Sep 02, 2007 08:39 PM
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Story
Its said that the pen is mightier than the sword but this movie shows that Satellite is stronger than Sword. Don't get me wrong. The movie begins with the most traumatising event of Kabir Khan's life(SRK) when a TV news reporter sees him shaking hands with a Pakistani hockey team captain after having lost out to them.
The news spreads like wild fire attracting all unwanted smoke when the news reporters question Kabir's honesty in playing the game & accuse him of foul play. The channel Aaj Tak further adds its bias by saying that since Kabir argued with the reporters over the issue of foul play, the public should realise that there is something fishy.
People as always believe the falsehood to be the truth & speak harsh words about Kabir, thus ostracising him.
7 years later, the same Kabir Khan returns back to prepare the Indian Women Hockey team to qualify & win the World Cup Finals.
Will he succeed in fulfilling his dream? Will he be able to acquit himself from the false charges laid on him? The movie is the answer to all the questions.
Performances
SRK has delivered a brilliant performance & has shed off his Lover boy image which he has been portraying for quite sometime. Be is his face which shows & yet hides his internal anguish & humiliation under the disguise of stubble or his stern discipline with which he coaches the defiant players, SRK wins hands down. I'm sure that the movie will win at least the Critics award for dealing with such a sport which despite being called the National game of India, is treated merely as a non existing entity.
The 11 women players have given very good performances. Be it Komal, the bobcut short girl who lets Preeti Sabharwal take another goal or Bindiya, the rebellious girl who feels Kabir Khan is a modern day Muhammed Tughlaq. Vidya Malvade who plays Vidya Sharma, as the team captain has also done her best.
The movie deals with sportsmanship & the desire to place your country and team before yourself. It also talks about how with team spirit & dedication, one can achieve the impossible.
Behind the Scenes
CDI is remarkable & unique in 2 ways:
Firstly To make a movie & that too on Indian Women Hockey team is mission impossible & hence kudos to Yash Raj Films for producing a movie on such an Offbeat topic & also, for deviating from their usual Switzerland and Saree sagas to a movie that depicts a neglected face of our country.
Shimit Amin has done a superb job in directing a movie on a topic which almost no Bollywood filmmaker would attempt to make.
Jaideep Saini who has written the Story, Screenplay, Dialogues & Lyrics, has excellently portrayed the complete scenario & narrow minded attitude of people towards women, hockey & our country.
Songs are present as background scores & thus, save the film from unwanted stretching.
The locales of Australia have been well captured, thus enhancing the visual appeal of the film.
Memorable scenes
A boy tells his father that he wants to see a'Gaddaar' & his father shows him Kabir.
Kabir's mother weeping when she has to leave her home
Kabir telling the players to remember their identity as an Indian not someone from a state
Kabir's discipline while scolding the girls for playing carelessly & bringing in personal disagreements
The fight between the girls & the boys over eve teasing & their subsequent unity
Preeti's talk with Abhimanyu when he tells her to quit the Gulli danda game & be contented being the wife of the Indian Cricket team Vice captain.
All the matches played by the team with different nations & Kabir Khan's understanding of the strategy to win each game successfully, including the final tie – breaker game.
Bindiya's attempt to seduce Kabir Khan in order to become the team captain & the way Kabir replies her back.
The end of the movie wherein the personal lives of the winners has been depicted in a realistic yet pleasant manner.
*Some Food for Thought
*Shouldn't News channels be punished for tarnishing a person's image without any proper evidence against the same?
Is shaking hands with a member of a winning team, a crime?
Isn't it a bias of the person who sees & thinks it to be Match fixing?
Who should compensate for the humiliation & mental torture that a person faces when news channels flash such baseless news?
The movie certainly criticizes our neglect towards the game without being loud or going over the top. Overall, a Movie worth watching.
