After seeing those 'joshile' promos of Chak de India, i was eagerly waiting for its release.
Well finally i watched it on 2nd day of its release in a packed cinema hall....And Gosh! Movie didn't disappoint me at all.
One of the most wonderfully made movies that i have seen in the recent times. Although the movie primarily circles around the game of women's hockey but it carries a message well beyond it.
People in India (especially in film industry) have never realized the tremendous potential that movies possess. I personally regard this medium of expression as also one of the pillars of a true democracy. But people in our film industry have traditionally been complacent to capitalize on this power of expression. Somehow i feel, movies make the most unrelenting impact on the mindset of Indian people. History shows, movies have been a very important trend setter in our society and are next only to cricket on the popularity index in India. And it rather bypassed cricket after the world cup debacle, even making a hit out of a movie like Namaste London ! In the 80 yrs of indian movie history, there are only a handful of movies that have struck the right chord and have actually done any good to the society.
But lately, when things in India are on an upward path consistently , film industry isn't untouched either. Some new age and young directors have come up on the scene who have realised this power of expression. They have truly made an impact on the psyche of the indian society and have forced it to introspect in the most entertaining way. Look what happened after the arrival of munna bhai on our national scene. People flocked around non performing government officials presenting them flowers and reminding them of thier duties. I wonder if this scene could even be imagined outside India. What years of teaching in schools, lakhs of books on gandhian teachings could not do in half century of Azaad Bharat, a single movie did it in 3 hours. Thats the power of movies!
I shall place Chak de India in the same genre as 'Lage Raho Munna Bhai'. This one is another thought provoking piece that has raised some serious issues that grips the indian society and not just the sport. And these are the issues that have long been in the oblivion.
Take the example of discrimination against people from north east. We all see that happening on the roads but ignore. The movie did just the perfect thing in bringing up the issue in the front of million eyes so that they are no more ignored. I feel this small subtle thing in the movie can work wonders in changing the public opinion and eventually bring our seven 'sister states' from north east to the common platform with rest of Indian states.
The movie also introduces a very special concept of country over anything else. Our regional political parties have made India into a collection of states rather than one nation. Many of the decisions taken at the national level tend to appease states and not cater nation's interes . A state party has even gone to the extent of demanding the ouster of all non-native residents from a particular state.Probably, this has been the most unfortunate repercussion of the multi party system of democracy.
Another very important point raised by the movie is the women empowerment. I saw girls screaming to the top their throats in the cinema hall. Even my sister in law,otherwise shy, got excited after watching a particular scene in the movie in which the women's team beat a gang of eve teasers. I just hope, after seeing this movie, more and more girls break their stereotype and come into main stream and be part of the growth of nation. Then there shall not be any need of any women reservation.
I am also really happy for Shahrukh who for a change played something that our generation would remember for long. Great going SRK ! Thats the way to be 'King Khan'.
