Chak De India: Women Power rocks!! review
 How sports movie and underdog narrative go hand in hand in Bollywood, points out Pranjal Medhi
It was the return of the King Khan after a gap and that too without a heroine (in the traditional sense of the term). Critics were skeptical about whether he will be able to pull it off with the new Actor-turned-players or vise versa and a director with only one film to his fame.
One always expects packed houses on the first day of release of an SRK flick, presented by a banner like Yashraj, with whom SRK has already delivered a long list of hits like Darr, DDLJ, Dil To Pagal Hain, Mohabbatein and Veer Zaraa. But may be because of the low key publicity and absence of a star Female lead, it was feared that Chak De might lose out on viewers. But contrary to all the worries, it won the hearts of the audience, as it is evident from the fact that, everyone seems coming out of the movie theatre with a grin on her/his face.
The making of an Underdog sporting drama already has a history in Hindi film Industry with the likes of Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar, Lagaan and more recently Apne. India’s national game Hockey which has lost its glory in the present scenario, is being taken up here as the backdrop of the narrative. It is inspired from the true story of Mir Ranjan Negi, former goalkeeper of Indian hockey team that lost miserably to Pakistan in the 1982 Asian Games final. The allegations that he took money from Pakistan for the concede goals made sure he never plays for the Indian Team again. Negi's sporting career seemed to hit a deadend until he gathered courage to coach Indian men and women hockey teams to redeem his pride.
SRK plays the role of Kabir Khan, the Coach of the Indian Women’s Hockey team that goes on to win the Hockey World Cup, after rigorous training sessions and stringent mental stamina tests. He was given a chance to win back the lost glory and to clear the blot “put on his face” after the debacle of the final match against Pakistan.
And he does that quite convincingly. Making the girls feel the fact that mental toughness is more important than physical strength, he goes onto ruthless, rigorous training sessions. The “united we stand” formula makes its point to the girl-power, when we see them beating up a group of eve-teasers. The characterization of the sixteen players is also a meticulous job done with their distinct style and mannerisms. The girls from North-east portraying how the area is still alienated by the mainland India, the tom-boyish Komal Chautala (Chitrasi Rawat), the rebellious senior player Bindiya Nair(Shilpa Shukla) and Preeti Sabharwal (Sagarika Ghatke) throwing attitude gives the plot a different flavor.
The film carries a very strong message of women’s emancipation and women power, which is not very common in an SRK flick. Well, SRK has come out of his eternal lover-boy image to a character which he performs estimably. It will not be appropriate to call the film a feminist propaganda, but we can proudly call it a venture which glorifies the Indian women and the Indian national game.
The director, Shimit Amin, who has Ab Tak Chappan to his credit, comes from a very different camp and genre. The Gangster-Cop melee flick director makes his strokes remarkable by pumping the adrenalin in the audience with his depiction of the near-real characters. Although drawn from a real life story, it needs a lot of effort to make a film to strike the cords. By attempting a very different kind of storyline from the usual Bollywood stuff, the director proves his mettle in making a film hit without a Heroine. With no love-angle attached to SRK, it makes the risk a little more jeopardizing.
The music is that of a “go-get-it” kind which makes your heart beat faster. Very swift-edited sequences of the training sessions and the playground sequences give the film an nerve-wrecking pace . SRK despite his charisma, gives a fair chance to the co-actors to play their part . He also commendably portrays a man who enthusiastically and unabashedly advocates the advancement of women. His star power was undoubtedly a crowd-puller, but what makes you sit through the film is the admirable performance by a few of the Characters. Chitrasi Rawat (Komal Chautala), Sagarika Ghadke ( Preeti Sbaharwal), Vidya Malavade (Vidya Sharma) and Shilpa Shukla (Bindiya Nair) leaves a superior impression with their acting-skills. Shilpa who I met recently expressed that the zipper-scene was the most difficult one, where she almost got the smell of the superstar and the influx of abundance of energy.
