Before the hype of Aavesham, Fahadh Faasil had a good film called Maheshinte Prathikaaram. For those not well versed in Malayalam, it simply translates as Mahesh’s Revenge. A must watch movie if you are a fan of north based Fahadh.
The film is set in the beautiful district of Idukki in Kerala where Mahesh Bhavana played by Fahadh lives a simple life as a photographer. She takes care of her father, has a love interest and lives a happy life.
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But his life is turned upside down when he is beaten up in the middle of town for standing up for a family friend. At this point, he loses everything—his dignity, the reputation he had in his hometown, and his love interest, who dumps him to marry someone else.
Despite all this, Mahesh is determined to take revenge. Even as the antagonist heads to Dubai, he awaits his return.
He slowly prepares for his chance, even learning a little Kung Fu along the way. When the opportunity finally presents itself, Mahesh gets his revenge and ends one of the best movies in Mollywood in the last 10 years.
If you are wondering why this film is included in the Sanju Samson article, check out how it was with the Indian goalkeeper. Sanju’s brilliant form played a key role in India’s World Cup triumph. (PTI Photo)
He was the darling of the party, of a simple opening batter that rose to stand out on top. Then came the twist in the story when he was pushed into the middle order and his performances dipped. This started chatter on social media with people questioning his place in the side. He was dropped during the tour of Australia but later regained his place as an opener.
Then came the New Zealand series just before the T20 World Cup. Samson scored just 46 runs in five matches and was dropped before the start of the tournament.
But Samson waited. Perhaps a message from Rohit Sharma helped him.
The key thing was that, like Mahesh, the Indian keeper waited for his chance – and it eventually came.
HOW CAN HE DREAM
If you listened to what Samson had to say after the T20 World Cup final, you could hear the turmoil he was going through inside. He was broken and completely out of it. But he kept visualizing, hoping that the right moment would come to give him a chance at redemption.
“I couldn’t play any game in the T20 World Cup 2024 in West Indies. I kept visualizing, I kept dreaming of doing exactly that. I told myself that I have to put in a lot of work. That’s exactly what I wanted to achieve. By God’s grace, things turned around.
“Right after the New Zealand series, I was broke. I was completely out of it. I was like ‘my dreams have been shattered. What else can I do?’
“But God had other plans. Suddenly I was back in the finals and I did what I could for my country. I’m very proud, very happy that I had the courage to dream about it. Very grateful.” Sanju just couldn’t go wrong in crucial matches for India. (Photo: PTI)
While thinking about change is good, implementing it is difficult.
But Samson made it look easy. The moment he stepped on the field against Zimbabwe, we saw what his game plan was – to attack the bowlers right from the start.
This approach developed in the West Indies game, where he not only attacked but was smart enough to settle in and ensure India got over the line. It continued with a semi-final against England and then the final in Ahmedabad.
The result: scores of 97, 89 and 89. Amassed a total of 321 runs, breaking the great Virat Kohli’s record for most runs in the T20 World Cup India edition. He took home the Player of the Tournament award despite playing just five games.
It was like the hero in the climax of the movie, where he fought the antagonist much better than in their first encounter. And as chants of “Come da Maheshae” rang out in the climax, the entire Ahmedabad crowd chanted “Sanju, Sanju” as he took off with the bat.
TO BE INDIA’S EXPERTISE POINT
Arguably, till the time Samson came into the Indian team, the batting order was looking for a spark. Indian batting has been called one-dimensional. But once Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan came in and added, things started to click for India.
That was something Gautam Gambhir told JioHotstar during the post-final interview when he said Samson’s 97 against West Indies was the turning point of India’s tournament.
“I still believe Sanju’s 97 against the West Indies was the turning point. Because it was a virtual quarter-final again.”
“And someone who came back after not playing the first four or five games – well, he came back and played against Zimbabwe, but Zimbabwe is a completely different opposition compared to the West Indies in a virtual World Cup knockout.
“Making 195 in a World Cup game, no matter what the pitch is or what the conditions are, is never easy. But the way he batted, with ease and composure, I think that gave us a lot of confidence as a group that we’re probably on the right track now,” Samson said.
“Because before that there was a lot of talk that we play very aggressively in bilateral series, we will give 250 runs in bilaterals but we don’t do that in ICC tournaments.”
“But after the West Indies game, when Sanju got going and when Ishan Kishan started playing as well, I thought a lot of things changed – both for the players who came in and for the team as a whole,” Gambhir said.
And the result is here again for everyone. India are now three-time T20 World Champions. It might not have happened if Samson wasn’t in the side, as stated by Irfan Pathan. Sanju’s 89 was once again crucial for India in the T20 World Cup final. (PTI Photo)
“If Sanju Samson had not been part of the World Cup playing XI again, this World Cup might not have been won. There was a brilliant innings against the West Indies, an amazing innings against England and a third consecutive half-century in the final. He has seen many ups and downs. Just keep working. Never lose heart. God Samju definitely sees the reward for the sweetest and sweetest work of all Samjus.” said the Pathan.
Now the dust has settled and Samson is getting a hero’s welcome back home in Thiruvananthapuram.
And rightfully so. Because by copying the famous dialogue
“Sanju hero ada, hero. (Sanju is a hero.)”
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– The end
Issued by:
Debodinna Chakraborty
Published on:
10 Mar 2026 07:40 IST
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