Football
IM Vijayan's movie 'Mmmmm' shortlisted for Oscars
IM Vijayan has acted in several movies both in Tamil and Malayalam after his retirement from football. His first major hit was a Malayalam movie, Shantanam way back in 2000.
The recent movie release of the veteran footballer IM Vijayan is one amongst 366 films in contention to be eligible for the Oscars. Mmmmm (Sound of Pain) made it to the voting round from a selection of movies across the world and will be aiming to make it to the final list in the coming days.
The list that was released by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences included various films that have been released over the past year including Trial of Chicago 7 and Nomadland. The feat is remarkable given that there are thousands of movies from which the Academy Awards makes its selection. Voting for this begins on March 5th and goes on till March 10th with the results being declared 5 days later.
Mmmmm (Sound of Pain) has a very inspirational and moving story, all of which is done in the Kurumba tribal language. It revolves around the importance of the bee in a day and age where climate change is taking a toll on the livelihoods of honey keepers and bees themselves. It is the first time that a movie has been made in the language which makes the feat all the more special.
He was quoted by The News Indian Express expressing his delight at the feat — “I have done a lot of films in the past but to star in a movie which has been shortlisted for the Oscars is something that is very rare and it is massive. When I got the news, it felt amazing that such works are starting to be recognised and finding its space"
IM Vijayan plays a lead role in the movie and was very recently appointed as an Assistant commandant in the Kerala Police. He has acted in several movies both in Tamil and Malayalam after his retirement from football. His first major hit was a Malayalam movie, Shantanam way back in 2000. His football career was full of achievements with him being capped a total of 68 times with a tally of 30 goals to his name. The former Indian captain also played for reputed clubs such as Churchill Brothers and Mohun Bagan. He led the Indian team to the SAFF Championships in 1993 and 1997.
Also Read: ‘If we had ISL, I could have become a world-renowned player,’ says IM Vijayan
