Monday, August 13, 2007

chuck out our lousy sports administrators







'chake de india'(buck up india or come on india) is a great movie to watch.you feel happy,proud and positive.for shimit amin and shah rukh no praise is sufficient for having made such a brilliant movie.the film is somewhat on the lines of lagaan.srk(kabir khan) acts as the coach of the indian women's hockey team.in real life, india's ex hockey goalkeeper mir ranjan negi became a coach after india lost to pakistan in the 1982 olympics and negi who couldn't convert the penalty shot in the finals was made the villain of the piece.he was accused of 'gaddari' and ostracised.licking his wound for many years,he finally got an opportunity to coach the women's hockey team.he did an admirable job and the women's hockey team won several international tornaments.he also redeemed himself for his past failure.

the sports administrators laughed it off when the proposal for considering kabir khan as the coach for the women's team was put forward.firstly,they didn't expect anything much from these girls.secondly how could they be coached for international tournaments.it would be a waste of money.kabir khan prevailed.he convinced them that they can perform. a match with the men's hockey team was arranged and they come out with flying colours.the selectors relented.though they had their doubts.kabir khan grabbed the opportunity and the rest is history.

kabir khan puts together a coordinated team and smoothens out the rough feathers in many of the team members.have india as your priority, put down your pride and ego and work harmoniously for the larger benefit of the team.work hard,practice hard,fight all odds,give tit for tat.do not get bullied by the players who indulge in foul tactics.all these lessons went well with the team.the message was clear to one and all.and they reciprocated with superlative performance.the davids took on the goliaths and beat australia in the finals thereby winning the championship.

well directed by shimit amin and brilliantly acted by shah rukh khan,i found the audience giving a loud ovation to the superstar and his team for an exemplary performance.cinematography was par excellence.except for the theme song the music by salim and sulaiman merchant was very ordinary.written by jaideep sahni,the decisive showdown in the movie takes the cake.rob miller,the sports action director has skilfully crafted that.

the medley of 16 girls is initially a mess.they all come from diverse backgrounds.the training transforms them into aggressive sharpshooters.the haryana girl acted by chitrashi rawat,the cat's whiskers sagarika ghatge,shilpa shukla the disgruntled player who did not accept the coach till the last and tried her charm on him(zip and unzip)and the punjabi mundi tania abrol all are fantastic acting discoveries.these young girls bashing up a bunch of eve-teasers in a restaurant was hilarious.the coach is proud of the girls as they haven't taken it lying down.even he backs up a lout brandishing a cricket bat against a wall and says "hamaari hockey main chakke nahin hotey".

it is a feel-good,emotion stirring,meticulously researched sports movie.it has all the right elements-comedy,tearjacking scenes and serious ones as well.the movie really catches steam in the second half.it espouses the cause of team spirit. cricket is passe now.chake de hockey.

chuck the politicians and administrators who play politics and favouritism to the detriment of the sport.let this movie inspire hockey enthusiasts all over the country and let us all hope for a revival of this game.and aim for the next olympic gold medal in china.

4 comments:

Lotus Reads said...

Thank you for reviewing this movie, gs, I love feel-good movies and movies that inspire patriotism in me so I am sure to give this a go. Besides, it's been quite a while since I saw a Shahrukh Khan movie. I so hope this movie gives hockey in India a huge lift!

I am currently watching "Gandhi, my Father". I am only 40 mins into the movie, but I had to switch it off because Gandhi's thoughtlessness towards his son's dreams and goals is very off-putting.

Again, thank you for the review. As always you do such a great job.

Ashu said...

Hi..

I think you should make research on Negi. He was a goalkeeper. And this movie is based upon him but plenty stroke thing is not based on him. He conceeded 7 goals in 1982 final against Pakistan...

gs said...

hi lr
i am sure that you will enjoy this movie.it has been a big hit in india and will help definitely help the cause of women's sports and hockey.

gs said...

hello ashu
thank you for looking in.i have mentioned that mir negi was the goalkeeper in the 1982 olympics.have i missed out any fact?