Review Chak De India! : “Laundiyaas” On A Roll…

I entered the movie hall for the screening of Shimit Amin’s Chak De India! with two major apprehensions – Overdose of King Khan’s slurring and the tendency of over-glossing even the tiniest of emotions by the Yash Raj Production house, either of the two could result in my Rs. 190 going down the drain.

But to my surprise (thank you Mr. Amin), I was proved wrong on both the accounts – Chak De India!, to me it felt like watching Jo Jita Wahi Sikandar with a dash of patriotism thrown in, with my Feminist ego being pampered all the through the way. After decades, I hooted….I whistled….I cheered (as if my life depended on it)…I laughed out loud…I cried…I cursed (just in the head) and last but not the least…I felt proud.

The plot itself is nothing extraordinary; we have seen such acts in numerous television serials, Bollywood flicks (Hip Hip Hurray) – but what truly makes director Amin’s film stand out, is its treatment and conceptualization. Every actor, it seemed had been suitably handpicked and jelled so well with the characters they portrayed – obviously the absence of already established stars besides Shah Rukh Khan, also had a lot do with making the film more believable.

However for me the real hero of the film is its screenplay. Jaideep Sahni’s screenplay offers a reality look at our national sport which is more than often overshadowed by Cricket and its overwhelming fan following. But it doesn’t just stop there, it also highlights gender biased attitude of the Indian Society and personal prejudices of the players. Each girl defying certain cultural expectation – be it being a rural tomboy, choosing passion over marriage or excelling despite lacking most basic norms.

Acting wise, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that the talent and determination of the well illustrated female cast is what breathes life into this Bollywood flick. However there were some who totally stood-out from the rest – Chitrashi Rawat as Komal Chautala, Shilpa Shukla as Bindia Naik, and Tanya Abrol as Balbir Kaur. (My favorite bit being when Balbir is let loose by her coach to beat the shits out the Argentinean team.)

As for Shah Rukh Khan, though most are going “ga-ga” over his performance, for me the only remarkable aspect of his role was that it was in minimum dosage. Yes, there were the regular nose flaring, lips stuttering and the head tilting 30 degrees to the left and then right..practically in all high-drama scenes – but for crying out loud, the man was for once dressed like regular human being, none of those “nipple” showing flashy shirts that Kjo darling likes to sport him in.

Another plus point of the film, no screen-time wasted on song and dance routine – background score is reasonably good, especially the one played during the team’s practice sessions, reminded me a lot of the Rocky days. On the down side – I found the ending bit, where Shah Rukh goes back to his ancestral home and hands a cute sardar kid a hockey stick, absolutely unnecessary and over dramatic. Also certain facets such as preparing a match winning team in less than 3 months are simply unimaginable but then again this is Bollywood we are talking about.

For my final conclusion (surely you must have guessed it by now), Chak De India! is an interactive film which engages us as the drama un-folds and compels us to (positively) react to it. Definitely a must watch and not something that should be waited upon till it’s out on DVD.