How Jaideep Chak De-ed (Exclusive on PFC)
It’s rare in our industry to talk to or about scriptwriters but Jaideep Sahni (Jungle, Company, Khosla Ka Ghosla, Bunty Aur Babli) has changed all that. He is not only doing a whole lot of good for his breed, which is still rare in Bollywood, but he has also been the reason behind some terrific cinema in the recent past. Here’s an exclusive chat with Jaideep for PFC on how he ideated, scripted and executed Chak De India. Also, a very Happy Independence Day to everyone. Chak De…
The idea: A couple of years back, I had just finished doing Company. Between Company and Khosla Ka Ghosla… In fact Khosla Ka Ghosla we had done first but Bunty Aur Babli got released earlier (smiles)… Somewhere around that time I read this article about the Indian women’s hockey team doing well in some championship. It seemed like a thing to be proud of but the damn thing was some 5 or 10 cc. It just occurred to me that if the cricket guys had done it, it would be a whole damn page… Some times some thing just catches your attention and you keep seeing that everywhere. Then all through the writing and making of Khosla Ka Ghosla it came jumping out at me…
The research: As I started writing Bunty Aur Babli, I started researching women’s hockey. Then I realised that the research became bigger than the game of hockey… it became about all Indian sports which was not cricket. Okay, we are a developing country and we may not have that kind of resources for those sports… but despite what little we can give them, these sportspeople did damn well. I remember seeing a picture once of either Australian or Argentinean women’s hockey team and our players in that frame were looking one-third the physical size of their’s. I thought how do these girls do it, man (laughs)?
The facts: Most of these girls are from small places like Jharkand and North-East… very few were from convents… even the coaches and support staff don’t get any good resources because we don’t have that kind of allocation for those sports. But somehow these girls kept on rising… Some times they will be second, some times they will be third… even first also… I kept researching and I got more and more into it. Here I was writing Bunty Aur Babli and here this women’s hockey was not leaving me.
The backing: By the time I stopped research this was like a thick book I got with me. Then, I remember, we had finished the readings of the principal cast of Bunty Aur Babli and then we were going for the shoot. And Adi said: “Okay, one job done, so what do you feel like doing next?” I told him that there is this story yaar, which is not leaving me… By that time a kachcha story had formed in my head. Of how Indian women’s hockey team takes on the biggest countries in the world and goes on to become World Champions. I wanted to show the same story of the coaches also… They are not like our cricket coaches… They are not Greg Chappell – they are very modest and unassuming guys (laughs)… But if you see the telecast of the Commonwealth Championship or something, the way the commentators talk about them, you would think that we should all stand up when these guys come… But we hardly notice them. I told Adi all that… He just said: “Jaideep the story has to be told, the film has to be made. Just leave everything else and finish this as quickly as possible…” You are alone for three years and you are in your own space and you think that you are on to something great and then you finally tell someone else… He could have been bored also but I could see in Adi’s eyes that same interest and more importantly the respect for these people, the same that I had in me. So I was now sure that I was on to something… Then I started developing a screenplay at full speed… Somewhere in that space, Shimit also came in and I shared with him all my research. Shimit is that kind of director who just doesn’t go and make a film… he has to be touched by the subject. I knew him from before because we both worked with Ram Gopal Varma. I shared the research with him… By that time all the principal characters I had got… Shimit also got very excited…
The roadblocks: Then we started working on the film and we realized that we have gotten into more than we can chew (laughs)… We thought ek hockey ka film bana denge… But it became such a big thing. We ran into this whole casting this… Hockey is not like cricket where you just take a shot of someone bowling and then separately take a shot of someone hooking. They have to play… hockey is long shot… they have to play… And where do you get players who can act? And where do you get actors who can play? They have to play to some level… They have to play till university or state level to at least look good on screen because they had to defeat foreign teams in the script. And the same problem with the foreign teams also…
The solution: Our search for all these girls took us about seven-eight months and then we shortlisted a few girls after dhakka-khaoing all across India and acting trials and game trials… Then we realized that we have to train them. We thought jisko acting nahin aati acting sikhayenge and jisko hockey nahin aati hockey sikhayenge… But it turned out to be very difficult and we ended up doing this camp for half a year. They would get up at 4.30 in the morning and play till about lunch time… Then they will have lunch and their acting classes will start. It will go on till the evening and then their dialect classes will start. Because I had these girls from all over India and we had these different dialects. I was very keen that we do those dialects and we don’t make a filmi thing of it. After the dialect classes they would all be exhausted and there would always be injuries… So sauna and steam and physio… all will start. This went on for half a year and then we got guest lecturers from other sports, ex hockey players, ex soccer players… They were brought in to motivate the girls because in between they were very close to giving up. At least every two months somebody would want to give up or at least we would want to give up (laughs).
