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'.
2 comments:
Real good blog Avneesh! I never knew about ur scribing skills.
Related to this blog, another interesting event to know about:
The man who inspired SRK in Chak De:
Shah Rukh Khan is reaping the rewards of playing it differently.
At a time, when the nation seems gripped by cricket, the actor has chosen to play coach of an Indian women's hockey team in the just-released Chak De! India.
A story of shame, disillusionment, and glory at last, has hit the right note critically. A tale of how we forget our heroes and continue to condemn accidentally-perceived villains.
It belongs to a soft-spoken man from Indore, who was sentenced to 16 years of misery and national censure only because he chose not to speak.
Pakistan beat India 7-1 in the final of the 1982 Asian Games. The blame for the collective loss came on one man -- Mir Ranjan Negi.
For a nation looking to make sense, the shocking result, after India started as favorites, the most damning thought took root. Someone raised his hand, pointed a finger at Negi and labeled him a traitor.
'He was offered one lakh for every goal he let in,' said the Hindi edition of the now defunct newspaper Blitz, concluding that the Indian goalkeeper sold himself for seven lakh rupees.
There was no defense from Negi. His teammates, though Negi assures, stood by him, did not defend him either. The Indian hockey Federation, embarrassed by the whole situation, dropped the goalkeeper like a hot potato. The allegations were thus justified.
"Wherever I went people used to say, 'Oh! You are the one who took money'," recalls Negi.
He never again wore the India colors. His house was attacked. Mid-way through his wedding ceremony in Indore, power was cut-off and the rest of the function took place in darkness.
"I cannot tell you what I went through at that time. I was scared to go out of my house. I grew a beard so that people would not recognize me. My relatives would take me around and introduce me as a national goalkeeper; they did it all innocently not knowing how much it hurt me."
But the soft-spoken man lived with that hurt for 16 years, never once abandoning the game that was the cause of his downfall.
Then, one day, came a reprise came in the form of an offer to coach the Indian goalkeepers for the 1998 Asian Games. As fate would have it, India won the men's gold after beating South Korea via the penalty shoot-out. Ashish Ballal, who was not in the goalkeepers' camp and who had been brought in on Negi's insistence, emerged hero.
Negi then went on to help the women's hockey team win the gold medal in 2003 Afro-Asian Games.
But, still, none of all this success vindicated him more than the movie Chak De! India has.
After facing the fury of the nation, none could have moved the country more than a film, India's biggest mass medium, on Negi's despair and eventual triumph.
"But I don't think the movie covers even 10 per cent of what I went through," says Negi, who not only coached the hockey players to help them play their part to perfection, but helped the filmmakers with visualizing and making the story-boards.
Even so, "It is Shah Rukh Khan's film," he insists. "I don't want to be a hero."
ya...u r right about this...movies really arouse a lot of josh and interest from ppl....movies do bring out and channelize the thoughts of ppl to a common perception...Even Rang de Basanti is a good example of this phenomenon...When I watched that movie.I was so moved that I decided I will never desert my country and go on to settle abroad....It made me think about the fact that I have not yet done anything for my country in return of all the good things I have got here...
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