Happy Independence Day and Chak De! India

Happy Independence my beloved country and to all Indians across the world! I might not have hoisted a flag high up in the air like I wanted to, I might not have joined in the local independence day parade like I wanted to, and I might not have worn a shirt that adorned the Indian flag but I had in me the joy, the pride, and the spirit of a nation called India!

Did I mention I also watched a movie that is very much like our country. Not completely flawless, or nothing really extraordinary, and yet you can’t help but love it and root for it.

There is nothing new about the story of the underdog struggling to beat all the odds and reach the top and yet you root for Team India like it was your first time rooting for an underdog.

There is nothing new about the disgraced seeking redemption and yet you wish, hope, and pray that Kabir Khan (Shahrukh Khan) is not only able to bring back the glory he had once enjoyed but also regains respect and erases the mark of a “gaddar” off his record.

There is nothing new about a disjointed team that manages to train and win the World Championship in just three months, and yet you are hooked to your seat till the end waiting to see that last winning penalty kick score.

And then there is nothing new about this movie that you predict the end in the first 10 minutes itself, and yet you sit till the very last cropped shot before the subtitles end and everyone in the movie hall claps and cheers.

One phrase is resounding as people walk out of the cinema and thats Chak De!

I usually don’t read complete reviews about movies before I watch them, just read the bottomline and move on. But I did end up reading quite a few reviews before I had a chance to watch it. How could I have stayed away? They are everywhere. Everyone has an opinion here, here on Rediff, here on IndiaFM, here, and several reviews have been mentioned on DesiPundit. Most of them, I agree with. But one particular article on SRK and Chak De! India (no not a review) here managed to enrage me so much I wanted to bash and backfire at every single sentence in it. I hadn’t seen the movie then, but now that I have – going back and reading it still enrages me but I just don’t care. SRK is everything this article says he is not! If you want to hear details of my innermost thoughts bashing this article – email me

Chak De! India is one of the best movies I have seen. I liked it so much, I wanted to watch it over again right after the end credits rolled to a finish. I commend YRF for making this movie and for not caring it it couldn’t have fetched them a global audience ( trades have been talking about how its not a money minter especially globally since it doesn’t attract all of the Indian subcontinent with a name like that) but for making it straight from the heart, and for believing in it. You know from the very beginning what will happen in the end but what you don’t know is that the story is weaved together in such a script that it makes you laugh, cry, clap, and even shout out in encouragement for Team India, all in a short two and a half hours. Every end of the script tied, every bit of the narration enthralling, and every bit of your emotion tugged at, director Shimit Amin’s Chak De! India comes out a winner.

The actors all got right into the skin of the character and played their parts to the T. One would have expected SRK to have taken up all the screen space but thats not the case, even though SRK is the central character seeking his redemption through the girls hockey team. The bahu who couldn’t play – Vidya Malvade, tomboyish, foul tongued forward – Komal Chautala from Haryana (Chitrashi Rawat), Komal’s goal rival, the “memsahib” Preeti Sabarwal (Sagarika Ghodke), the ever angry Punjab di funky kudi Balbir Kaur (Tanya Abrol), and the experienced, full of up-yours attitude “national level player” Bindia Naik (Shilpa Shukla) were the strongest actors of the girls. Not that the others did not stand out, but these girls did get a large chunk of screen space along the others. Each character came with a stereotype from almost each state, but then this is what India is all about. As different as day and night from one corner to the other, and yet unified under one nation.

The musical score of the movie is not much to write about, but it is amply made up for. The training and hockey match sequences are shot superbly. Right from the man-to-man marking Koreans to the aggressive game against the Argentinians, right from first match against Indian Men’s Hockey team to the final World Championship victory against Australia, the meticulously drawn out details make for a real World Cup experience. Oh and by the way, I learned more about Hockey from this movie than any other media form I have come across. Hockey is something else to look forward to in this movie for our Cricket-crazy nation (okay I am not that bad, I wouldn’t know what the current hockey situation in India is, but I do know who Dhanraj Pillai is).

And now **fanfare** give it up for the one man who needs no mention. Shahrukh Khan! He comes out yet again with a performance so powerful you cannot imagine someone else as Kabir Khan. Even though he had no love interest other than India, and shared reels with 16 other girls, there is no doubt that it is SRK’s Chak De! India all the way. I will not do justice to him through my words, but I do hope he bags the best actor award for Chak De! India. My favorite scene: when SRK goes weak in the knees at the end. Priceless.

True, its not flawless, but it delivers. Its packed with inspiration in every size, shape, and form, and its entertaining at the same time. I could go and on. Okay, okay, maybe I am too enamored by it right now but it has my vote! Junta says paisa vasool.

On our way back home after the redundant message of TEAM INDIA, my mom gently converses with my aunt in the backseat: “but they didn’t have any girls from Gujarat”. I throw my hands up!!!! You can’t win, you can’t win!