A feel-good sports drama on Kashmir

The new eight-episode series, 'Real Kashmir Football Club', frames football as both aspiration and anchor

- Udita Jhunjhunwala

Stills from 'Real Kashmir Football Club'.

Real Kashmir Football Club, the Sony LIV series directed by Mahesh Mathai and Rajesh Mapuskar, draws its inspiration from a real-life story.

The club was born in the aftermath of the devastating 2014 Kashmir floods, when journalist and former footballer Shamim Meraj and entrepreneur Sandeep Chattoo began distributing footballs to local youth as a way to restore routine and purpose. This humanitarian gesture soon evolved into the founding of the region's first professional football club. Formed in 2016, Real Kashmir FC was built not just to compete competitively but to also offer structure, dignity, and representation in a place shaped by uncertainty.

The eight-episode series, written by Simaab Hashmi, Umang Vyas, Dhruv Narang, Danish Renzu and Mathai, uses this journey as its foundation, framing football as both aspiration and anchor.

The show unfolds as a quiet, straightforward sports drama that values honesty over spectacle. Rather than pushing for big dramatic moments, it stays close to everyday realities, letting practical challenges, such as tight budgets, infrastructure, disrupted schedules and shifting priorities, shape the story.