Go get entertained
Amazon finally shipped me my very own personal copy of Anupama Chopra's King of Bollywood. With that copy sitting right next to my computer, I hereby start to pen my take on Chak De India. And the book keeps staring at me every now and then. But casting my heart into tough steel, I begin my recollection of the movie.
Chak De India is a sports film. Something we have known for a while, don't bore us. I hear ya. But you aint listening closely enough. Chak De India is a true-blue sports film in all its cliched glory. If there was a manual written on making sports films, the writers might as well use this movie's script instead. There was a time in the mid-90s when bollywood churned out one action entertainer after another, one "lovers-reunite after parental opposition" borefest after another. Along came a movie that changed the face of hindi cinema forever - one we fondly call DDLJ. DDLJ scored over its contemporaries and its immediate predecessors with a fresh storyline and caught the viewers' attention. Cut to 2006. Rang De Basanti, Lage Raho Munnabhai, Omkara and Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna all stood out with their novel storylines and treatments. And here comes a movie from India's major production house that follows the movie-making manual to a tee. Scoff all you want now, but you will be getting up and applauding as the credits roll at the end of this one.
There are four major and obvious players in the script - women, hockey, Islam and India. If you want it to be a film about empowerment of women, it is. If you want it to be a take on communalism in the country, it is. If you desire to see a neglected sport, there is plenty of it. And if you just want pure tricolor-triggered goosebumps, brace yourself. An unlikely combination of the country's biggest star and 16 unknown faces, coupled with a two-film old novice at the helm accomplishes quite the impossible - Chak De India is the best sports film hindi cinema has ever seen.
But, to me, Chak De India is not about any of these. It is simply a celebration of team spirit. And what a celebration it is, right on the threshold of the country's grandest day. If you are even half a movie buff that I am, you have already figured out several cliches in the film even before the movie starts - the team will lose the first game, and then go on to make a comeback; there will be no team spirit in the team to start with, but they all slowly get together, thanks to our superstar coach; and of course, they WILL win the world championships. And half an hour into the movie, you also know there should be a penalty shootout at the end since it would be poetic justice to the coach's character. Plus, the only known face in the team - Vidya Malvade - is the team's goal-keeper and captain. But the movie is not about this tacitness. Amin and Sahni throw at you several googlies that catch you off guard. Sample these:
* The Indian team does not play Pakistan for the cup, in a cliched final - while this might also have been poetic justice to gaddar-turned-messiah Kabir Khan's character, the film chooses to mirror real life. Australia are, in reality, the best damn field hockey team in the world and it is a deserved final.
* The Australian coach mocks at his Indian counterpart after India lose their first game by a huge margin - "How did you ever make it to the world championships?". A typical hindi movie would have our superstar retort back when the team finally does beat Aus. But no room for such cliches here.
* The World Championships trophy is awarded to the girls, who rejoice and celebrate the moment, while SRK stands back in the background and admires. And the girls do NOT call on their coach to the podium in some crazy hindi film applesauce.
* The women's team do NOT beat a much stronger, and more professional men's team.
Well done to that. Jaideep Sahni's ability to infuse humor into an essentially serious storyline was fairly evident in Khosla Ka Ghosla. And he puts it to full use here as well, without stretching the obvious regional disparities among the 16 girls, thus devoiding the film of any dull moments. He even shows a cheeky side when he takes a dig at cricket, the Indian media and the general public - a reporter wants to know what one of India's leading cricketers plans to do next after being just dumped on national television; the public does an about turn about their opinion on Kabir Khan after one world cup victory. You got a very funny bone in you Mr. Sahni. The film is a success, not for SRK, not for YashRaj, not for Shimit Amin, but for this man, one of contemporary India's finest writers. Three cheers sir.
