'Jhund' Real Story: Who is Vijay Barse? Meet Nagpur-based football coach who inspired Amitabh Bachchan's character

Megastar Amitabh Bachchan's film 'Jhund' released in theatres on Friday (March 4). The film has received positive reviews from critics and the audience and has earned Rs 3.6 crore at the box office in just two days.

'Jhund', directed by Nagraj Manjule, is based on the Nagpur-based renowned football coach Vijay Barse's life and how he reportedly made slum children star footballers of today.

Who is Vijay Barse?

Noted football coach Vijay Barse is the founder of NGO Slum Soccer. He also established the Krida Vikas Sanstha Nagpur (KSVN) with his wife, Ranjana Barse, and son, Abhijeet Barse.

Vijay has been training kids for the last 20 to 30 years. He has 4 to 5 lakh students now and his coaching is not just limited to Nagpur but the entire country.

According to media reports, Vijay had appeared on an episode of Aamir Khan's show 'Satyameva Jayate'. He had then shared that while working as a sports teacher at Nagpur’s Hislop College in the early 2000s, he once spotted a few kids as they were kicking a broken bucket. He offered them a football, and they happily accepted.

Reportedly, Vijay had also shared on his TEDx talk that soon after that, he spotted another group of kids kicking around a tennis ball. He had also shared how he used all his salary into this mission to make slum children into a great footballer.

'Jhund' also features 'Sairat' stars Rinku Rajguru and Akash Thosar in brief roles.

The film is produced by Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar, Savita Raj Hiremath, Raaj Hiremath, Nagraj Popatrao Manjule, Gargee Kulkarni, Meenu Aroraa and Sandeep Singh, under the banner of T-Series, Tandav Films Entertainment and Aatpat.