Monday, August 13, 2007

Chakde India.....

Patriotism, gender bias, regional chauvinism, minority bashing, all at the same time....Director Shimit Amin has done it all.

To attempt a film on hockey which is heavily ignored in spite of being the National sport of India.... nd to be precise women's hockey here!! And thn... to present it with conviction, courage nd realism on screen is not all tht easy.

The Yash Raj banner has teamed up with one of their favourite actors Shah Rukh Khan, not for another romantic musical hit and those stereotypical sentimental drama.....but for ths off beat moview..

Of course ther was Iqbal and partly the period piece Lagaan (which cashed in on cricket)... but thn these two dealt with cricket, which is nothing short of a national sensation.

Anyways... comng to the movie... Kabir Khan (SRK), the best centre-forward in Indian hockey team, misses the crucial, last-minute penalty stroke against Pakistan and is blamed for the Indian team’s defeat in the finals. And... he is labeled as traitor by his own fellow countrymen. Disgraced nd dishonored for one momentary failure..... Kabir Khan leaves his parental house with his mother and disappears.

Thn....He emerges 7 yrs later, asking for an opportunity to coach the Indian female hockey team, which in actuality is not a team but a group of scattered aimless girls, who are in the game just for the sake of it.

The girls come from all over India – Haryana, Chandigarh, Punjab, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, North East and other states.... with a baggage of class, region and interpersonal rivalries..... Ther are usual girlie fights nd arguments.. which r fun to watch. Somebody is egoistic, somebody too self-centered, somebody is hot-tempered nd etc......The small town girls hate the uber snobs; the city-slickers think Chhattisgarh is a jungle..... the seniors can't handle the juniors stealing the limelight and petty camps create a virtual gang-war which even builds into a mutiny against the disciplinarian coach.

From there on begins the fight of Kabir, the way he asks everyone tht at first place they represent their Country nd thn their respective States, how he instills team spirit, dedication nd love for the game in the girls ....nd finally transforms them into world champions.....Kabir Khan has just 3 months to coach and train these girls for the Hockey World Cup in Australia.
Using very unconventional methods..... Kabir Khan manages to create a team spirit among the girls. But some differences remain..... only to be sorted out in the World Cup tournament in Australia, which the team must win to make India proud. But..... Kabir Khan is fighting for more than pride for India. For him the victory wld bring redemption (for his momentary failure 7 yrs ago) and reclamation of his lost honour. And.... whn tht moment of reckoning does come.... he looks on with disbelief in his teary eyes.

After a long time – perhaps since Swades – SRK gives a substantial reason to write something about his acting.... Using his facial expressions and intense eyes to his advantage, with utmost conviction SRK plays a brillant role. Undoubtedly, this one is a praiseworthy performance from the King Khan.

The movie has a number of intelligently conceived sequences. For instance.... a sequence.... whn the girl’s hockey team has to prove their mettle against the men’s team. The girls lose by a narrow margin..... but they get an applause nd salutation from male players, Also... whn the girls bash up a bunch of eve teasers and another one.... whn At Australia...World Cup Association organises a meet in the honour of the finalist teams nd all the Indian team finalists entering wearing a Saarii..representing India... all these sequences and the last portions of the second – when the crucial matches are played ... including a maaraamaarii match between India nd Korea– evoke a flood of emotions inside a viewer.

SRK isn’t the sole focus of the film. Ample footage is given to all the 16 girls. Egoistic Bindia Naik delivers a laudable performance throughout the film. An attacking forward player Preeti Sabarwal is convincing. Vidya Sharma as the goalie plays her part well.

A constant thread of humour runs through the film’s narrative. The humour is vernacular, and genuinely funny at tht. The funniest of the lot is the rustic Haryanavi girl Komal Chautala nd the hot-tempered Punjabi girl Balbir Kaur.


The hockey matches have been filmed on a grand scale in Australia and look very authentic and truly commendable.... i just loved them the way they hav picturised it.... i wld really say tht it shows a true effort from the whole team.


To cut to the chase, ‘Chak De India’ keeps you on the edge of your seat, even though it is a sports-based film and not a thriller. A sincere effort nd beautifully made film... tht makes you laugh, makes you cry, nd above all stirs up patriotism inside you.

In short.... A must watch!!!

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY..... :)

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

arrey wah Urvi...u've already seen this movie....& very nice post...loved it :)

Urvi said...

@ Mehak...Hi mehak, howz u?

Thanks for liking the post..wanted to put some pics too.. so did it today.. :)

I really liked the movie.. it jst makes everyone think abt ths higly ignored sport which is also our National Sport!!

Good job done by the whole team. Totally enjoyed ths movie. I wld really recommend ths.

Akash said...

Booking my tickets right away!! :D

Prakash Venkat said...

Wow a nice post Urvi ....just loved reading it ... will also go for movie and write a review on moi blog :)

Urvi said...

@akash....Great!
Njoi.. :)

Urvi said...

@PV....Thanks :)

Waiting for ur take on it...