Chak De India
Keeping the fire of independence and patriotism in mind, Bollywood has made its best presentation of 2007 “Chak De India”. With virtually no hits in the first half of the year Bollywood has been in the doldrums. But “chak De” has turned the tables and has brought sunshine to the land of Bollywood. It has also put the Yash Raj banner back on track as both of its earlier movies namely “Tara rum pum” and “jhoom barabar jhoom” had turned out to be damp squibs at the BO.
“Chak de” tells the story of Kabeer Khan (Shahrukh Khan), a determined coach, who would leave no stone unturned in making the woman’s national hockey team win the world cup. The film starts with the final hockey match between India and Pakistan in which Kabeer leads the Indian side. Kabeer misses out in the penalty shootout due to which India loose. And what happens? Naturally he gets blamed for the loss and the media blows the incident out of proportion (which it always does) by further demeaning him and alleging him of match fixing and false connections with the Pakistani side. Kabeer’s career is now doomed and he gets ostracized even by his friends and neighbors. Seven years later you see a bearded Kabeer (Shahrukh looks cool in this get up) waiting outside the Indian hockey association pleading to be the coach of the National women’s hockey team. The association members, over tea and samosas, speak very low of women entering sports, but accept his offer, though unwillingly.
This is just the beginning. What Kabeer gets is a motley group of girls, each prominent players of their own regions, with different backgrounds. At the beginning it looked as if it were an impossible task with ego clashes and frequent quarrels (Where you have women these things are bound to happen) taking the lead. But slowly and gradually the girls get to understand each other and the spirit of sportsmanship developing among them is showcased well. Especially the short tempered Punjabi putar, Balbir, and the short, yet agile Komal and her clashes with Preeti can never be forgotten. How Kabeer finally manages to win the world cup for the team forms the remaining part of the story.
Shahrukh excels as Kabeer Khan. You can mark a sharp contrast between the dejected captain Kabeer and the determined coach Kabeer. The talk he gives to the girls before their final match is mind blowing and showcases his immaculate dialogue delivery and the dialogues have been well penned keeping this ability of Shahrukh in mind. All the credit goes to the director, Shimit Amin, who also makes his debut with this film. Another highlight is that the girls have been selected not based on their looks but to the extent to which their looks and appearances suit the character. There is no unnecessary glamour (which is so common in Hindi and Tamil movies as well) and unwanted item numbers. The music and the tracks move in pace with the film and there isn’t a moment in the movie that makes you feel bored.
So “Chak de” is the movie for all you people to see this weekend. Just “chak de” your seat belts and enjoy “chak de”
There’s another incident I can’t forget. Though it’s not a part of the film, my hands are itching to mention it. There’s this guy named Sriram in our class and we guys shout his name in the class for anything and everything without any reason. So there was a scene in the film in which the samosa eating fatso of the association asks “Kaun Banega is team ka coach” and we all shouted “SRIRAM!” together. No matter how many times we did this in class, this one at the theatre can never be forgotten.
“Chak de” tells the story of Kabeer Khan (Shahrukh Khan), a determined coach, who would leave no stone unturned in making the woman’s national hockey team win the world cup. The film starts with the final hockey match between India and Pakistan in which Kabeer leads the Indian side. Kabeer misses out in the penalty shootout due to which India loose. And what happens? Naturally he gets blamed for the loss and the media blows the incident out of proportion (which it always does) by further demeaning him and alleging him of match fixing and false connections with the Pakistani side. Kabeer’s career is now doomed and he gets ostracized even by his friends and neighbors. Seven years later you see a bearded Kabeer (Shahrukh looks cool in this get up) waiting outside the Indian hockey association pleading to be the coach of the National women’s hockey team. The association members, over tea and samosas, speak very low of women entering sports, but accept his offer, though unwillingly.
This is just the beginning. What Kabeer gets is a motley group of girls, each prominent players of their own regions, with different backgrounds. At the beginning it looked as if it were an impossible task with ego clashes and frequent quarrels (Where you have women these things are bound to happen) taking the lead. But slowly and gradually the girls get to understand each other and the spirit of sportsmanship developing among them is showcased well. Especially the short tempered Punjabi putar, Balbir, and the short, yet agile Komal and her clashes with Preeti can never be forgotten. How Kabeer finally manages to win the world cup for the team forms the remaining part of the story.
Shahrukh excels as Kabeer Khan. You can mark a sharp contrast between the dejected captain Kabeer and the determined coach Kabeer. The talk he gives to the girls before their final match is mind blowing and showcases his immaculate dialogue delivery and the dialogues have been well penned keeping this ability of Shahrukh in mind. All the credit goes to the director, Shimit Amin, who also makes his debut with this film. Another highlight is that the girls have been selected not based on their looks but to the extent to which their looks and appearances suit the character. There is no unnecessary glamour (which is so common in Hindi and Tamil movies as well) and unwanted item numbers. The music and the tracks move in pace with the film and there isn’t a moment in the movie that makes you feel bored.
So “Chak de” is the movie for all you people to see this weekend. Just “chak de” your seat belts and enjoy “chak de”
There’s another incident I can’t forget. Though it’s not a part of the film, my hands are itching to mention it. There’s this guy named Sriram in our class and we guys shout his name in the class for anything and everything without any reason. So there was a scene in the film in which the samosa eating fatso of the association asks “Kaun Banega is team ka coach” and we all shouted “SRIRAM!” together. No matter how many times we did this in class, this one at the theatre can never be forgotten.
posted by mukundh at 9:01 AM
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