The true star of the film is the writer Jaideep Saini who ensured that the narrative does not drag, giving optimum space to all the main characters to perform. The story carries the elements of a Bollywood hit formula, e.g. rebelliousness, dissent, strain, lack of self-belief, infighting, ego-clashes, making up and then victory of the hypothetical underdog. But somewhere down the line, the director had a tough time striking the perfect balance of sporting genre and classic melodrama. It is different from Iqbal in terms of its playing the game, glorifying it, overshadowing any individual. In Iqbal, the emphasis was on the protagonist, rather than the sport.
At last, we can agree to the fact that Chak De is a high-pitched pure sporting drama. With the zeal and ardor for sporting spirit and sportsmanship lives another life in CHAK DE! INDIA. We must thank the filmmakers for bringing a nearly forgotten sport Hockey into the limelight again. In fine, the film’s greatest worth is its interpretation on sexism in India and elevation of our national sport. Chak De! India.
Comments( 19 )
A true unbiased inside look into a film
A true unbiased inside look into a film that based on a true story of almost forgotten(?) national game of India;hockey which is made into a celluloid craft by Shimit Amin.Keeping the typical bollywood style of larger than life story telling at bay,Chak de brilliantly doing a bravery as well as the writer Mr.Medhi who is trying to tell the readers about the inner beauty of the film.
Mr. Phukan, I would like to thank
Mr. Phukan,
I would like to thank you for those kind words. Analysing and putting a film into perspective is a job that requires a considerable amount of time and effort. If the review is a pleasant reading to the readers, then i would think my effort has not gone in vain.
chak de depicts the effort of an
chak de depicts the effort of an individual to bring a sense of a nation which is actually an imagined community,and theryby biuld the confidence of being in a nation.It again explores till north east,the neglected part of india where females are treated as a soft target by others. moreover its an very good insight in every aspect of the movie,creating a sense of real sporting among the audience
Hi Bee, Great to have a comment on
Hi Bee,
Great to have a comment on the Review. Glad that you too emphasied on the point of Bennedict Anderson's Imagined Community and the alienation of the North East India. Plus, wanted to point out one thing, The females of north east region are not treated as a soft target within the region. Rather they are considered as having a lose moral character in the northern region of the country. I assume, you wanted to describe that only, but your lines say "It again explores till north east,the neglected part of india where females are treated as a soft target by others.". I think it is necessary to mention the region where they are regarded as foreign nationales. Anyway, thanks so much for the good words. Keep the healthy discussion on.
Hats off to you
Hats off to you Pranjal…it’s really impressive. I must say that even without watching Chak De movie so far, I have made a good understanding of the movie, its subject and the casts. It’s also a matter of pride for me that such a brilliant piece has been written by a friend of mine...
In brief I find the movie very important for the 5 following reasons:
1. Chak De is one of the rarest movies of its category that it has gone hit by challenging more than one traditional stereo-types of the Hindi cinema.
2. I think it is the first movie by SRK without a heroine, which you have already mentioned.
3. Chak De is the first movie of our generation which has taken Hockey as its prime subject to reach the minds of Indians in order to reflect the negligence of hockey in general and to show the fire power of Indian young generation women.
4. Most important, it depicts well the fire of women power, and I believe it shall work as the reference group for the millions of young women who want to show to the countrymen that they are no less in any field in comparison to men.
5. And this movie will be referred a period example by the academicians as well as the students for decades. Being a student of Sociology, I see the movie as an agent of Social Change.
Its truely a cinema lover and analyst
Its truely a cinema lover and analyst expressing his heart so eloquently, that reflects his so keen interest in Indian Cinema. Chak De is an excellent Movie and so is the writer of this post. Well done Pranjal. Get ready to enjoy the properous ride ahead of you, the preparation sure looks almost sated. good luck.
Dear Pranjal, its really great to
Dear Pranjal,
its really great to read such a wonderful review on Chakde India. I watched the movie yesterday and it was worth watching. What scores high is the emphasis on the game rather than on protagonist. It was the game which was the pivot around which the movie moved and this is what makes the movie different from other movies based on sport. But Pranjal i would like to say that u have missed one very important aspect in the movie.....
its the team building mechanism.
The movie portrays some valuable lesons on team building.
Keep it up Pranjal
good job bro.......keep it up.I havent
good job bro.......keep it up.I havent wached the movie,but after going through ur review i think i will.......i read a review today in times,urs is definately a notch better than that...
