Chak De India - Movie Review

Banner: Yash Raj Films
Cast: Shahrukh Khan, Vidya Malvade
Direction: Shimit Amin
Production: Aditya Chopra
Music: Salim Merchant, Sulaiman Merchant


Right Movie at the Right Time!

Not everyone of us had come out of the shocking worldcup exit of India. I still hear many people say that they stopped watching cricket and this is the right time for the release of this movie. I feel it's high time that we stop focussing only on cricket in India and let's promote other games as well, especially our national game Hockey which is all this movie is about.

I'm sure many people wouldn't even know that Hockey is our national game. We used to be the world champions in Hockey once and now we're in 4th or 5th position. Chuk De India is not the usual Sharukh Khan type of movie. For those who would want to see a Triangular love story or Sharukh stealing other's fiancee or wife, then this movie is not for you;) There are no big star cast other than Sharukh in this movie and he doesn't even have a pair. Sharukh, as usual has given a brilliant performance but this would have been more challenging for him. The character selection was good and it looked like a real hockey team. Everyone performed well.

The movie starts with a Worldcup Hockey match final between India and Pakistan. Sharukh is the captain of the Indian team and he is one of the best centre forward player for India. Unfortunately, India loses the worldcup to Pakistan due to a penalty stroke missed by Sharukh which is projected by the media as if Sharukh has made a deal with Pakistan and it goes out of control. This keeps him out of Hockey for 7 years. Then he returns as a Coach for the Indian Women Hockey team. He takes up the challenge of coaching them for the world cup though the board is not very keen to concentrate on Women's team. Whether Sharukh succeeds as a coach and regains his fame is the rest of the story.

This movie has a message for everyone,
Senior players: who tries to form groups or dominate others
Board/Management: who doesn't provide the right kind of support and is not concerned about women's sport
People: who simply worship their favorite players and will attack their houses if they fail to succeed. I personally hate those people. If they really have the guts, they should attack the sports minister and the selectio committee.
Media: which creates unncessary hype for players and creates stories to sell their products
Parents: who doesn't support their daughters who are interested in sports

It's a 3 hr movie and there was no break in between(in the theatre where I saw) but I still didn't see people getting out of their seats except 1 or 2 until the movie was over. Since I was seated at the center, I had to control myself for full 3 hrs to go and Walk the Dog;)

It's a must watch movie for all those who love sports. After seeing this movie, I can feel how difficult it is being a coach for an Indian team. It's really a tough job.

Cinematography was extremely good but music wasn't that impressive. I don't remember even one song as opposed to the other Sharukh movies. I really appreciate Sharukh for doing this movie as he can pull out mass audience to the theatre. This movie is not going to change everything upside down but it's a good initiative. If this movie fails in box office, I really pity Sharukh.