Chak De India Review

If you're one of those who have to bash SRK even while u're sleeping, then please leave now. No matter what I say, or anyone else says, you'll be the same forever...so it's no use!

When I walked out of the Satyam Cineplex on Friday, my jaws were aching and so were my wife's, that's what she told me. The reason you might ask...well...because we had spent the last 2 hours and 20 minutes welling up every 2 to 3 minutes and crying very often. NO, we weren't crying coz we were sad or depressed. We did all this while empathising, sometimes sympathising, sometimes crying out of sheer happiness and sometimes just being taken over by the massive adrenaline rush. Well....that was Chak De India for us. Let's get into some details now;

The film begins with the debacle of the Indian hockey team at the hands of the Pakistanis, when Kabir Khan(SRK) misses a penalty stroke. He is crucified by the media and is labelled a gaddar(traitor). Even the people in his muhalla(locality) want nothing to do with him. Khan goes into a hiatus for 7 years only to return with the announcement of a women's national team for the World Cup. He takes charge as the coach with the dream of winning the World Cup and salvaging his own reputation; oh yes! not once does he deny this.

But Khan doesn't really have his work cut out for him. The team given to him has the biggest bunch of misfits ever. Most of them have come with their regional bias, some senior players have their ego issues and some have the temperament of a raging bull. The most imminent task for Khan is to make them act like a team, and it's probably the most difficult one. He breaks them, humiliates them and does several other unimaginable things to make them better players and understand the concept of 'India' and not my Assam, my Bihar, my Jharkhand, my West Bengal or whatever. I won't spoil the fun by telling you everything, but I'll tell you about the most important sequence which sees them really coming together as a team. This happens at McDonalds, where the girls beat up!! a bunch of eve teasers, and Khan quietly sits at the table. He only reacts when one of the guys tries to attack a girl from the back, he grabs him and says "peeche se nahi, karna hai to saamne se waar karo, woh kya hai na, hamaari hockey mein chakke nahi hote"(if you wanna attack, do it from the front, you see, we don't have eunuchs in our hockey').

The second half is hockey, hockey and more hocey. Team India looses the first match 7-0 to Australia, but they make a comeback after defeating many teams including England, the rough playing Argentina and the tactical Korea. The final sees them playing against Australia again. Everyone knew what was gonna happen, still there were OOOHs and AAhs to be heard everywhere in the theater and the mad clapping after the girls did it was just awesome. The climax is soooo wonderful, it makes you leap with joy and yet manages to make you cry. SRK's reaction is a sight; the man just doesn't know what to do, he's not jumping with joy, he's just looking everywhere like a lost child. Happiness, triumph, pain, agony..you could see eveything in his eyes. This is what makes him the King, and quite frankly, it's his movie, he's the heart and soul of the movie. More than the Indian Women's team...you want Kabir Khan to win.

The girls are all good too, considering it was the first time acting for most of them. A few of them have been given more screen time and the meatier dialogues and gameplaying time. Some of Komal's dialogues are just outrageously hilarious!, what with her 'bhains ki pooch'(buffalo's tail) and 'launda'(guy) 'laundiya'(girl) lines. The Punjabi girl also makes you laugh quite a few times with her uncompromising temper and childish mannerisms. A few minutes have also been given to the girls' problems, but even these are not boring at all and add to the movie's message quite substantially. The scene when they are introduced for the first time is a great tickler too.

The most endearing aspect of Chak De India is that it doesn't try to make a big deal of anything, but, it manages to do exactly that in the end. It makes you think about the gender bias in our society, it makes you think about the lack of awareness for our national sport, it makes you think about the corruption and red tapism in the Government, it makes you think about the regional bias so deeply engraved in our minds, and it also makes you think about India. It does all of this with great elan, without sounding preachy or intellectual for a single minute. The movie entertains you to the core, plays with almost every emotion you have ever felt in your life...loss,despair,pain,struggle,victory,happiness,ecstasy. The movie is a winner on all accounts, and this, without even touching on a single bollywood cliche. No movie in recent times can claim this, not even Rang De Basanti or Lage Raho Munnabhai. It has my vote for the best Indian movie of the new millennium so far(RDB is a very close second).

Go watch it, watch it now, even if you can't stand SRK. A movie not to be missed by any Indian, old or young. As for SRK's performance, contrary to what other people might tell you, no he's not different in this movie, he's the same SRK when he yells at those girls, when he gets angry, there's a certain restraint, yes, but that's coz he's not the 28 yr old angry avenger of Baazigarr now. It's not his greatest performance ever, but yes, it's definitely one of his most mature performances, along with Swades, Veer Zaara and Kal Ho Na Ho. His greatest performances, in my humble opinion, are in Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa and of course..DDLJ.
Rating: *****