Chak De India received a warm welcome

After flooring cine lovers in London, Chak De India - first Indian film based on country's women's hockey team- released to a tremendous response across the country on Friday.

The film, which stars Shahrukh Khan, revolves around the story of a women hockey team that goes onto win a World Cup.

The film received a warm welcome from cricket crazy Indian audience for its subject and storyline.

"The movie was really very nice. It was worth," said one of the cine goers, who admitted of being a great fan of cricket star Sachin Tendulkar than Shahrukh Khan.

"The film gives a push to women hockey players as it could revive public interest in the dying game, which is also our national games," she added.

This film is a shift from a regular Bollywood movie as it diverts from the usual and delves into the unexplored arena of sports.

"The film is very good. It's a complete Shah Rukh Khan film with lots of sporting action," said another viewer.

Not many films have been made on the subject and after 'Lagaan'-which was made on cricket, its 'Chak De India' that comes packed with a heavy dose of hockey for the audiences.

'Chak De India' is a story of a coach's fight of making his team overcome obstacles and motivate his team members to a historic victory.

"What happens to people who play it and what goes on a regular daily basis when you play it? How much training is done, how much drama happens behind the scene. What kinds of characters play this sport? Who plays it actually, when nobody really wants to play and what kind of women are involved in playing this. I had to gain that kind of knowledge," said Shimit Amin, director of the movie whose earlier directed 'Ab Tak Chappan" received rave reviews.

The story depicts a hockey team consisting of a rag-tag bunch of girls who get disillusioned with the system and resort to other games just to get a pensioned job and a secure future.

Their interest and passion is revived by a forgotten a hockey coach, played by Khan, who enters into their lives and fuels them with a new vigour and enthusiasm to take up the sport with a new agenda- to bring laurel for their country.

The film also stars model Vidya Malvade along with a plethora of newcomers including one real life hockey player.

The film is devoid of the typical song-and-dance routine characteristic to Bollywood films.

"It has a very serious take. People who think after seeing a film will like it. People who just want more entertainment, they might be a bit disappointed and say, 'Oh, this is not having a song at all'. But, I think every good thinking person will enjoy the fact that we have attempted something like this," Khan said.

The character of Kabir Khan, the hockey coach, is believed to be inspired by a real-life former goalie Mir Ranjan Negi, who was charged with allegations of match fixing after India lost to Pakistan in 1982 Asian Games.

Seven years later Negi's honour was restored when he was absolved of the charges. He coached the national women's hockey team to win gold at the 2002 Manchester Commonwealth Games.

Source: DailyIndia

SRK proves yet again why he is Shah Rukh Khan

Can I catch hold of the first person who said that CHAK DE INDIA is an experimental film? Or it is not the kind that entertains? Or worse, it is 'just' a sports/issue based film laced with patriotism? And by the way, 'just' is the key word here! Because the fact is that it is much bigger and much better than all that is being said about the film, more within the industry than outside.

CHAK DE INDIA has a fairly simple plot about a beleaguered hockey captain trying to redeem himself and regain his pride by ensuring that as a coach he gets the World Cup for the women's hockey team. So far so good and fine intentions. But how will he make this possible? This is what takes a viewer through a journey which is thrilling, thought provoking and above all entertaining.

Shimit and writer Jaideep Sahni doesn't beat around the topic of patriotism much. Neither do they get into 'bharat-mata-ki jai' mode every now and then. Heck, they don't even harp on the 'united-we-stand' theory much. What they do is to get the two facts very right - 'Being adaptive to change' and 'Playing one's best game'. This is what they consider as the two pillars for success which would take this highly demoralized, un-sponsored, de-motivated, ill-focused and divided team through the Finals!

And don't they do an amazing job in doing so?

When I attribute this win as that of Shimit and Jaideep, it doesn't mean any discredit to Shah Rukh Khan. It's in fact a big one for him because after SWADES, it could just be the second instance in his ultra-successful career that audience would go back talking about Kabir more than the King himself. Now that's what you call a win!

There has been much talk about Shah Rukh Khan shedding his Rahul/Raj image for CHAK DE. Yes, he does that. And does that right. Still that doesn't take away from the fact that Khan is at his characteristic best. He gets the right expressions for a guy who is playing a man with his bunch of 16 girls around. He loves them, ridicules them, threatens them, hurts them, motivates them, inspires them and plays with their psychology. And when the woman amongst the girls makes an advance towards him, he knows how to keep temptation at bay!

Each of the girls in the crowd have their own background. No, they don't eat away screen space by being episodic in nature and it is to the credit of Jaideep and Shimit that all of it sounds justified and well concluded. The girl who towers above everyone else is the petite Haryana player whose lingo, dialogue delivery and body language gets the theater into ruptures every time she appears on screen. Closely follows the jumbo from Punjab who eventually learns that keeping a cool head wins games.

The Chandigarh girl brings on the X factor while the North East duo look cute and confident. Vidya Malvade as the captain of the team is fair. One would have expected a captain to be more in synch with the decision making while deciding upon game plan and strategy but that doesn't quite come across at all.

