An ode to India. Review on Chak De India

A woman challenged and insulted only because of her gender, considered incompetent and incapable only on account of her gender, a woman being commented on derisively, only because of her gender is a matter of shame for all of us…. When such a woman decides to strike back and take her place of pride…. All we feel like saying is.... Chak De…

A man stripped of his honour is a man on a mission…. A man whose integrity has not only been challenged but has been completely shattered is a dangerous man….. A man who has wrongly suffered the ignominy of being branded a ‘Traitor’ is a man to watch out for…

For if and when this man returns, the return will be as spectacular as inglorious the exit was…. for this man plays for his honour and his life and not for personal glory….. When we see such a Man fighting for his honour, his nation, his family, all we say is … Chak De

Everybody loves an underdog… because somewhere within the underdog lies the undead aspiration of each and every one of us… the Dreams that we sacrificed, the Ambitions that we put to rest, the Desires that died before they could walk …. And so when we find one man or one woman standing for all they believe in and staking their all on one throw of a dice, our hearts shout in unison…. Chak De….

And when we find our nation, always been shunted about and been written about in disparaging terms like the commentator in the movie constantly does, and then a team of 11 ragtag girls decides to put up their hands and dare to be counted.. All we can say is ….Chak De India……

Welcome to the Indian Women’s Hockey federation preparing for a World Hockey Championship – only the fact is that organizers themselves do not believe their Team can win and are decided that they would not let the Team travel. Then there is the Team, where Internal Groupism, State Affiliations, Self-Importance and Personal glory is more important than Victory at the highest level….

A Team where the name India exists only on the apparel and not on the conscience and …. Then there is the coach, a man out to exorcise his own past, trying to come to terms with his background, his realities and his mission….. Chak De India is the story of how these elements that could self-destruct join hands in face of a common obstacle and stand counted.

Chak De India is not a film… it’s an experience worth living…..it’s a classic embodiment of all the living principles of a management school…. Leadership, Teamwork, Motivation, Self-Belief, A Dream that refuses to go away, A Confidence that refuses to be shattered and an Effort that cannot be put away.

Shah Rukh Khan – what do I say about him! I have never been a great fan of his performance, although I never doubted him as an actor but today I need to say this is SRK at his best. The role of a coach, out to prove his loyalty and integrity, the role of a player trying to exorcise his past, the role of a man, called a Traitor and forced to leave his house, his honour, his identity could have become a case for hysterical overacting… but SRK ensures that the dignity of the role is maintained….

Each and every nuance of SRK is just perfect and by the time the film reaches its apogee, all we remember is Kabir Khan, the role and not SRK the actor. The scene where he looks at the words scribbled on his gate and says “Tumko Nahin Dekhna Ho Ammi to Mat Dekho; Main Zaroor Dekhoonga” is a scene worth remembering and a dialogue worthy of repeating.

The girls comprising the Team have also put in a great performance… in some cases, the performances of their life….

Shilpa Shukla as the self-important arrogant Bindia Naik delivers a power-packed performance…. It’s not everyday that you find someone who can breathe so much life in her role that you revile her for her antics, hate her for her attitude and still love her for her uncompromising stand… Shilpa is brilliant and brilliant is an understatement.

Chitrashi Rawat as the no-nonsense rural player who lets her stick do all the talking is so impressive that one only wonders at her frame and keeps thinking where does all this fire come comes from… she is a complete natural and I believe will go places in the future

Tanya Abrol is another girl who steals our hearts with her simple yet effective performance… the simple girl from Punjab is so innocent and yet so forceful that you would not dare take up cudgels with her.

Sagarika Ghatge plays the role of a person determined to prove her value to her self-pompous fiancée with panache.  Aniatha Nair as Aliya also makes her mark in the little time she gets on-screen.  Vidya Malvade is impressive as a woman torn between a family and her dreams. Nisha Nair plays the role of the Jharkhand girl Soimoi to perfection.

Arya Menon should have been given a little more space but her innocent looks and screen presence ensures that she is noticed. A special mention needs to be made of Kimberly Miranda, Seema Azmi, Sandia Furtado and Kimi Laldawla. Javed Khan and Anjan Srivastava, as expected, give a well-nuanced brilliant performance. Vibha Chibbar is adequate in her performance.

Shimit Amin again proves that he’s definitely one of the better discoveries of the Hindi Film Industry…. He follows up his previous film ‘Ab Tak Chappan’ with another brilliant piece of film-making. There are many scenes in this film that portray his deftness and understanding of the cinematic language. Special mention should be made of the introductory scene, the confrontations between Komal and Preeti, the match between the Men’s Hockey Team and the Women’s Hockey Team, which thankfully does not turn into a farce… the confrontation between Bindiya and Kabir and the matches between India and England, India and Argentina and the two matches against Australia.

Jaideep Sahni proves yet again that a strong script sans all special effects can still make a brilliant film. The script is taut and memorable. The dialogues all hard-hitting whether it’s the North-East taunting us for always considering them as someone different from us, the Jharkhand girls being considered as from the jungles, the rural-urban rift, the senior-junior rift, the minority question all of it so easily depicted so as to make a statement without making a statement.

Excellent! One Dialogue which I shall never forget is the comment made by SRK: “Pehli Baar Kisi Gore Ko Hindustani Tiranga Lehraate Dekha Hai”.

Salim-Suleiman’s music is in sync with the film and the title song by Sukhwinder Singh ably supported by Marianne D’Cruz and Salim himself is a blockbuster.

This is movie to watch, understand and carry home with one’s own self… for this is a film that proves that whatever maybe the difficulties, whatever maybe the challenges, whatever maybe the odds, we do not lose as long as we do not agree to lose.

A special mention of the man on whose life this film is based: Mir Ranjan Negi – you are a hero, you were a hero and you will always remain a hero for all who have sense to understand what heroism is all about.

So what are we all waiting for… let the party begin…. On it’s 60th Independence Anniversary… let us all say yet once again….Chak De India…..