A sports film needs to get one thing right - its sporty scenes. And Amin is spot on. The hockey scenes do not make you laugh at its half-expected bollywood goofiness, not even sheepishly. Instead, it is gloriously picturized, both on Indian sand-fields and Australian tech-turf and is racily edited to keep you in rapture throughout. It is hard to believe Shimit has very little background in filmmaking. In only his second film as director, he shows a flair for technical brilliance while keeping his film's topography firmly rooted in reality, without being anal-retentive. He also shows a good command over the medium - when SRK gives the uneducated girl from Jharkhand an earful, you feel sorry for her since the poor girl could understand none of the hinglish that was spoken by her teammates on the field. Yet, you know she would have to do something about it to be able to play a worthy part in this team. But Amin does not shove this fact in your face, but sits back and lets it all roll out and leave it to the viewer to decipher. And he gets special marks for being adamant enough to spend almost an entire year in picking his cast carefully and moulding them into what they eventually come across on screen. For, the movie would have fallen flat if the girls had not been good enough. But they stand up to be counted and pack in their best punch to make these, 16 of the most memorable female debuts in hindi cinema in recent times. Segarika Ghatge as Preeti Sabharwal, Shilpa Shukla as Bindia Naik and Chitrashi Rawat as the pocket-sized rocket Komal stand out. But don't count the rest of the girls out, they play their parts to perfection too and provide wholesome support.
As Kabir Khan, Shah Rukh Khan lives out the role to perfection. This is his career's second-best performance, after Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa - I don't believe Swades was up anywhere near his best simply because a great performance should be able to elevate a film to greatness but Swades was mediocre at best; plus, underplaying is grossly over-rated these days anyway. There is a certain ruggedness about Kabir Khan, and a certain steel that emanates from his eyes combined with a single-minded doggedness that SRK brings to screen. This is pure magic from the country's biggest star, a performance that is worthy of every award that was started on anyone and his uncle's name. It is tough to imagine anyone else in the role, not just because it is a ridiculously good performance, but because you cannot think of any of today's stars being humble and confident enough to let 16 debutants eat up more screen time than himself.
Patriotism is a fine fine line, that very few films seldom stride well on. Lagaan failed, so did Swades and Rang De Basanti. But Chak De India walks the line perfectly well, without showing off any jingoistic persistence on the subject. This is easily the finest film of the year, and the most enjoyable hindi film since Lage Raho Munnabhai. Go watch it, you will love it.
Chak De India is a sports film. Something we have known for a while, don't bore us. I hear ya. But you aint listening closely enough. Chak De India is a true-blue sports film in all its cliched glory. If there was a manual written on making sports films, the writers might as well use this movie's script instead. There was a time in the mid-90s when bollywood churned out one action entertainer after another, one "lovers-reunite after parental opposition" borefest after another. Along came a movie that changed the face of hindi cinema forever - one we fondly call DDLJ. DDLJ scored over its contemporaries and its immediate predecessors with a fresh storyline and caught the viewers' attention. Cut to 2006. Rang De Basanti, Lage Raho Munnabhai, Omkara and Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna all stood out with their novel storylines and treatments. And here comes a movie from India's major production house that follows the movie-making manual to a tee. Scoff all you want now, but you will be getting up and applauding as the credits roll at the end of this one.
There are four major and obvious players in the script - women, hockey, Islam and India. If you want it to be a film about empowerment of women, it is. If you want it to be a take on communalism in the country, it is. If you desire to see a neglected sport, there is plenty of it. And if you just want pure tricolor-triggered goosebumps, brace yourself. An unlikely combination of the country's biggest star and 16 unknown faces, coupled with a two-film old novice at the helm accomplishes quite the impossible - Chak De India is the best sports film hindi cinema has ever seen.
But, to me, Chak De India is not about any of these. It is simply a celebration of team spirit. And what a celebration it is, right on the threshold of the country's grandest day. If you are even half a movie buff that I am, you have already figured out several cliches in the film even before the movie starts - the team will lose the first game, and then go on to make a comeback; there will be no team spirit in the team to start with, but they all slowly get together, thanks to our superstar coach; and of course, they WILL win the world championships. And half an hour into the movie, you also know there should be a penalty shootout at the end since it would be poetic justice to the coach's character. Plus, the only known face in the team - Vidya Malvade - is the team's goal-keeper and captain. But the movie is not about this tacitness. Amin and Sahni throw at you several googlies that catch you off guard. Sample these:
* The Indian team does not play Pakistan for the cup, in a cliched final - while this might also have been poetic justice to gaddar-turned-messiah Kabir Khan's character, the film chooses to mirror real life. Australia are, in reality, the best damn field hockey team in the world and it is a deserved final.
