Aug 19, 2007 08:29 PM
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CHAK DE! INDIA
Directed by Shimit Amin; written by Jaideep Sahni; edited by Amitabh Shukla; music by Salim Merchant and Sulaiman Merchant; art director, Sukant Panigrahy; produced by Aditya Chopra; released by Yash Raj Films. WITH: Shahrukh Khan (Kabir Khan), Vidya Malavade (Vidya Sharma), Chitrashi Rawat (Komal), Sagarika Ghatge (Preeti) and Shilpa Shukla (Bindia Naik).
I saw Chak De! India on India’s Independence Day (15th August 2007). When I was coming out of the cinema hall after seeing the movie I heard people saying like – Movie is just great.. with well performed by King Khan! one of his best movie.. all the performances are commendable, a few even outstanding! etc. etc.
Kabir Khan (Shahrukh Khan) is a former player for India’s national field hockey team who had missed to convert a penalty stroke in the dying moments of the match against the arch rival Pakistan, costing India the championship forced him to go in self-exile. Seven years later, he is hired to coach the nation’s women’s hockey team, giving him another opportunity to redeem his prestige.
The players, from States all over India, are a divided lot. If one was a tomboy (Chitrashi Rawat) whose father feared she will never marry; a forward (Sagarika Ghatge) whose boyfriend, a cricket superstar, wanted her to quit the team, marry him and live in his shadow; the newly married goalkeeper and captain of the team (Vidya Malavade) whose in-laws expected her to stay at home; and a haughty, seasoned player (Shilpa Shukla) who needles the coach.
When during a treat at a McDonald’s some boys harass some of them, a girls-against-boys melee erupts, but the coach (Shahrukh Khan) doesn’t interfere, because he wanted the team to prevail the team-spirit. From there, it’s on to the women’s hockey championships in Melbourne, Australia.
Shahrukh, as usual, was superb and showed the simplistic art of acting and how effortlessly he can act. The unknown girls in the movie with their youthful charisma carried the movie on their shoulders. All were superb in their expressions and acting. The movie advocated for the advancement of women. Most importantly it created a nationalist feeling in our minds.
Chak De! India…
Pradeep Ratnaparkhi
