WTF ASIA: Lahore
There have been many Indian movies about the country’s fraught relationship with Pakistan. It is only natural, given their history. Shaurya hinted at the enmity between the two nations, but this week’s movie, Lahore, addresses the relationship more directly, and hints at the possibility of reconciliation. It is also a story about sports and how sometimes, sports can be either an alternative to war or become war itself.
This is the story of two brothers, Dheerender and Veerender. They both used to do kickboxing, but Veerender eventually took up professional cricket. When we first meet them, Dheeru has just won his first bout against a five-time national champion and gets snatched up by the coach for the Kickboxing Federation of India to compete in the Asian Kickboxing Championship in Malaysia, and perhaps in the Goodwill Kickboxing Tournament in Lahore between India and Pakistan as well. At the same time, Veeru has finally scored a century. I am not sure what that is, but it is good enough for him to get a little bit of flirting time with a visiting Pakistani sports psychiatrist named Ida.
By complete coincidence, Ida is the niece of the Pakistani Kickboxing coach and is part of the team as an intern. This brings her into direct contact with Dheeru’s Pakistani competitor, Noor. She worries about his mental state and the way he is approaching the sport, but her uncle shuts her down, determined that Noor win the Asian Kickboxing Championship.
Dheeru and his fiancé, Neela, head to Malaysia, as do Ida and Noor. While Neel and Ida strike up a friendship, Dheeru and Noor prepare to face each other in the Championship. The fight has unexpected consequences and throw into doubt the Goodwill Tournament.
Okay, it was actually kind of difficult to summarize since the story seems to amble a bit for the first third and the real story, which I cannot really get into without revealing a major spoiler, does not begin until about an hour into this 136-minute movie. While I have dropped a few vague hints, the movie itself telegraphs what is to come pretty hard at points. The first twist pretty much laid out what was to come, but the other twist really threw me. It made for a more satisfying viewing, though the film laid it on a little thick.
Anyone coming into this movie expecting broad comedy acting is going to be disappointed. The character of Neela is played a bit broadly at first (which annoyed me), but she calms down significantly soon enough. The portrayal of Pakistanis in the movie is a bit of a mixed bag. Ida is a sympathetic character, but pretty much all of the other major characters are obsessed with winning at any cost, including fighting dirty. No one is played up as outright evil or cruel, but that should not really be a point in the film’s favor. It is also a bit telling that the one Indian character who is portrayed as somewhat less than noble is dark skinned and, let’s be honest, looks like a toad person.
There are a few brief visual effects that stand out for being distracting and completely unnecessary. I won’t spoil them, because the element of surprise made them a little amusing.
The movie can be seen here:
1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_snwhXXf3I
2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5nnD43v740
3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iaWY_lQZsCM
4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfzqCOSlSks
5 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90TfeIKeQYs
6 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GP9thKsfTg4
7 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEdDVgw70mo
8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IrmYYodJ44
9 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNRtdmEi44g
10 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Dt-xeP3bDQ
11 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EN1VHDpkMSE
12 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWWlUcmP-2I
13 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vW8SWZv8tZY
This is a movie that attempts do deal with serious topics with respect and dignity. Its attempts to be evenhanded are a little compromised, but the intent is there. All in all, I quite liked it. And, if nothing else, it got me to look up the word “chit”. Who knew that that word could stand on its own without the word "chat?" Apparently, the Indians knew.
This is the story of two brothers, Dheerender and Veerender. They both used to do kickboxing, but Veerender eventually took up professional cricket. When we first meet them, Dheeru has just won his first bout against a five-time national champion and gets snatched up by the coach for the Kickboxing Federation of India to compete in the Asian Kickboxing Championship in Malaysia, and perhaps in the Goodwill Kickboxing Tournament in Lahore between India and Pakistan as well. At the same time, Veeru has finally scored a century. I am not sure what that is, but it is good enough for him to get a little bit of flirting time with a visiting Pakistani sports psychiatrist named Ida.
By complete coincidence, Ida is the niece of the Pakistani Kickboxing coach and is part of the team as an intern. This brings her into direct contact with Dheeru’s Pakistani competitor, Noor. She worries about his mental state and the way he is approaching the sport, but her uncle shuts her down, determined that Noor win the Asian Kickboxing Championship.
Dheeru and his fiancé, Neela, head to Malaysia, as do Ida and Noor. While Neel and Ida strike up a friendship, Dheeru and Noor prepare to face each other in the Championship. The fight has unexpected consequences and throw into doubt the Goodwill Tournament.
Okay, it was actually kind of difficult to summarize since the story seems to amble a bit for the first third and the real story, which I cannot really get into without revealing a major spoiler, does not begin until about an hour into this 136-minute movie. While I have dropped a few vague hints, the movie itself telegraphs what is to come pretty hard at points. The first twist pretty much laid out what was to come, but the other twist really threw me. It made for a more satisfying viewing, though the film laid it on a little thick.
Anyone coming into this movie expecting broad comedy acting is going to be disappointed. The character of Neela is played a bit broadly at first (which annoyed me), but she calms down significantly soon enough. The portrayal of Pakistanis in the movie is a bit of a mixed bag. Ida is a sympathetic character, but pretty much all of the other major characters are obsessed with winning at any cost, including fighting dirty. No one is played up as outright evil or cruel, but that should not really be a point in the film’s favor. It is also a bit telling that the one Indian character who is portrayed as somewhat less than noble is dark skinned and, let’s be honest, looks like a toad person.
There are a few brief visual effects that stand out for being distracting and completely unnecessary. I won’t spoil them, because the element of surprise made them a little amusing.
The movie can be seen here:
1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_snwhXXf3I
2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5nnD43v740
3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iaWY_lQZsCM
4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfzqCOSlSks
5 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90TfeIKeQYs
6 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GP9thKsfTg4
7 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEdDVgw70mo
8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IrmYYodJ44
9 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNRtdmEi44g
10 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Dt-xeP3bDQ
11 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EN1VHDpkMSE
12 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWWlUcmP-2I
13 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vW8SWZv8tZY
This is a movie that attempts do deal with serious topics with respect and dignity. Its attempts to be evenhanded are a little compromised, but the intent is there. All in all, I quite liked it. And, if nothing else, it got me to look up the word “chit”. Who knew that that word could stand on its own without the word "chat?" Apparently, the Indians knew.