* The Australian coach mocks at his Indian counterpart after India lose their first game by a huge margin - "How did you ever make it to the world championships?". A typical hindi movie would have our superstar retort back when the team finally does beat Aus. But no room for such cliches here.
* The World Championships trophy is awarded to the girls, who rejoice and celebrate the moment, while SRK stands back in the background and admires. And the girls do NOT call on their coach to the podium in some crazy hindi film applesauce.
* The women's team do NOT beat a much stronger, and more professional men's team.
Well done to that. Jaideep Sahni's ability to infuse humor into an essentially serious storyline was fairly evident in Khosla Ka Ghosla. And he puts it to full use here as well, without stretching the obvious regional disparities among the 16 girls, thus devoiding the film of any dull moments. He even shows a cheeky side when he takes a dig at cricket, the Indian media and the general public - a reporter wants to know what one of India's leading cricketers plans to do next after being just dumped on national television; the public does an about turn about their opinion on Kabir Khan after one world cup victory. You got a very funny bone in you Mr. Sahni. The film is a success, not for SRK, not for YashRaj, not for Shimit Amin, but for this man, one of contemporary India's finest writers. Three cheers sir.
A sports film needs to get one thing right - its sporty scenes. And Amin is spot on. The hockey scenes do not make you laugh at its half-expected bollywood goofiness, not even sheepishly. Instead, it is gloriously picturized, both on Indian sand-fields and Australian tech-turf and is racily edited to keep you in rapture throughout. It is hard to believe Shimit has very little background in filmmaking. In only his second film as director, he shows a flair for technical brilliance while keeping his film's topography firmly rooted in reality, without being anal-retentive. He also shows a good command over the medium - when SRK gives the uneducated girl from Jharkhand an earful, you feel sorry for her since the poor girl could understand none of the hinglish that was spoken by her teammates on the field. Yet, you know she would have to do something about it to be able to play a worthy part in this team. But Amin does not shove this fact in your face, but sits back and lets it all roll out and leave it to the viewer to decipher. And he gets special marks for being adamant enough to spend almost an entire year in picking his cast carefully and moulding them into what they eventually come across on screen. For, the movie would have fallen flat if the girls had not been good enough. But they stand up to be counted and pack in their best punch to make these, 16 of the most memorable female debuts in hindi cinema in recent times. Segarika Ghatge as Preeti Sabharwal, Shilpa Shukla as Bindia Naik and Chitrashi Rawat as the pocket-sized rocket Komal stand out. But don't count the rest of the girls out, they play their parts to perfection too and provide wholesome support.
As Kabir Khan, Shah Rukh Khan lives out the role to perfection. This is his career's second-best performance, after Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa - I don't believe Swades was up anywhere near his best simply because a great performance should be able to elevate a film to greatness but Swades was mediocre at best; plus, underplaying is grossly over-rated these days anyway. There is a certain ruggedness about Kabir Khan, and a certain steel that emanates from his eyes combined with a single-minded doggedness that SRK brings to screen. This is pure magic from the country's biggest star, a performance that is worthy of every award that was started on anyone and his uncle's name. It is tough to imagine anyone else in the role, not just because it is a ridiculously good performance, but because you cannot think of any of today's stars being humble and confident enough to let 16 debutants eat up more screen time than himself.
Patriotism is a fine fine line, that very few films seldom stride well on. Lagaan failed, so did Swades and Rang De Basanti. But Chak De India walks the line perfectly well, without showing off any jingoistic persistence on the subject. This is easily the finest film of the year, and the most enjoyable hindi film since Lage Raho Munnabhai. Go watch it, you will love it.