Chak De India
Well, the only times that I had seen hockey sticks before was in the
action-formula films of the 80s. There it did not exactly serve the purpose that it was originally meant to. Since then, hockey as a sport was somewhere lost in the hype created by cricket and later by tennis (read Sania Mirza).
But Jaideep Sahni,
the writer of Chak de India not only gives the game its due
recognition, but also gives us some fantastic cinema which not only
entertains us but also touches us. And is what great films are supposed to do, they connect with you in a manner no other medium can.
We all know the story, so no point in discussing it; but little do we know that the movie is loosely based on the life of Ex-Indian Hockey player Mir Ranjan Negi. Negi lost a match against pakistan 7-1 in 1982 and was made responsible for the loss. He was also called a
traitor for fixing the match. But he emerged again after 16 years and he coached the Indian Men’s Hockey team in Bangkok Asian Games 1998, where the team won Gold medal. He recreated the success with Indian Women’s Hockey Team as well in Manchester Commonwealth Games of 2002. Mir Ranjan Negi was hired as the Technical Advisor by Aditya Chopra for Chak De.
This movie succeeds on many levels, script, screenplay, editing, direction, casting and last but not the least performances.
For Chak de, one
khan (Shah Rukh) lets the other khan (Kabir) take over. The films
showcase SRK as a character called Kabir Khan and not as the Star that
he his. He does not romance any heroines (like his previous Yash Raj
films) and there is not romantic angle to his character. The audience
is watching the film with Kabir khan in mind and not the star. He even
tired to cover his good looks and grew a beard to look more like the
character of a non glam Muslim. Shimit Amin, the director has made SRK give heart and soul to this movie. Among the girls, Shilpa Shukla (Naik) and Vidya Malavde (Vidya Sharma-Goalee) and Sagarika Ghatge (Preeti Sabarwal) have meatier roles than the other girls in the team. But Chitrashi Rawat (Komal Chautala) and Tanya Abrol (Balbir Kaur) get good amount of screen footage.
Vidya Malavde made her debut in the forgettable Mahesh Bhatt movie, Intehaa after which she did a B Grade movie Mashooka before getting a break in Chak De. Wonder if she is the one who replaced Neetu Chandra. Shilpa Shukla has had a screen presence in Silent Waters / Khamosh Pan, Frozeni and Hazaaron Khwaishein Aise (don’t remember seeing her in it though).
The
most awesome scene in the movie is the one when the girls lose out to
the boys, but they (boys) still praise their effort and their game by
raising their sticks in the girls’ direction and they in turn raise
their sticks for Kabir Khan. What an awesome scene, take a bow Shimit
Amin. We need more film makers like you.
The
other scene is the one in which Kabir Khan sees an Australian hoists
the Indian Tri-colour. A routine for the Australian, but an awe
inspiring scene for an Indian to see it’s flag hoisted by a *Gora. *Too Good!!
The
Hockey matches engross you in a manner as if you are watching the real
game and not a fictional movie. Shimit Amin has paid tremendous
attention to detail. Even in film placements of Puma and Ultratech
Cement have been dealt with intelligently and made it an essential part
of the script.
There are some who spoil the party by drawing parallels of Chak De with Hollywood
flick, The Mighty Ducks. I haven’t seen the film as yet but planning to
watch it soon. But if it is copied, mere adapting it to Indian
scenarios and the audience requires a lot of effort. Kudos to the
entire team for it
This movie is recommended for everyone.
In
fact I feel the movie is a must watch for anyone who has to handle a
team, so all you team leaders, managers etc. go watch this move as you
will only learn from it. The way Kabir Khan builds his team, with all
it differences and the differences of the team players with each other
is simply commendable.
Yash
Chopra has been brave to support a project like this which has no
conventional Bollywood film elements in it. Ti simply rocks.
Chak De !!
For some exclusive pictures of the cast including Preeti Sabarwal & Vidya Sharma visit my blog clubbollywood.blogspot.com