Chak De India

As promised, I begin my review of Chak De India. Saw this movie yesterday with a packed audience in the Sathyam Complex in Chennai, in their largest screen.

What a wonderful feeling it was. A different essence of patriotism, for the country and for the game. I had read a good number of reviews of Chak De. So, I did have a lot of expectation about the movie. Nothing was contrary to my belief. In fact, the movie did take me by surprise at a lot of instances and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. The fact that every game is important and its the interest of the players that matters is evident. This movie went on to show everyone that there is much more than CRICKET for India.

Shah Rukh Khan (SRK) is not really the hero of this movie. He is rather the leader who is also a facilitator. The main characters to watch for are the girls who come from different parts of the country for a common cause (well they dont initially, but they change themselves over the course of the movie) - the spirit of sportsmanship and the fact that they represent the country.

This film is a classic example of managing difficult teams and people. There are several instances where SRK provides motivation and drives the girls to victory. As the story progresses, we can see a leader emerging from each player on the field. Togetherness makes a great difference.

SRK is not the coach who shows the girls the easy way out. He is harsh and a true task master. He treats every girl on the field like a man. No sacrifices just because you are a woman. If required you have to fight it the hard way. And the girls who form the cast are just like that. We see that they don't get upset or weak because of all this. They are rash, come across like warriors, but they do understand each other's feelings and respect that too. They live for each other and are compassionate.

Then there are the men on the board who drink tea and eat biscuits to keep criticizing the women. I guess this is what really happens at the top. These people just look for the money and not the talent. And this could be true even with BCCI or the Indian Olympics Committee. What purpose does it serve in having someone who is politically strong as a president or a senior member of such organizations. What is the value add he or she is going to bring?

We still haven't learned those lessons. The London Olympic Committee chairman is Lord Seb Coe who was an Olympic Champion in his time. But we have a bunch of good-for-nothing fellows sitting there.

Coming back to the movie. The government officials are stunned by the women's game and they are forced to sponsor them. And what more, the underdogs win. The second half is just hockey matches between different countries and its really fast, but exciting. There is one part where NAIK calls home and says "Marke aayenge par haarke nahi aayenge" or something like that, which translates as "We'll return dead, but we'll not return as losers". My eyes were full when I heard that. Those few words had so much power and emotion packed inside that it created an uncontrolled burst of happiness within me and I was happy that I was able to share the same enthusiasm that the players displayed on the screen. It was total involvement.

And this movie was inspired by the Women's Hockey Team that won the Gold in 2002. Another interesting read on the same lines is the HINDU Article. Thanks to Neha Viswanathan for these links.