Fortunately the whole team did it. We had an assistants’ team who were women heavy and we were just able to do it yaar. Then Shah Rukh came and in Shah Rukh’s eyes also, I saw the same thing. He cares. He has been a player himself and a hockey player… He just said this film has to be made. And it’s been done now. Thankfully… (smiles)
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Excellent! Writers like Jaideep reinstill our hope in the field scriptwriting in contemporary Indian cinema. Nowadays, it’s going from bad to worse. Still, there are people like Jaideep.
Thnaks! Pratim! Eagerly waiting your next post. 3 posts- each one brilliant and different! Rememeber the things we discussed in “Memento”?
nice story, i bet jaydeep sahani truly did his research well. that showed in the film.
and i truly appreciate his earlier works like khosla…but i truly didnt find out what exactlyw as so good about this film that audience and critic are going so ga ga over this.
WELL the reason might be two, either i dont understand anything about a film, the probabilty i dont run out…or maybe i am just one of those people who JUST DOESNT LIKE WATCHING CLICHES!!!!!!
sorry to say but i was truly bored during this one.
though i would rather watch a chak de any given day than having to watch tara rum pum or jbj.
real nice post though.
was interesting to read.
Anyone knows how much the script writers get paid ? I have read so many articles that there is no money is script writing etc, but was just curious as to how much money,in figures, there is in script writing.
congrats jaideep. Its really a great script specially when script is on Hockey. (sorry side tracks like the cricketer not working ). can Jaideep pl explain whether life of mir ranjan negi was a motivational point during writing or just a coincidence that so many events of his life are there as it is (including climax of hockey match ).
Hey, thanks Charles Foster Kane… Memento is not a short-term memory… :d
thanks ritchik, sometimes cliches are irreplacable as in most parts of chak de… yet jaideep and shimit work round it by not allowing the girls win against the boys and kabir’s religion never coming up front…
rocko… I am not the best person to say how much a scriptwriter makes these days for a film… maybe anurag bhavani and onir can throw some light on that
ashutosh… I did clarify about Negi… Jaideep says he came on board much later and it is just a co-incidence
ok .. but i still wonder why all chak de team is under playing negi’s role in creating chak de. I am a hockey buff , produced hockey matches for tube so knew well how tough is to convert novice girls in to Hockey players. Girls are vouching but not chak de team.
Awesome….Saw Chakk De yesterday….was bowled over..and all the cliche’s that everyone is talking about…i noticed…only in papers or on the net…i was so engrossed in the movie that the clishe didnt even occur to me…kudos to Jaideep and Shimit…
###############################################
1? yeh one/1 kya hain baap?
ohh and thanks a ton PDG for this….
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
1? ek lo ek muft?
“Memento is not a short-term memory”. Brilliant! LOL! :d:d:d:d
well written/covered pre-production guide Pratim..thanks!
praise(worthy) article.
Pratim thanx, for the great article and behind the scene info.. we need more such articles to inspire us…. But nothing can take over that 100 wird crush poetry you had written.. it takes the cake:d
Hey Pratim,
Great interview. Can you get Jaideep to blog on this space. It would be great to read a screenwriters perspective.
Thanks.
Thanks OM, Ashish, Ajayji, Suchita (Crush tere dil mein bhi?
) and Just Another Struggler. Yes, we are trying to get Jaideep to write for PFC…:)
i have to catch up with this movie, more so after this post! Chak cliches and I am goin to watch this some how.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Ekame wadwiteeyam
(There is no duality! only singularity)
Ondre kulam endru paaduvOm!
Oruvanae dhevan endru poatruvOm
(Lets sing that there is only one sect!
