I was checking my emails on Gmail when Pushkar buzzed me...
11Aug.
6:30 AM pushkarsheth: hello
6:31 AM me: heylo
6:32 AM pushkarsheth: go and see chak de india
6:33 AM me: is it gud?
6:38 AM pushkarsheth: awesome
every pessimistic indian needs to see it
me: SRK didnt overact?
pushkarsheth: na
6:45 AM me: rare..
for SRK not to overact...
hes not ur fav, is he?
6:46 AM pushkarsheth: umm............no but this movie has a few residues of Swades..........the Just Do It attitude
me: hmm...i liked swades
maybe i wud lik this too..
And as usual Pushkar was right... This is a movie recommended for every Indian who while sippin tea and eating bhajiyas thinks is desh ka kuch nahi ho sakta..
Its for every Indian who feels bad when countries with one tenth of India's population earn tons of medals and we dont! Its for every Indian who thinks it can't be done! Its for every Indian who thinks it can be done!
The movie is very much like all other sports movies but is brilliantly adapted to the Indian scenario.
Every minute detail is taken care of...Then it maybe the way rest of India treats north-eastern states and its people or the behaviour of senior team members with the rest of the team...
The screenplay is excellent. The character sketching is brilliant. Just think how difficult it must be sketching charcters of more than 15 girls and just think how brillantly it must be done for you to feel for them when they lose and rejoice with them when they win!
I am self professed Pro-man (is tht a word?). It means tht I believe tht men are better than women at most of the jobs (Maharashtra mahila sangh are gonna sue me after this). There is a scene when the girls beat up a half a dozen boys. There is another instance in which the women hockey team almost beats the mens hockey team. I found myself supporting the girls!!
Parallels will be drawn among Chak de and other Indian movies like Iqbal and Lagaan. Which one is better?- people will ask. I dont think they are comparable! I dont even think they belong to the same genre!
While Lagaan had better actors, it fell short on technology and Iqbal was made at a very small budget.
If you are still reading this, u must be wondering why nothing has been said bout SRK. I guess thts coz SRK himself didnt want to be in the limelight in this movie... Everytime SRK gives an endearing performance, the movie flops.(eg. Swades). So the next time he overacts to make his movies work.(eg. KANK) Thankfully hes done well this time.His performance is realistic and endearing. And when the reports last came in, CDI was declared a hit!
Watch it if you are an SRK fan! Watch it even if you are not! Watch it for SRK...Watch it for the girls...Watch it for the national sport of India...
WATCH IT! They dont come that often....
Editor in chief Arshat Chaudhary
Current Issues: chak de india, hockey, india, srk 7 letters to the editor