Hi Pranjal, I must admit that Im one
Hi Pranjal,
I must admit that Im one of the relatively few who havent seen Chak De!India. The TOI review made me sit up and take notice. And now after reading your review I have decided that Iam going to catch it this weekend. I'll let you knw my thoughts on the movie soon! Great review and keep writing man!
Quite a response Pranjall!!! watched
Quite a response Pranjall!!!
watched the movie finally. it's gripping, entertaining, intelligent and thought provoking. Yes it fits well within the bollywood melodrama, interesting to see SRK playing the role that required lots of restrain, except one speech I liked him throughout. A good sign for Bollywood.
thanks Dude !! and cheers to the
thanks Dude !!
and cheers to the fact that you liked the film. i did not like the Yeh Sattar Minute walla dialogue. it was not needed there. could have been replaced with something gripping and solid. indeed a good sign for Bollywood and Hockey.
Good take on the film. keep it up. You
Good take on the film. keep it up. You should keep on penning down your thoughts. Just a few points that I should add about the film.
great camera work. almost feels like as if we are watching a real match. Also the dribbling introduction of Komal on the streets.
Director did a fine job in not letting SRK overact. He was moderated to a very likeable extent.
The pace of the film is so apt that it is emotionallly gripping all the time.
Great work...have not seen the movie
Great work...have not seen the movie though.....Not sure when I will be able to watch...Good thing about the review is the heart felt simplicity which will make people like me to watch the movie over and over again...off course if get a chance.I wonder how do you get time
for this...
The whole theme of chak de revolves
The whole theme of chak de revolves around two isms that vehemently cofront with each other i,e feminism and nationalism. How the movie has tried to raise the question of equal representation of women is noteworthy. But the movie is highly "nationalistic "the concept which has always advocated women to reamain as mere spectators. Cricket is india being such a popular game then why it is that there is no celebration and mass follwing of indias womens cricket team. The fact is nation has always seen sport as war that has to be fought by its brave sons to protect their mother.
So one side chak de talks about womens upliftment while on the other side it instructs to fight for the nation, which itself is dark, elemental , unpredictable force of primordial nature threatening the orderly calm of civilized life.
Hi Mir, Thanks for the comment. i
Hi Mir,
Thanks for the comment. i agree with your point that nationalism and feminism are the two sides of Chak De. while it is a film with a lot of feminine perspective, i somehow think, no sport played by women is encouraged and elevated in the Indian Scenario. we need to put our emphasis on that.
Hey Pranjal, Gr8review.... Basically
Hey Pranjal,
Gr8review.... Basically one point noted about Chak de it that the film marks the come back of a brilliant actor called Shahrukh Khan- who probably was under used recently and was looking more of SRK on screen... Kabir Khan is way different from King Khan and convincing... Everyone who has followed SRK since early days have missed his performances like those in Mirza sahabs films like "Raju ban gaya..." , Yes Boss, Idiot, Darr...The film belongs to Kabir Khan obviously the gang of gals perfectly filling in for the tailor made roles.... And to add to what u say its emancipation of women or under dog sport..the film in totality deals with the neglected parts of the societ... Neglect towards a lesser known sport, lesser sex, lesser region, lesser religion... The fact underlined through a woman team that too hockey ..with the regional imbalance to North Eastern States or Jharkhand... Beautifully woven through a gripping story... And not to forget the neglect toward a community...Sadly even today a Muslim has to show his patriotism out of the awy which is not the case with any other religion....An Ajay Jadeja is a lesser villian than a Mohammed Azharuddin ....Thats the basically the irony of a Kabir Khan... LOng time a GOOD CINEMA
Thanks Kamlesh, for the thought
Thanks Kamlesh,
for the thought provoking feedback. i totally agree to the Neglect phenomena and the Muslim perspective of the same. As u have already told me that u met the MAN Mir Ranjan Negi, the story is not a surprise for u. What grips us throughout the film is its presentation and the narrative. Somehow, one more drawback i found in the film was the Hindi Commentator, who appeared rather like a commentator on some Religious Channel. I think it's a last minute decision caused by lack of time or effort.
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