“52 Blue,” a coming-of-age drama about a sheltered young man’s journey from Kerala to the FIFA World Cup in Qatar in pursuit of his childhood idol, Lionel Messi, will open the 17th London Indian Film Festival with its European premiere at BFI Southbank on July 9.
Directed by Ali El Arabi (“Captains of Zaatari”), the film will also screen at Midlands Arts Centre in Birmingham on July 10. El Arabi and members of the cast are scheduled to attend both screenings.
“52 Blue” centers on Ashish (Yadav Shashidhar), a young man raised in isolation on a Kerala island by an overprotective father and a quietly encouraging mother, played respectively by Adil Hussain (“Life of Pi”) and Neha Dhupia (“Qayamat: City Under Threat”). After breaking free from that sheltered existence, Ashish sets out across continents, driven by a goal bound up in the memory of his late brother. The film features an original song, “It’s Your Turn,” by rapper and singer-songwriter Badshah.
The London Indian Film Festival – which also encompasses the Birmingham Indian Film Festival and Manchester Indian Film Festival – marks its 17th year with a program spanning 20 venues across six U.K. cities: London, Birmingham, Manchester, Sheffield, Bradford and Liverpool. The event presents work in 10 languages and is supported by the BFI Audience Projects Fund, which distributes National Lottery funding.
“We are delighted to open our 17th festival with this riveting and inspirational film about youth finding a way against impossible odds, which seems to wonderfully go against the grain of these despondent times,” said Cary Rajinder Sawhney, the festival’s CEO and programming director. “The contrast of the protagonist’s life from smalltown Kerala to the massive spectacle of international stadiums really sums up the dichotomy of experience in the modern world and how Indian people are often the hidden backbone workers of richer nations. El Arabi skillfully extracts commanding performances from their young actor Yadav Shashidhar and globally recognized names like Adil Hussain.”
“It goes beyond words to express how deeply grateful and happy I am, not only because the film is screening at Europe’s largest South Asian film festival, reaching an audience that has always felt close to my heart and profoundly moved me, but also because of the privilege of working with extraordinary actors such as Adil Hussain and Neha Dhupia, alongside the remarkable team that brought this story to life, the same spirit that once made the World Cup feel possible,” added El Arabi. “I take immense pride in all of this. But beyond the professional achievement lies something deeply personal: the fulfillment of a dream to show that stories are universal. They have the power to cross borders, languages, and cultures, and still reach us in the most intimate way. Because despite everything that separates us, there is still one language we all understand, the language of the heart. And I hope this film reminds the younger generation that there are no boundaries for dreams, and that even our quietest thoughts carry the power to change the world.”
The full multi-city program will be unveiled on June 10.
