Vijay Barse on Jhund: ‘Though Amitabh Bachchan met me just once before the shoot, he has done justice to my role’

Vijay Barse, a Nagpur-based retired sports teacher, felt the need of changing the lives of the slum children through soccer. He is the founder of slum soccer. In an exclusive chat with Firstpost, Barse says that he is happy that the film Jhund has helped him to spread the message of the power of football and how it can change the life of kids. Edited excerpts from the interview:

Has Jhund changed your life?

It didn’t bring any difference to me or my life after the release of Jhund. I am just the same person with the same mission. My life hasn’t changed and neither is my lifestyle. My work remains the same. One positive of the film which I would like to point out is that the message that football can change the lives of many has now reached the people through the help of this film.

The movie inspired many kids and we got many sponsors too. In the last two years, kids were not stepping out of their houses because of the pandemic. So, a kind of lethargy had sipped in them, but with the release of Jhund, they got back the energy and the enthusiasm to play. The director of the film Nagraj Manjule got in touch with the kids and the kids got selected through an audition. I didn’t play a role in convincing the kids to act in a film. I just had one agreement with Nagraj that my mission of helping the slum kids through soccer as a medium, that message should be loud and clear throughout the film.

On Amitabh Bachchan playing your character…

He is the mahanayak of this century. I don’t think anybody other than Amitabh Bachchan would have been a better choice for my life been shown on the big screen. The way he had enacted my mannerisms, and the way I walk and talk is absolutely flawless. When my family and I watched the film, all of us were really surprised to find out how he could do every bit of my nature so correctly.

How much time did Amitabh Bachchan spend with you to understand your mannerism?

He didn’t spend time with me. He met me just once in the director’s office before the shoot. In that short time, he must have observed the way I talk and walk. But it was a very small interaction. When the shooting was just about to get over, I met him again during the last scene. Amitabh Bachchan and the director of Jhund had done extensive research on me by watching the documentaries about my life that are available on the net. He has also seen me on Satyamev Jayate. But I feel Amitabh Bachchan has done 100 per cent justice to my role.

On making football a tool to empower slum kids…

I am a sports teacher. When you are a teacher, your responsibilities towards your students are very high and not just students, but even towards society. I also come from a very underprivileged family. I have learned everything the harder way. And when you learn everything the harder way you value what you get in life. For my sibling and me nothing was laid down to you on a platter like a privileged kid. We always aspired to come out of the situation of poverty and we were able to do that, we thought it was our duty to help others in our own way.

Our parents always inspired us to be good human beings first. When I joined college, my father told me to be a human and not an animal because a good human will always think of doing good to others, but an animal will always think about himself first. I always remembered what my parents taught me. So, when I was able to come out of the misery of poverty, I felt it was time for me to help the other underprivileged children so that they can live a good life. I felt that if I could engage the street children in playing a game that is football, their minds will get diverted and they will automatically divert their attention to sports instead of engaging in drugs, pickpocketing and gambling.

Was there any specific incident that made you take this decision of starting ‘Slum Soccer’?

It so happened that I saw a group of slum kids kicking around an ordinary ball on a rainy day and they were really enjoying themselves. I felt what if I offer them real football and teach them the game. It was then that I realised that I can use football as a tool to help them divert their attention from any bad habits.

I thought if I could give two hours of teaching the game of football to these kids, then this will keep them away from drugs, smoking, and other kinds of addictions. I believe sports can change the lives of kids. Today these kids in the film Jhund have become heroes and an inspiration for others who want to come up in life. And not only me, my entire family including my wife, sons, daughter and daughter-in-law are engaged in this mission of uplifting the underprivileged kids. Football has not only changed the life of the slum kids but has changed our lives too.

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