Chak de Cricket

In a country where cricket is a religion, Shimit Amin’s Chak De India presents us with a story of redemption, team work and victory revolving around hockey- women’s hockey. Chak De breaks all clichés of Hindi cinema; it has skill and substance instead of skin and sizzle; it makes its viewers desperately all ears to every single dialogue instead of waiting for a particular scene or song; it is a Bollywood product with no lovey-dovey passionate act, and yet boasts of viewers coming out of the theatres smiling.

The movie is based on the true story of former captain of National Men’s hockey team, Mir Ranjan Negi, (Kabir Khan, played by Shah Rukh Khan) accused of match-fixing and was labeled a traitor after India lost to Pakistan in the 1982 World Champions Final. The captain, however, returns from a life of humiliation after seven years and revives the women’s hockey team as well as his honour from the depths of oblivion.

The only hurdle that Kabir Khan came face-to-face with was the team itself that was enmeshed in abundant ego tussle, senior-junior divide, veteran-novice classification, the stronger-weaker category, and the toughest part – no one was ready to budge. To add to it, the team was more regional in character than national. But Kabir was determined to bring them together and paint them INDIANS.

What happens after this is better seen than described. But what matters is how it all happened and it is this defining flavour that distinguishes the director as deserving. He has accomplished the hard task of not carrying the shades of his earlier film, Ab Tak Chappan, into this one and that too without any hiccups.
Complimenting Amin's act is Jaideep Sahni's script. He has not once diverted from the main theme–sports. The duo proved that a powerful storyline and a punching direction can create waves even if you don't have the dancing-around-the-trees act or the usual love-you-kiss-you-miss-you piece. The background score is excellent and not just adds life to the already lively screenplay but also makes your heart go THUMP. The narration is tight and the editing is slick. The cinematography is first-rate.

The only flaw with the movie is the larger than life situation when a team with initially no focus, no approach and the overwhelming urge to outshine each other, manages not only to stay in, but also win the world championship in just three months! But as regular viewers of Bollywood “creations” we can live with that. Plus the rest of movie well makes up for this.

And now to the performance. Shah Rukh Khan, who fell flat with his over the top acting in Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna, makes a brilliant recovery in this movie. He keeps the attention of the viewers totally hooked with his intense performance. We must, however, not forget the debut performances of Chitrashi Rawat (Komal Chautala), Shilpa Shukla (Bindia Naik), Tanya Abrol (Balbir Kaur) and Sagarika Ghatge (Preeti Sabarwal), who were the lifeline of the film. Vidya Malavade (Vidya Sharma) has also sketched her role beautifully. The girls, well they are the face of the entire film. Each delivers their unique performance in style. They make you laugh, they make you giggle, they make you sit there and realise that they are out there to perform and would not goof it up for anything.

To cut a long story short, Chak De India rocks. So, go ahead, treat yourself to a Bollywood bonanza, which doesn't come everyday. And yes, don't be too surprised if after coming out, you get the thought, 'maybe one more time'. And for the onlookers of dance, skin, colour and romance, well it's a must watch. Perhaps it would help redefine the word 'entertainment'!