Chak De India’ is the story of a coach’s fight to make his team, Team India, the best in the world. It is a film about self-belief, perseverance, determination and the human spirit to fight and win.
The movie is about a disgraced hockey player, called Kabir Khan, pulling together a team of misfits to do the impossible – winning the World Hockey Championship.
Kabir, India’s most successful Centre Forward of all time, bungles a crucial penalty and is castigated by the nation – as Pakistan win the cup.
Seven years later, this never-say-die Kabir Khan is raring to go. His plan is simple: to start from the very bottom of the Indian Women’s Hockey Team whose administrators aren’t even serious in their approach looking for a coach.
His has taken seriously the task of coaching the bunch of 16 indisciplined non-actresses, trying to keep up with him. And pushes them hard.
The team is a rag-tag bunch of girls with their own agenda. A bunch of girls who have forgotten what it is like to play for the love of the game. Of playing because you want glory for your country. Not because you want a pensioned job or a government flat.
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 of hockey to make sure they get selected every year in the Indian National team. But what does it really mean to play for the Indian National team? To play for India?
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.
Kabir Khan 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.
Khan, of course, is King. This is a bravura performance, a gritty drive by an actor who clearly has sport in his blood. The fit of Shah Rukh as a hockey coach — inspiring, canny, frustrated, helpless and profoundly hopeful — is so naturally perfect that it’s a wonder he hasn’t done a sports film before.
The film is shot nicely, the direction is superb, and it is a perfectly good sporting film, and its a fine, true-blooded sports movie though, and deserves applause.
Among the girls playing for their country we have an experienced and arrogant Bindia (Shilpa Shukla), attractive, ego-driven Preeti (Segarika Ghatge), the massive Punjabi girl Balbir (Tanya Abrol), and the Tendulkar-sized, defiant Komal (Chitrashi Rawat). Also very good efforts from — Vidya Malvade who plays almost-sobbing homemaker Vidya; the pretty Anaitha Nair is Aliya – and ofcourse very dedicated performances from the other girls.
It’s a story about honesty, sincerity and integrity.
A story to remind the nation of its National sport.
CAST:
Kabir Khan: Shah Rukh Khan
Vidya Sharma: Vidya Malvade, Jersey Number: 18 Position: Goalie and Captain
Preeti Sabarwal: Sagarika Ghatge, Jersey Number: 9, Position: Center Forward
Komal Chautala: Chitrashi Rawat, Jersey Number: 8, Position: Right In
Bindia Naik: Shilpa Shukla, Jersey Number: 5, Position: Center Half
Balbir Kaur: Tanya Abrol, Jersey Number: 3, Position: Left Defender
Aliya Bose: Anaitha Nair, Jersey Number: 7, Position: Right Out
Gunjan Lakhani: Shubhi Mehta, Jersey Number: 4, Position: Right Half
Rani Dispotta: Seema Azmi, Jersey Number: 2, Position: Right Defender
Soimoi Kerketa: Nisha Nair, Jersey Number: 17, Position: Substitute
Nethra Reddy: Sandia Furtado, Jersey Number: 11, Position: Left Out
Gul Iqbal: Arya Menon, Jersey Number: 10, Position: Left In
Molly Zimik: Masochon V. Zimik
Mary Ralte: Kimi Laldawla.
CREDITS:
Banner : Yash Raj Films Presenter : Yash Chopra
Producer : Aditya Chopra Executive Producer : Aashish Singh
Music Director : Salim Merchant, Sulaiman Merchant
Lyricist : Jaideep Sahni
Story Writer : Jaideep Sahni, Shimit Amin
Screenplay Writer : Jaideep Sahni
Editor : Amitabh Shukla
Art Director : Sukant Panigrahy
Costume Designer : Mandira Shukla, Shiraz Siddique, Aki Narula
Sound Designer : Manas Choudhary
Line Producer : Padam Bhushan
Choreographer : Ganesh Acharya
Publicity Designer : Fayyaz Badruddin
Photographer : Sudeep Chatterjee
Visual Effects : Red Chillies Entertainment
Associate Director : Karan Kashyap
Chak De India Movie review