Chak De India

There's no doubt that the greatest heart-wrenching moments have emerged from many a scintillating fights and fight-back on the sports field. But only a few films in the history of cinema have been able to capture those nail-biting finishes, seconds that defined success and failures, moments that separated gold from the silver.
Chariots of Fire was surely one such film.It was based on a true story of British athletes preparing and competing in the 1924 Antwerp Olympics. The film bagged seven nominations and won four Oscars in 1982.
Chak De India may not be in the league of Chariots in terms of cinematic capabilities, but emerges every inch a great effort in capturing the sporting capabilities of Indian field hockey, particularly women's hockey. And it certainly deserves a true honour for trying to portray the much neglected Indian sport, hockey and worse still women's hockey. It's every inch gratifying.
Chak De India is all about team spirit. There is no romance, but passion. There are no glamorous women but sixteen girls with bucket loads of grit. There are no songs but a title track and background score that will stir your soul. There is no violence but bloodstained knees and elbows. There is no love triangle but love and emotions among the players. It is about hockey. It's about getting beaten and bruised. Importantly, it is about rising to the big occasion and beating the opponents at their own turf.
Kabir Khan, captain of Indian hockey team played by Shah Rukh Khan loses a World Cup final to Pakistan because he fails to convert a penalty stroke. He is being framed as a traitor by the media and helping Pakistan win the Cup in the final seconds before the hooter.
Seven years later the Indian's women's hockey team needs a coach before they embark on their World Cup journey. There are no takers for the position. But Kabir Khan turns up for the interview and gets the job to coach a raw bundle of sixteen talented young minds from the length and the breadth of the country.
Kabir Khan pulls them up, pushes them to their limits, inspires them, trains them, admonishes them, acts firm and tough, and like a true coach is there for his team when they want him, shouts at them from the sidelines and delivers those hair-rising pep talks just needed for the players to come out of their momentary setbacks and take the fight to the opponent's den and steal the thunder and victory literally from the jaws of defeat.
Kabir Khan wants that glorious moment that he couldn't achieve seven years back. And he puts his heart, soul and everything at his command and will get back the lost glory, his pride and a gold medal for the Indian women's hockey team.
There is never a dull moment in the movie, just as in the game with a lovely twist here and beautiful turn there. Shah Rukh Khan, his deputy and his sixteen girls have done a fabulous job. The movie brims with energy and the music by Salim-Sulaiman takes the movie to an emotional crescendo. Salim-Sulaiman may not be Vangelis but the title track and the original background score is superb.
Shimit Amin has panache of making taut screenplays like his earlier film, Ab Tak Chappan. Chak De India is stunner of a film. Speaking to a television channel on the first day lunch break of the final test between England and India in the commentators' box at The Oval in London, Shah Rukh Khan said that he was excited about the release of the film but was not sure whether it will do well in the box office.
His reasons are well founded. Because Chak De India is about team spirit, it is about taking the opponent from the front, eyeball to eyeball, it's about playing for the country and it's about getting up and fighting when your chips are down. It's about winning when it matters. Chak De is about hockey, sportsmanship and team sprit.
It's not about cricket.
A thriller of a film till the final hooter.