As a narrator, Shimit Amin strikes an excellent balance while interspersing his AB TAK CHAPPAN shot-taking in a Yash Raj Films setup. What could well have been a humongous task comes across quite convincingly as the coming together of entertainment with a good dose of real emotions strikes a goal. No pun intended.

Throughout this 2 hour 30 minutes film, you keep glued to the proceedings with not a single minute making you feel disinterested. In fact the parts before and after the interval have their own tales to tell. The first half is absolutely breezy while stuffed with light hearted/truly hilarious moments. The introduction of team members, their first meeting with the coach followed by the training sessions and solution to all the misunderstandings (well almost) are so engaging and fast paced that you don't realize the moment film reaches the interval point.

On the other hand second half concentrates on getting the adrenalin rush with all the action. Shimit and Jaideep stay away from showing a complete turnaround in fortunes the moment team comes together. Instead they stay practical by taking a gradual approach towards holding the trophy, even if that means hurting a few egos, breaking a few bones and shedding a few tears.

Khan proves yet again why he is Shahrukh Khan. Even his (few) detractors would have to admit that he is there because he is! Period. Cinematography of the film strikes a good balance between gloss and realistic, as required by the situation in the film. Background music is the high point of the film and deserves 10 out of 10. Salim Sulaiman compensate for the average tune [barring the title song which is intoxicating] with a rocking track that enlivens the 150 minutes spent in the auditorium. Editing is good and there is not a single scene which doesn't deserve to be there.

Yash Raj Films deserve a bow! And also Shimit Amin. And also Shahrukh Khan. And each of the 16 girls who make sure that more than her, the character comes first and gets noticed by one and all. The film will truly go down as one of the most prestigious, meaningful and wholesome affair from Yash Raj Films who prove yet again that why they continue to be numero uno in the business.

BY: Joginder Tuteja Source: IndiaGlitz

The movie and Shah Rukh Khan were awesome

Chak De! India has really done it. Most of the movie buffs who were there for the first day first show gave the movie a thumbs up and Shah Rukh Khan was the favourite all over.
One of the movie goers, Harvinder Singh said, "The movie is too good. Anyways there was no doubt whether the movie would be good or not. Shah Rukh Khan has done very well." Singh's companion Vikram Ghosh shared the same view, "The movie and Shah Rukh Khan were awesome."
Ranjeet Kaul said, "I hope the sports minister does something to save our National Sport hockey. The movie reminds us that hockey is our national game."
When asked another movie goer, Jyotsna Banerjee about her opinion about the movie, she gave thumps up to the movie and her friend, Sunaina Vemmu said, "Mindblowing."
"The movie will enter the Oscars on behalf of India," assured Vannada Swaminathan. "I liked Shah Rukh in the movie. He should keep doing such kind of movies to stay on the top," says Jackob D'silva. Sanjana Rahut commended the, "Yash Raj has done very well by making a movie on our National Sport hockey. This fact will surely highlight the importance of the movie."

Source: AfternoonDespatch & Courier

If there is a (Hollywood) role which is interesting enough, I would do it: SRK

LONDON: Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan has never been offered a role in Hollywood and is not particularly surprised - he doubts he is talented enough.

The heart-throb, one of the world's most famous film actors due to India's huge cinema-going population, is in London promoting Chak De India, in which he portrays a hockey coach in charge of a motley team of girls.

"If there is a (Hollywood) role which is interesting enough, I would do it," he told Reuters in an interview.

"But so far I have never been offered a big role or a good role from Hollywood ... actually, for that matter, never a role from Hollywood - big or small."

Bollywood's biggest stars are often asked to reflect on why they have failed to break into the Anglo-Saxon movie mainstream, with only a handful of personalities enjoying limited success.

"I don't think I am a specifically talented enough 40-year-old actor. I am sure there are a lot of 40-year-old actors there who are more talented, better looking, speak the language better.

"And I don't have a USP (unique selling point) of Kung Fu, I can't do something specific. Unless they start doing Hindi film songs in Hollywood, I don't think anybody is going to cast me.

"I don't think working down there (Hollywood) is the ultimate aim or should be the ultimate aim of an Indian actor."

Bollywood is still dominated by big-cast, bright-coloured musicals that usually fail to connect with Western audiences.

16 NEWCOMERS

In Chak De India Khan plays alongside 16 female newcomers who make up the ragtag hockey team that challenges for the pinnacle of the sport. He said he found the experience of working with untrained performers refreshing.

"I have been acting for so long that I have developed a system of getting things right," he said. "I have fixed expressions, I have a fixed way, a method to the madness that we call acting.

"But you have a set of people who react differently and it still sounds right. I believe in the maxim there is nothing right or wrong when you act."

Khan, whose biggest hits include Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge and Dil To Pagal Hai, said he hoped the film would do something to empower women.

"I hope it does talk about the uplifting of women and the fact that they should be given choices in decision making."

