the life-story of a Padma recipient from Thrissur !!

Not a post on Cricket but on a Sportsperson !! – with the storyline described below, perhaps most Cine-fans would be able to identify the movie and the actors, nay not the hero and heroine alone but also the Chinna karuppu !! who ! ? !

 

Ganesh arrives from Madurai to continue his MBBS degree in Chennai. Srimathy, Ganesh's professor's daughter, wants to thank Ganesh for helping her escape from goons. When Ganesh and Srimathy meet, they are surprised as they already know each other, leading to Ganesh and Srimathy's past. 

Past: Srimathy's family gets into trouble with Eswari, Eswari, an arrogant moneylender,when  Ganesh helps. Eswari falls for Ganesh's bravery and proposes to him, but he rejects her. Eswari kidnaps Ganesh's parents and threatens him to accept her, but Ganesh thwarts her plans. Eswari angrily tries to kill Ganesh, but accidentally dies in a mishap. Eswari's brothers Periya Karuppu and Chinna Karuppu assume Ganesh and Srimathy to be responsible for their sister's death, and  resolve to kill them.  

Many of us are able to identify Cricketers.  A 23-year-old left-arm fast bowler from Punjab, Ashwani Kumar made his IPL debut for Mumbai Indians in the 2025 season after playing only four T20 matches on the domestic circuit. He struck with his first ball in the tournament, dismissing KKR's captain Ajinkya Rahane, before picking up the wickets of Manish Pandey, Rinku Singh and Andre Russell to become the first Indian to take a four-wicket haul on IPL debut.  Yesterday in the Crucial eliminator with GT chasing well, Hardik Pandya brought him in.  If only the Team management had gone with the choice of playing an extra-spinner, Ashwani would not be in the frame.  With  77 needed from 36 -  it was a massive show of faith – after that over, the equation read 68 off 30,  again he bowled the 17^th conceding just 9 leaving GT needing 45 off 18.

 

You may easily recognize Ashwani Kumar, can you identify this recipient of Padma Award from our Hon’ble President.  

He was born on  25 April 1969 in Thrissur City, Kerala. He began his life in a gravely poor environment and had to sell soda bottles in the Thrissur Municipal Corporation Stadium to help his family. His passion for football somehow caught the eye of the then DGP of Kerala, M.K. Joseph who got him selected for the Kerala Police football club at 17 years of age.  He was able to impress the national football fraternity very soon with his impeccable skills and highly aggressive style of playing. He continued to play for Kerala Police until 1991. He then joined Mohun Bagan, before coming back to Kerala Police in 1992 and then switching back to Mohun Bagan. In 1994, he joined JCT Mills Phagwara and stayed with them for 3 more years.  

The story of - Inivalappil Mani Vijayan (IM Vijayan)  also called  Kalo Harin (Blackbuck),  a former professional football player who also captained the India national football team. He played as a striker, where he formed a successful attacking partnership with Bhaichung Bhutia for the India national football team in the late nineties and early 2000s.  He represented India 72 times scoring 29 goals.  Since retiring from international football, Vijayan has set up a football academy to train young players in his home town.  

 

I.M. Vijayan made his debut in international football in the year 1992 and played in a number of tournaments such as Nehru Cup, Pre-Olympics, FIFA World Qualifiers, SAFF Championship and SAF Games. Vijayan was part of the victorious Indian team in the 1999 South Asian Football Federation Cup and scored one of the fastest international goals in history of sport during the tournament, hitting the net against Bhutan after only 12 seconds.  He also finished top scorer in the Afro-Asian Games event held in India in 2003 with four goals.  

 

Vijayan was crowned Indian Player of the Year in 1993, 1997 and 1999, the first player to win the award multiple times.  He was also awarded the Arjuna Award in 2003 and  Padma Shri in 2025. 

After retiring from football, Vijayan started his acting career. His debut was through playing the lead role in the film Shantham, directed by Jayaraj. He has acted in some Tamil movies too !! 

The story description in 2^nd para is “Thimiru” Vishal, Reema Sen, Sriya Reddy starrer released in 2006, directed by Tarun Gopi.  The film was dubbed in Telugu as Pogaru and was later remade in Kannada as Minchu  - and the Chinna karuppu in that movie was IM Vijayan

 
Regards – S Sampathkumar
31.5.2025