of biscuits they had at home,” recalled Simaab. “Real Kashmir isn’t just the name of the club, but also the lens through which we made the film,” he added.

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Produced by Jaya Entertainment and Oshun Entertainment, Real Kashmir Football Club also stars Abhishant Rana, Muazzam Bhat, Priya Chauhan, Anmol Thakeria Dhillon, Afnan Fazli, and Shaheem Bhat. Filmmaker Rajesh Mapuskar is also co-show-runner with Mathai from a script written by Mathai, Simaab Hashmi, Dhruv Narang, Danish Renzu, and Umang Vyas.