Our sports drama is about the rise of an underdog: Govind

Debutant director Govind Vishnu’s Daveed is a sports family action drama. An underdog story, it follows the life of a young family man, Aashiq Abu, who enters the boxing arena for a competition.

“Even though it’s an action film, there is a cute family at the centre of it. Family is first and sports comes next. They live in the slums, but each of them stands up for the other and the happiness in their lives takes centre stage at one point in the film. And yes, the name Aashiq Abu is a homage to my favourite director,” says Govind.

Speaking about choosing Antony as the lead actor, he says, “Antony was 96kg when he signed the film, but he reduced 24kg for the role. He did a lot of hard work and also trained in boxing for over two months.” American-Egyptian actor Mo Ismail plays an important role in the film. The director also confirms that Daveed is indeed a play on the David-Goliath story as, “it is the biggest underdog story there is”.

Govind adds, “The audience now wants new things and accepts fresh thoughts. The stories need an X factor to run in theatres. Our film speaks of a different concept — a conflict between a Malayali and an outsider — something that became cult through Season by Padmarajan sir. That was an inspiration.”
Daveed, which has been produced by Century Max John Mary Productions, Panorama Studios, Alex Abraham and Tom Joseph, is currently running in theatres.Check out the Valentine Day 2025 , along with the Valentine’s Day Wishes and Messages.