Yes, Dangal is a crowd-pleaser. But it also has stellar performances and an engaging story-telling. Aamir is compelling in his role of Mahavir. He annoys you as much as he does his daughters with his strictness as the’haanikarak bapu’. He also gets you misty-eyed when he realises his daughter has gone astray. He makes you root for him when he trains Geeta against the diktat of the National Sports Academy, and makes you hoot along with him when his daughter takes on her competitors. All cliched yet entertaining.
While Aamir is in the driver’s seat in Dangal, Fatima pushes the vehicle forward. Her months of training are visible on screen. In the slo-mo sequences, Fatima is like a leopard. The wrestling scenes are choreographed so well, they look close to real.
Sanya Malhotra doesn’t have a lot to do apart from cheering for her sister from the audience. Child actors Zaira and Suhani hold their own in this motley cast with a heavyweight like Aamir at the top. Aparshakti Khurrana, narrator and Mahavir’s nephew, gets a lot of laughs.
Pritam’s music is used as a narrative device, and the songs don’t affect the pace. Apart from Gilheriyaan and the title track, Dangal, no other track stands out because they are more part of the story than songs.