Barefoot Boys

Konkona | Luminary

In 1911, just three decades after the sport of football came to India, a group of Bengali men sent shockwaves across the entire British Empire. The Amor Ekadosh, or “Immortal Eleven,” competing in one of the oldest football tournaments in the world, did so without boots on their feet. Unafraid to go toe-to-toe with their colonisers, they showed a country what freedom felt like–long before its citizens were free. Konkona Sen Sharma brings the remarkable story, once erased from history, to life. read less
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Play Trailer
Barefoot Boys: Trailer
21-08-2023
Barefoot Boys: Trailer
Eleven men, playing without boots on their feet, showed a country what freedom felt like, long before its citizens were free. This is their story.

Episodes

Barefoot Boys: Trailer
21-08-2023
Barefoot Boys: Trailer
Eleven men, playing without boots on their feet, showed a country what freedom felt like, long before its citizens were free. This is their story.
British Conceptions
29-08-2023
British Conceptions
It’s 1857. British soldiers play football in the barracks of Bengal, but Bengalis—with their “delicate limbs”—aren’t welcome to play ball. How could India come to be known as “the Brazil of Asia”? In this episode, we meet the Immortal Eleven.
The Father of Indian Football
05-09-2023
The Father of Indian Football
We meet Nagendraprasad Sarbadhikari, founding father of Indian football. He showed Indians that they could not only express their masculinity, but also beat the British at their own sport.
No Boots? No Problem
12-09-2023
No Boots? No Problem
Nagendra marries into the Sovabazaar family, and starts a football club in its name. The British are baffled when the Indians show up…barefoot.
Mohun Bagan's Palatial Origins
19-09-2023
Mohun Bagan's Palatial Origins
Three royal families set out to find a proper setting for a football club, and find it in the Mohun Bagan marble palace. Bagan’s start is rocky, but the winds of change—sporting and political—start to gather speed.
Kicked Into Shape
26-09-2023
Kicked Into Shape
Former army man Sailen Bose shakes things up at Mohun Bagan, kicking (literally) the players into shape. The British decide to partition Bengal, in furtherance of the strategy of ‘Divide and Rule,’ but Bengal rises in protest. For inspiration, people begin to look to indigenous scientific innovators, nationalist writers and…footballers.
The Bhaduri Brothers
03-10-2023
The Bhaduri Brothers
With the help of the Bhaduri Brothers, the Immortal Eleven ascend the ranks—all the way to the 1905 Gladstone Cup. Bengalis from all over travel to Chinsurah in the hopes of witnessing a victory against the British neatly packaged into a football tournament.
The Bomb Heard 'Round Bengal
10-10-2023
The Bomb Heard 'Round Bengal
A revolutionary terrorist bomb attack on a British magistrate in Muzzafarpur goes horribly wrong. A fired-up Mohun Bagan wins their way into the IFA Shield; politics can’t help but spill onto the field.
The Amor Ekadosh Level Up (Again)
17-10-2023
The Amor Ekadosh Level Up (Again)
No longer content with winning tournaments like the Trades Cup, Mohun Bagan set their eyes on the real prize: the IFA Shield. Sailen Bose scours the gullies of North Calcutta to identify talent, and captain Shibdas Bhaduri proposes an audacious tactical overhaul.
The 1911 IFA Shield
24-10-2023
The 1911 IFA Shield
No longer content with winning tournaments like the Trades Cup, Mohun Bagan set their eyes on the real prize: the IFA Shield. Sailen Bose scours the gullies of North Calcutta to identify talent, and captain Shibdas Bhaduri proposes an audacious tactical overhaul.
The IFA Shield, Part Two
31-10-2023
The IFA Shield, Part Two
All of Calcutta is decked up, and thousands throng the maidan to watch Bagan play the East Yorkshire Regiment again.
The Barefoot Boys
07-11-2023
The Barefoot Boys
Mohun Bagan is the toast of Calcutta. The city burns with nationalist fervour and the British shift the capital to Delhi—away from the “bomb-wielding nationalists and barefooted footballers of Bengal.”