Kerala’s 61-year-old football sensation PH James to star in a movie

Popularly dubbed Kerala’s Neymar, the 61-year-old became a viral sensation during the FIFA World Cup for his fiery football skills.
Kerala’s 61-year-old football sensation PH James to star in a movie
Kerala’s 61-year-old football sensation PH James to star in a movie
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For 61-year-old PH James, a truck driver in Wayanad district of Kerala, earning and saving money is second only to what has been keeping him fit since the age of 15 — football. He became a sensation on the internet during the 2018 FIFA World Cup, when his awe-inspiring videos, where he is showing off freestyle football tricks, went viral. In one video, James was captured dribbling the ball wearing a lungi, while the second video was a short documentary on him by the Kerala Tourism Department.

Today, the sexagenarian is busier than ever as he is making his movie debut with Nikhil Premraj’s Anaparambile World Cup, a movie on football with elements of fantasy. He has a character role in the movie and will star alongside football players such as IM Vijayan and Jo Paul Ancheri. “I have no acting skills, but it is a new experience. I understand my character and the story, so am going along with it,” he says, with coy laughter.

A native of Ambalavayal village in Wayanad district, James has been widely acclaimed, especially on social media, for the ease with which he can dribble and kick a ball. He is quite sprightly for his age, many say. For James, however, playing the game has been a routine since 1973, when he first began playing football on the ground at his government school.

“I only knew that it was a game where the player kicks a ball with the foot,” he says, recalling how he developed an interest in the game. “There were no camps, television or any football coaches to explain the game. In 1977, a team from Kozhikode used to visit Wayanad to play the sevens tournament (a seven-players-per-team format of the game), and that’s how we observed and learnt the rules of the game.”

James also says he sustained only minor injuries when he and his friends were active football players for the team called Ambalavayal Sports Club. He credits this to his “fit body”.

“Today, football is about techniques. Then, it was about muscle power. The speed with which the players ran mattered a lot. In fact, that sight made the spectators happy,” he tells TNM.

James played for the Ambalavayal Sports Club till the 1980s and even won trophies for the team. He played as the team’s forward (attacker or striker) and later, stopper (defender), which, he says, requires a lot of stamina.


The Ambalayaval Sports Club team

James’ stamina was another talking point when his videos went viral. “Roasted peanuts with jaggery,” he quips, letting us in on the secret of his energy. He recalls a former Revenue Inspector from Thiruvananthapuram who once offered him the advice. “He said it was good for stamina and for those who engage in heavy activities, including playing football. As a young player, my family could not afford peanuts every day. Now, I eat roasted peanuts with jaggery every day,” he says.

He then explains his routine, which is never a day without football. He loads his truck with timber in the morning and starts the trip to deliver it late in the night or at the break of dawn. Irrespective of his work schedule, he carries his boots and football in his truck. And evenings are for football. 

“Around 4.10 pm, I go to the ground in my village, start practising and playing with youngsters, including my 19-year-old and 23-year-old sons. Around 5.30 pm, the other regular players join us. We play till it becomes pitch dark,” he says. 

Midst the games, James makes sure to teach children a football trick or two, and encourage them to play more often, a real-life role that he will be re-enacting on screen in Anaparambile World Cup.


James with footballers IM Vijayan and Jo Paul Ancheri


The short documentary on James by Kerala Tourism

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