Movie Review: Chak De India

Update – Just realized that I had left this post in the draft mode! 🙂
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This movie should become a big hit. And you have to see the movie to understand why.

It’s a pretty drab script about a failed coach leading a substandard team to world cup glory, nothing less. It has 16 very very average to hopeless actors trying to support Shahrukh ‘Kabir Khan’ make this movie what it is. The music barring a few chords here and there can at best be called average. But the movie is nothing short of sensational. A perfect sports movie capturing the spirit of sportsmanship, the passion that being at the highest level requires, the agony of loss, the ecstasy of victory, the embarrassment and happiness of newly found fame, the jealousy between champions, and the lack of humility being the downfall of every sportsman.
The movie took me to the times when I used to take the field. Much as you know that this is just a game, and winning and losing are a part of it, only a sportsman can understand the pain of losing a game. The one thing I have never been able to understand about betting scandals is how someone can throw the game at the highest level. The honor, pride and emotions (in addition to the love for the game) are what make you play the game at the highest level. Maybe the money is too high and people do get tempted. But I am sure its difficult to implement the bet once you take the field. It must kill you as a sportsman.

Anyways, back to the movie, I think this movie is perfect film-making example. The Director does not depend on too many things/people to make a great movie. He just knows what he is making, and what he wants his actors to do, what his cinematographers to shoot. For this movie, I would give full marks to the Director. And to Shahrukh. Now, to tell you, I am not a great fan of Shahrukh. More often than not, I don’t like his movies. The candy floss romance from the YR table is just not me. I would anyday prefer watching a Gunda, Shivaji, Partner over a Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna. But in this movie, its one helluva restrained performance, no hamming and you get a feeling that he must have played some game at some point in time.

The editing and cinematrography when it comes to the hockey match scenes is also good. Whats definitely worth mentioning is that unlike most of the hindi sports movies where bulk of the movie time is devoted to off-the-field histrionics, this movie is a humbly sports-centric movie and spends most of the time on the field (and training grounds). There aren’t too many people falling in and out of love, neither are they doing it for their father/mother. Everyone is playing for himself/herself and eventually, for the pride and honor of playing for the Indian team. That’s the winning sentiment.

And quite refreshingly, the way the cast is selected, at least most of them don’t look like jokers holding hockey sticks (remember Asif  Tariq (thanks Kuffir for pointing this out) holding the guitar in Kya hua tera waada? Or, Rishi Kapoor molesting the guitar in Dard-e-Dil dard-e-jigar? Or, more specifically, Amir Khan fooling around with a bat in Awwal Number?)

I would STRONGLY RECOMMEND watching this movie. And you can tell me that you were not able to feel the surge of emotions at different times.

Ahh.. and before I close the post – a song which is definitely worthy of mention – Maula mere le le meri jaan!! Beautiful, in the background, and extremely melancholic. You all must listen to this track!