Chak De India
| Producer | Aditya Chopra |
| Director | Shimit Amin |
| Music | Salim, Suleiman |
| Writer | Shimit Amin, Jaideep Sahni |
| Release Date | 10-Aug-2007 |
| Cast | Shahrukh Khan, Vidya Mallavde |
Movie Report
Chak De India have Sports-based themes, barring a few, haven't really found many takers in India. Sure, hockey is the national sport of India, but cricket gets more prominence in our dailies and also on news channels. The common man also keeps tabs on the Tendulkars and Dravids, when compared to those belonging to other sports. Chak De India is about hockey, about women's hockey to be precise, but most of us haven't given more importance to this thrilling sport for no particular reason.
Chak De India isn't unconventional as such, but it's definitely different and awe inspiring at times. Chak De India doesn't boast of a path-breaking script, but execution of the subject material succeeds in making people find purpose and meaning and also arouses patriotic sentiments.
Chak De India is the story of a coach's [Shah Rukh Khan] fight of making his team, Team India by overcoming their diverse backgrounds, by learning to use everything that life hurls on them as a secret weapon. Kabir Khan [Shah Rukh Khan] The ex Indian Captain has now come back in the avatar of the Coach of the Indian Women's National Hockey team - A team that exists more on paper and less in reality who knows what it's like to come back from the dead.
The team is a bunch of girls with their own agenda who have forgotten what it is like to play for the love of the game. They have all forgotten the sharp thrill of just holding the hockey stick, keeping their eyes on the ball and playing for all they are worth. They have played every game but hockey to make sure they get selected every year in the Indian National team. The girls have never known the thrilling energy of being Team India of giving their all to see their country's name on a trophy. But Kabir Khan, once a captain, now forgotten, does. He knows what it takes to get there. And what it means to return empty handed. This time, he wants to make sure that it's different. He knows there are no second chances. Despite his past, he believes that if only the girls played as one, anything would be possible.
SRK is the soul of Chak De India. His performance that's sure to go down as one of his finest works so far. The girls are excellent and a few of them register a strong impact, especially Vidya Malvade. Shimit Amin's choice of the subject as also the execution deserves to be lauded. But, as mentioned at the outset, it's not a film that would find universal patronage. People giving it a Thumbs Up would be limited to those who are into qualitative cinema. Cinematography is first-rate. Music is strictly okay. Dialogues are interesting. A few lines are indeed amazing. Editing could've been tighter.
The first half is quite captivating and the expectations from the latter half are equally high. The post-interval portions don't disappoint, but the pace slackens and the goings-on take a long time to reach the finale. In fact, the narrative gathers steam only towards the climax, which is well handled.
On the whole, Chak De India is a well-made. The film has all the right elements mixed -- satirical comedy, seriousness and dollops of emotions.
