Chak De India (Hindi)
Director: Shimit Amin
Cast: Shah Rukh Khan,Vidya Malavade, Anaitha Nair, Arya Menon
In the land of a billion people with a solitary Olympic medal, sports films are understandably non-starters. All attempts to cash in on the cricket craze came a cropper at the box office. Surprising then that Chak De India, despite being a Yash Raj film, and boasting Shah Rukh Khan in its ranks, has arrived without the hullabaloo that precedes a big banner release. A slow starter in more ways than one, the film turns out to be a fairly involved saga of one man’s nightmare . And a dream that he nurses for seven years after the loss.
Drawing from the life of former goalkeeper M.R. Negi, who was accused of the worst, following the debacle of the team at the hands of Pakistan in the 1982 Asiad, director Shimit Amin cloaks reality with doses of fantasy. Shah Rukh as Kabir Khan, is a centre forward — in real life, it was the goalie who had failed the final test. One loss, and the hero is termed a traitor. However, it is a taint he is determined to erase. Salvation comes in the form of an opportunity to coach the much-derided women’s hockey team. Amin keeps the interest flowing, more so in the second half than the first. The narration is focussed and smooth, the tempo leisurely.
As the man sets about coaching the girls who come from backgrounds as similar as the mountain and the sea, Amin takes us to the backroom politics of sports federations. The officials sneer at women’s sports, the sponsors shy away. And the girls have no encouragement. Until there comes a coach who transforms it all. Some of the changes seem incredible, others leave a lump in the throat as the girls first learn to talk to each other rather than talking at each other. The professionally chosen action is quite likeable even if predictable; we lose only to win later. And the girls, a nice mix of actresses and real players, play their part perfectly.
Shah Rukh? Well, he is there in almost every frame but the film does not belong to him; it is about a sport going to seed. There is no sequence when he is allowed to go over the top. The director keeps him restrained. Which is quite good for the film. Watch Chak De India. It is a nice film with all its obvious limitations.
ZIYA US SALAM