Meet Vijay Barse: The real-life hero whose incredible efforts inspired the Amitabh Bachchan starrer 'Jhund'

slum soccer hai (This is not a herd, this is Slum Soccer)" said a smiling Vijay Barse, a Nagpur-based retired sports teacher, as he checked the time on his wrist watch before leaving to train his students in his small academy in Nagpur, armed with a whistle. The man from Nagpur has been on a mission since 2001 to rehabilitate slum dwellers via the beautiful game of football. He is the founder of 'Jhopadpatti football' or as it is more popularly called 'Slum Soccer'. Barse's struggle, his vision and his journey has been turned into a big budget movie with one of the all time greatest actors the country has produced, Amitabh Bachchan playing the 77 year old. The movie has been directed by Nagraj Manjule.

SLUM SOCCER - THE BEGINNINGIt was the year 2001 when Barse, a physical education teacher in Hislop College in Nagpur, left home one day and was on his way to work. He had covered half the distance when it began to rain. Barse took shelter under a tree. After some time, he heard voices. He turned around and saw children from a slum nearby kicking a broken plastic bucket, using it like a football at a small ground near the Vidarbha Hockey Association in Nagpur. Something made Barse sit there for a long time and observe the kids. And then he had a sudden idea. "What if I give a football to these kids? That was the first thought that came to my mind after watching them play," Barse told TimesofIndia.com in a special interaction in Nagpur.

Meet Vijay Barse: The real-life hero whose incredible efforts inspired the Amitabh Bachchan starrer 'Jhund'

What really impressed Barse was the fact that while those kids played, with no equipment and no ball, not a single profanity passed their lips. And while they played there was no