Mohd Zeeshan Ayyub said he was reluctant to join the 2025 show Real Kashmir Football Club before its Emmy nomination. The actor shared, "They told me clearly that we are looking at Kashmir from a very different lens." Now, many people have started watching the series after its global recognition.
Mohd Zeeshan Ayyub and Manav Kaul-starrer Real Kashmir Football Club put India on the global map after its Emmy nomination. The eight-episode web series has been nominated in the Drama Series category at the International Emmy awards. After an official announcement was made, Zoom exclusively spoke to the show's lead actor Zeeshan. In conversation with us, the actor revealed he had just landed in Mumbai when he got the news of his show's international recognition. "Obviously, it was really exciting news, and it suddenly happened. It's not like that I wasn't shocked or anything. I did not think that this can't be true. But yes, it took some to absorb this," he said.
Talking about the 2025 show Real Kashmir Football Club's Emmy nomination, Zeeshan said that this achievement means a lot as his labour of love and work got some sort of recognition. The actor further revealed, "We did not get the kind of audience that we would have liked for the show in India. And it was released for whatever reason."
However, now, people have started watching the show because of the latest development. The actor felt good to see that the story that the entire team believed in and wanted to share with the world, is getting appreciated internationally. "So it's not just people who know about the area. It's not like that. It's like internationally people are connecting with the story of hope. Definitely, it means a lot to all of us," he added.
"So the first instinct was when I got to know that someone is making a show on Kashmir, though I did not know about this football club honestly before I was approached for the show, I was reluctant to get on board. I was sure that there will be something that I don't agree with and all those things," he said.
However, when he met director Mahesh Mathai and producer Kilian Kerwin, the actor shared his concers. And the best part was that the makers were open to hearing everyhing. "They told me clearly that we are looking at Kashmir from a very different lens. It's not the usual representation of Kashmir and the Kashmiri people. And that got me intrigued."
Later, they makers simply told Zeeshan to read the script and share anything if he felt there was something wrong with the idead of politics. It is because they also didn't wish to get into the cliché idea of Kashmir and the Kashmiri people. "Then I read and it's a completely different perspective," he added. The show is currently streaming on SonyLIV.