Khan added that he had no intention of following in the footsteps of other movie stars, including Amitabh Bachchan and Govinda, who have gone into Indian politics.

"No. I am not so selfless that I would be able to give up my life for the good of the nation ... If I may use the word, I would screw it up further than it is already screwed."

Source: Reuters

Chakde Shah Rukh!

Critics rating:****

Can a film peddle patriotism, fight against the gender bias, rip apart class distinctions and make a valid criticism of regional chauvinism, minority bashing, all at the same time? Technically speaking, we would label such a film as sloganeering and would rubbish the filmmaker as a pamphleteer. But wo! what's this. Director Shimit Amin not only manages to make the anhonee honi (impossible possible), he does it with a delicate sensitivity and sensibly steers clear of all cliches.

Okay, the rag tag 'Bhartiya naari' team does go the Lagaan way and notch the inconceivable victory, but it does it with many a tumble and a fall, making the film a winner all the way. And it does it with its rag tag (read unknown) team members who come from nowhere, only to grow into living, breathing giant slayers. Of course, the real goonda of the team (that's what he calls himself) is coach Shah Rukh Khan, whose six day stubble lends him a maturity rarely seen before. Maybe, there were shades of it in Swades , but Chakde's Kabir Khan remains one of Shah Rukh's finest performances: measured, straight from the heart and minus all mannerisms. End result? He appeals straight to the heart...

Like the rest of his team, Shah Rukh is the underdog too. Only this underdog has to fight off a double curse of a loser and a traitor. As captain of the men's hockey team, he bears the allegation of having been the only Indian who played for Pakistan in the Men's World Cup. No amount of sweat and toil can wipe out the ugly graffiti 'Gaddar' (traitor) that has been inscribed on his home and his heart. Now, several years later, he gets a chance for proving all those minority bashers wrong. His task is to coach the women's hockey team; his dream is to make it win the World Cup, an impossible feat. Because, in the first place, there is no team, just a bunch of girls who have come together with a baggage of class, region and interpersonal rivalries. The small town girls hate the uber snobs; the city-slickers think Chhattisgarh is a jungle, the seniors can't handle the juniors stealing the limelight and petty camps create a virtual gang-war which even builds into a mutiny against the disciplinarian coach. The only thing that brings them together is gender bias — something they all have faced at some point of their life — desh-bhakti and coach bhakti...

Great performances by a bunch of unknowns, a gritty pace and a marvellous restraint make Chakde India an unbridled ode to patriotism without any hysterical chest-beating. And yes, for all you SRK fans and bashers, this time the verdict gotta be unanimous: Chakde Shah Rukh! Can you better this?

By: Nikhat Kazmi Source: TimesNewsNetwork

“Chak De! India” ( “Go, India!” ) - NYT Review

The making-of-a-team sports movie is a timeworn genre, and yet “Chak De! India” (“Go, India!”) finds new variations. Though the game here is field hockey, those fondly recalling the United States soccer team’s first-place finish in the 1991 Women’s World Cup will find a lot to like.

Of course, there are conventions. Kabir Khan (the assured Bollywood veteran Shahrukh Khan) is a former player for India’s national field hockey team who missed a fateful play against Pakistan, costing a championship and making him a pariah. Seven years later, he is hired to coach the nation’s women’s hockey team, giving him one more shot at a title.

The players, from states all over India, are a fractious lot, including a tomboy (Chitrashi Rawat) whose father fears she will never marry; a forward (Sagarika Ghatge) whose boyfriend, a cricket superstar, wants her to quit the team and live in his shadow; a newlywed goalie (Vidya Malavade) whose in-laws expect her to stay at home; and a haughty, seasoned player (Shilpa Shukla) who needles the coach.

When leering boys at a McDonald’s harass them, a girls-against-boys melee erupts, but the coach doesn’t interfere, knowing the team will prevail — and find its spirit. From there, it’s on to the women’s hockey championships in Melbourne, Australia.

The director, Shimit Amin, strikes a buoyant, propulsive tone, replacing the customary Bollywood production numbers with exhilarating musical montages of team practice. For his part, Mr. Khan, to his credit, lets his co-stars’ youthful charisma carry the movie. He also laudably portrays a man who vigorously and unabashedly advocates the advancement of women.

In fact, the film’s greatest merit is its commentary on sexism in India. As it should, “Chak De! India” gives the women, in the closing credits, the last word.

CHAK DE! INDIA

Opened yesterday nationwide.

Directed by Shimit Amin; written (in Hindi, with English subtitles) 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. In Manhattan at the Imaginasian Theater, 239 East 59th Street. Running time: 152 minutes. This film is not rated.

WITH: Shahrukh Khan (Kabir Khan), Vidya Malavade (Vidya Sharma), Chitrashi Rawat (Komal), Sagarika Ghatge (Preeti) and Shilpa Shukla (Bindia Naik).

By: ANDY WEBSTER Source: NewYorkTimes