Chak De India

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CHAK DE INDIA A PARTIALLY DIFFERENT VIEW

Film review is not one of my favorite areas and I generally keep away from commenting on films. The reasons are many; the most important one is of course the easiest to explain; I dont like to watch movies. But somehow, I gave in to my sons demand and watched CHAK DE going to a theatre for the first time this year. There was another reason and a more personal one that helped me to agree and that was, I had watched that 1982Asian games hockey final in which Mr Negi had let in all those goals and I had also watched the Indian Womens team in the final of commonwealth games of 2002 (both on TV)

After watching this film, I must confess, I am not as euphoric as others and join them to praise this film. My verdict is that CHAK DE is only good in patches and even the patches are there because of the girls and not anything else and that includes the great SRK.

My problem is with the script and the way in which a wrong message has been given to the viewers by turning the hero a Muslim and giving the impression, he suffers because of his religion. His performance as a player in the game comes second only and it is his commitment to the nation as a Muslim that has been questioned in the entire film. So the first casualty of this film is none other than Mr Negi himself on whose traumatic experience this film claim to be is based.

Mr Negi did not suffer the humiliation because he was a Muslim but for his performance in the game. People disgraced him and called him traitor not because of his religion but for a different reason. An emotionally charged nation expects nothing less than a win from its team against a country that has proved to be its nemesis time and again.

By making the hero of this film a Muslim and taking the stand that a Muslim has to prove he is an Indian every time he is under attack, the scriptwriter moved too far away from the actual story. The real Hindu Negi (upper caste Hindu, if you please!) who suffered all the humiliation has been transformed into Kabir Khan and suffers the same stigma, which he suffered as a Hindu, for his Muslim label rather than the performance, before he rises like a phoenix with the womens team. If anyone remember that final between India and Pakistan they would also remember that there were one or two players belonging to that community in the team but the disgrace and humiliation was reserved only for Mr Negi. By bringing in religion, where it is not at all required, the scriptwriter has actually failed to hail the human spirit, the inner courage of a man to rise against all the adversities and to fight back to prove his real worth and the real meaning our existence on earth. The labeling of such a person with a particular sticker has actually taken away the sheen from the hero.

There are other points as well about this film that need to have been addressed by the scriptwriter, other than this one major flaw. A coach is not merely someone who tries to get tough with the players to break them physically but also is a guide, a friend, a strategist, and above all a person who can outthink other coaches and also notes the weaknesses of opponents. The hero unfortunately shows no such qualities and is vague on many things related to the game. Till the final, he could not bind them as a team and the finest example is what the Chandigarh girl famously tells the Haryanvi girl that she wants to be the top scorer not because of any competition between them but to prove that to her future husband. From a film point of view this looks okay but see it from the teams angle and you will understand what I mean. So, even if the Haryanvi girl is in a better position to score in that final, the Chandigarh girl wont pass it to her and would rather kill the ball than allowing team India to win. The writer thinks supporting a feminist view is more important than allowing the girl to sacrifice her ego for the nation.

Again, look at his strategies as a coach; the first one against the tough Argentine team that seem to get away with all the rough tackles they commit and that too in a world cup. The coachs strategy is simple; eye for an eye, so he sends Punjab da putter with a mission in second half to win the match. Viewers are very happy seeing the girl bulldozing the entire Argentine team but if we are ready to think pragmatically, we will understand that such hacking is simply not possible. One can get away with one or perhaps two fouls but not when one continues with the kind of rough and hard tackling for an entire half. There is always the chance of getting the team banned for such rough tactics. The scriptwriter seems to have no idea about the game. Normally, in a rough tackling game the coach would suggest quick passes, interchange of positions and to draw fouls in opponents D so that penalty corners are won. Simply put, this means work your opponents weaknesses to your teams advantage.

The next strategy he adopts against South Korea is even stranger, the coach asks his main tormentor in the team to play against them and break their close man-to-man marking game (woman to woman, if you please). He has no advice for others in the team on the strategy he had worked out for the Korean team. In any team game, though individual brilliance can win matches, it is always team effort and the strategies worked out in great detail and planning that win matches. In heavily marking games it is always better to use players with great dribbling skills and the power to wrong foot the marker. This tactic draws more opponents to one player leaving others free to move to advantageous positions in the field. Only thing dribblers need to know is, how long to hold on and when exactly to make the passes but the coach is totally silent on such issues.

The senior most player Bindia Naik is being used in the game to break Korean game plan and thereby the coach admits his ignorance as he has no counter plan to offer other than bringing in his bete noire into play. But the way Bindia Naik is projected in the film and her character till that game gives the indication that she would rather betray her coach for ignoring her claim to be the captain and she will have no moral qualms about it. This glaring mistake came only because the rapprochement between the coach and Ms Naik has not been made more convincing and authentic in the film.

By allowing emotions to come in place of strategies the scriptwriter reduces the coach into an ordinary person who just fights for his place in the sun. Is this what Mr Negi would have liked to see about himself; his redemption as an achiever by just hanging in there to win adopting any method or team Indias victory as the best team of the world cup?

Why I am going in detail about hockey is not because of my knowledge of the game but this film is about hockey, the game and about a man out to prove himself by making the team under his charge win a world cup. In his final speech to the team also he doesnt talk about any strategies but merely asks them to do their bit. There is no talk about the team which had beaten India by seven goals and that was a jarring blemish as far as I am concerned.

There are a lot of other weaknesses in this film that I can still point out but the biggest drawback of this film to my mind, is trying to use emotions rather than reasons to convince its viewers. A hounded Muslim for the alleged betrayal of his country trying to hit back by winning the world cup is just too much to digest. An emotional outburst of a nation when their dream of winning was shattered naturally reacts this way only. Mr Negi suffered because of that and not because he was a Hindu or Muslim.

This film would have been much much better had the hero remained a human being without any labels, who fights all odds and achieves greatness. CHAK DE could have been a real tribute to such a wonderful person as Mr Negi, who proved that to him, his country always stood first and his loss as a player, was not his fault. Somehow, this film could only rouse the passions of the people and hit the jackpot at box-office; but, isnt this what a cricket match also does to this nation; whipping up cheap sentiments and marketing it profitably against which CHAK DE too reacts strongly.

This film should have been a tribute to the human spirit and courage that can raise above all reversals, hardships, and misfortune to win the most coveted prize of all, the human sagacity and its resilience. It would have made no difference if India had lost to Australia in the tiebreak, in fact, a loss in the tie-break would have been appreciated more by the viewers because it is not the win itself that make the nation salute its heroes. It is not that the scriptwriter does not know it because he has made the Indian mens team salute the courage and grit of the girls.

Sadly CHAK DE misses out on that point and tries to satisfy the masses on its emotional appeal, forgetting it is the emotional blackmails and outbursts that has been the bane of this country. It is also for the same reason Mr Negi suffered and had to remain anonymous for twenty long years.

I cannot write about the finer points of the film like its editing, camera etc. as I lack the technical finesse to comment on such details. But why I even chose to comment on this film is because it is a pioneer in many ways. No love scenes, no songs, no glamour and no violence and to that extent it is totally different from the run of the mill Indian films and that courage of its scriptwriter, director and producer definitely need to be acknowledged.

Of course, with all its other drawbacks I still loved this film for those sixteen girls who really carry this film on their shoulders. Unlike other Indian films they really look and act like real players and not just a bunch of glamorous dolls.

2007 END