Chak De India:Scores a goal
-By Swetha Amit
Many films have portrayed the theme of cricket. However Chak de India dares to be different from the clichéd rest. It manages to awaken the spirit of our almost forgotten national game-Hockey and revive it in the memories of millions.
The movie is inspired from the life of Mir Ranjan Negi. He was a goal keeper during the Asian games who was stripped off his dignity and grace by being hurled with an accusation of bribery. And this film gave him an opportunity to rekindle nostalgic memories of the game by training King Khan for his on screen personified role.
The film starts with a nail biting Hockey match between India and Pakistan. India led by Kabir Khan (Shahrukh Khan) misses the all important penalty stroke and is then blamed for purposive defeat and stigmatized as being a traitor to his nation. Disowned by his own neighbourhood, he walks away with his held high silently vowing to prove them wrong.
Seven years later, he comes back to coach a woman’s hockey team for the upcoming world cup. The obvious disparity and diversity between the small town and city girls proves it to be an arduous task for Kabir to bind them together for a common cause of playing together as a team. This is especially with the flying tempers, raging egos and indignant feelings of being given vigorous training by the hard task master.
Bringing in cohesiveness seems almost impossible until an unexpected occurrence of an incident. Realization dawns amongst them as they unite together for a mission. How they fight and prove the world by converting the impossible into the possible forms the rest of the narrative. It also depicts the evolution of each character's personality into mature adults learning the larger essentials like selflessness and unity.
Chak de India is sporty and patriotic. It emphasizes the philosophy of ‘united we stand divided we fall’ especially in the hockey match sequences. The Yash Raj-SRK magic has worked again, only this time in an unconventional theme. A very well directed film by Shamit Amin (of Ab tak chappan fame). Shahrukh Khan is intense, passionate and plays his part of a no-nonsense coach to perfection. Rest of the cast plays their roles with sincerity. The screenplay is good with a wonderful background score. The dialogues are spectacular and a few stand out like icing on a cake. Especially the one “Is team mein ek hi gunda ho sakta hai aur woh main hoon”.
The movie exhibits and tries to establish the fact of every person setting a goal for him/herself. Achievement of that goal involves in building that killer instinct within oneself. Thinking about those whom we want to prove wrong with our capable worth will inspire us to emerge as a winner. This will provide infinite joy and satisfaction to us for having placed that extensive confidence and belief in ourselves.
Accomplishment of a collective goal involves the essence of team building by setting aside personal differences, petty squabbles and working together as one big unit. This is especially apt for organizations and group dynamics.
Another attribute of the film includes in not thinking of ourselves as a product of each state or territory like Maharashtra, Andra-Pradesh, Tamilnadu or Chandigarh but as one big nation-India.
It portrays the national game in an absorbing and realistic manner. This was once followed by the entire country and did the nation proud by winning a few medals. However it’s sad to see the plight of this sport deprived of its well deserved recognition. If only those golden days were brought back will we hear people cheering Chak de India for a hockey stick instead of the colonized game of cricket?
It enables us to learn to be a fighter irrespective of the unfavourable circumstances. And in due course of time we will succeed as winners and bask in exhilirating glory. Kabir Khan achieved his goal in the above case with his head held high.So if Khan can do it so c(kh)an you!!!
This is a must watch film. It will certainly do us proud and is bound to make us cheer by saying Chak De Hockey/Shahrukh or India!!!
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