Zeeshan’s journey of hope and grit in RKFC

Mohd Zeeshan Ayyub first heard the name Real Kashmir Football Club from casting director Mukesh Chhabra, who told him casually, “Ek show ban raha hai… tum jao, milke aa jao.” Zeeshan agreed, unaware that this meeting would take him towards one of the most meaningful journeys of his career. When he sat across director Mahesh Mathai and producer Kilian Kerwin for the first time, listened to them narrate the emotional and inspiring arc of this unlikely football team from the Valley, he felt a surge of excitement so strong that the decision was almost instinctive. “Yeh kahaani toh kamaal ki hai. Humein pata hi nahi chalta,” he thought, surprised at how stories of courage and resilience often stay hidden under layers of noise.

Preparation for his character began like any good artistic excavation — with curiosity. He wanted to know what kind of body language does a go-getter carry? But nothing could have prepared him for what Kashmir itself would teach him. He had been to Kashmir before, years ago, for a short, rushed shoot where the cold numbed his thoughts and the schedule numbed his experience. But this time was different. For nearly two months, the Valley became home. He was touched by the warmth of the people. “They carry natural warmth and softness which is a must to endure the cold,” he says. “Kya kamaal log hain wahan ke. Achha weather, achhe log, achha khaana — aur kya chahiye zindagi mein?” he says.

The connections he made stayed long after the shoot wrapped. He and the team still find excuses to return to Kashmir— “Koi project karo Kashmir mein… bas wapas jaana hai.”

Real Kashmir FC also reminded him of the strange symmetry between artistes and athletes. Both walk into professions shadowed by doubt. Both chase dreams that offer no guarantees. Both carry families who worry because certainty isn’t part of the deal. In India especially, he feels footballers face an uphill climb —“Football mein kya future hai?” people say, unaware that a future only forms when belief does. The series, in many ways, is a tribute to those who dare despite the odds.

His own acting journey plays like a film reel. He remembers his college days — the very first time he stood behind the wings, waiting to step onto stage, trembling under the pressure of choice. The hall was packed, lights blazing on the other side of darkness. He had two options — run away and return to a safe, ordinary life, or walk into the light and risk embarrassment, failure, exposure.

He chose the stage. And in that moment, everything shifted.

That decision eventually led him to the National School of Drama, where he immersed himself in every form, style and technique that acting had to offer. Training, he believes, isn’t mandatory — but it can be transformational. It gives an actor tools not just for realism, but for the poetic, stylised, musical, surreal shades of performance that make cinema richer.

And through that training, through roles that shaped him — from No One Killed Jessica to Shahid, Raees, Scoop, Criminal Justice: A Family Matter, Article 15, and now Real Kashmir FC — he learned one lesson deeply — fame, money and visibility come and go, but it’s passion that keeps one going.

Which brings him back to this series. For him, Real Kashmir FC isn’t just a show — it’s a reminder of what hope looks like when it trudges through snow. It’s a tale of ordinary people who hold one another tight when the world loosens its grip. A tale that says progress isn’t about escaping your roots — it’s about rising with them.

“Akele jaane mein mazaa kya?” he asks. “Jab saath leke jaate ho na, tab kahaani khoobsurat hoti hai.” And that’s what Real Kashmir FC is — a story of togetherness, of resilience, of belief blooming in the coldest valleys.

The show streams on Sony LIV from December 9.