Lets praise the one and only GOD)
Ahhhhh Pratim.. thanks for this treat …
Jaideep if ur reading this .. u rock !!! I loved the dialogues in Bunty&Bubbly, Company, and of course Khosla …
I’ve never before seen a film depict Delhi in such an authentic manner… Khosla was awesome … Perhaps the only other film i can think of showing delhi so well is Chasme Baddor … and to a certain extent … Dil Se…
PDG // you rock!
KK // kya baat kar rahe ho? Every Yash Chopra directed movie depicts Delhi in a authentic manner ;-), at least until the Alpine bug bit him. Play the Trishul DVD again and enjoy the Lodi Gardens and then empty streets.
Thanks Kartik and wb
Pratim, wat the hell was that?
WB - thats the sad part … they have stuck only to Lodi Gardens !!! U can see lodi gardens in Fanaa and Chakde …
as if Delhi has nothing else ….
What about Delhi in Aahista Aahista and Rang De Basanti showed?
A good script by a good writer, a good film by a good director and a good performance by a great actor… What a dealdly combination… CHAK DE, CHAK DE EK HOCKEY DOONGI MAIN RAKH KE…
And of course due credit should go to chautala, Naik, soi moi, and our puttar… superb girls… u all rocked… winkkk
HG - havent seen ahista …
RDB - is India Habitat Center (not even a university !!! It’s a cultural center) …
IHC is also the college in Lakshya … and the police felicitation scene in Charas.
And there is Tughlaqabad forts and all .. where no one goes … usually isolated and scary .. some scenes of Hum Tum are shot there ..
I really wish someone does with Delhi what Satya and Black Friday did to mumbai !!!
Suchita that was just a line from the thing I wrote re… nothing more!
Nice post and enjoyed Chak De.
BUT friends who are close to some women hockey players felt tokenism with regard to Jharkhand and North-east (Jaideep’s research confirms this) as both these states make up the backbone of our hockey team. They could have been given more powerful lines and space as players. Also, players from Jharkhand who have reached state-level understand both Hindi and English. It is not “HO?” all the time.
Pratim…. interesting post. Like I mentioned before went to see the fim because of a combo of Shimit and Jaideep. Enjoyed the film. Hope this encourages better films from YR…
Thanks Onir
Aditi I agree with you on that but I don’t think Jaideep could have made more than six of the 16 characters more important than the others and he chose those six to be from other parts of the country… Maybe he just knew these sensibilities better…
Hey Pratim, nice one. n great timing.
“ONE” ???
Have been hearing about this movie so much.. hope will get to see it soon
And Adi said:
So happy Krysh that you liked the article…
Hope Adi returns to direction some time soon, though…
kartik,
I thought Delhi was shown beautifully in Monsoon Wedding…Agree?
Especially the scene from the balcony of the Decorator’s house…beautiful crowded old Delhi skyline…?
[...] PFC By: Pratim D. Gupta [...]
This is just to express my happiness at watching a good film–Chak De India after a long time -especially coming from Yashraj banner. Last film, I really enjoyed from that banner was Dilwale Dulhania Le Jaeyenge. Although in terms of story and screenplay -CDI is a very predictable and routine. There
Dazed - Monsoon showed delhi quite authentically …. that was a genuinely researched film ….
Dunno why but probably becos im a delhitie i feel hindi filmakers dont explore rest of the country well ….
kartik,
Not sure if you know tamil, (know too many tamil speaking Kartik’s) but if you haven’t do catch Shankar productions, ‘Veyil’ for authentic settings in small town Tamil Nadu.
The director (how can I forget his name now!) has been completely ruthless. This is as far as you can get from Lodhi Gardens and Amsterdam. There is no respite from the scorching heat which emanates from the screen. This is as gritty as ‘Satya’ was, albeit in a different setting and story. Some melodrama in the second half and an overdose of violence but at least to me, not a scene seemed out of place…
Awesome Movie :)>-
Great direction
and fabulous performances !!!!
^:)^
Dazed - i know tamil … need to catch Veyyil …
Saw the rushes of Parthuveeran and some of Bala’s films…. they are absolutely rooted in their local mileu …
Am also eagerly looking forward to Frozen …
Saw Blue umbrella … kudos to vishaal for the amazing Himachal setting …. and the dialogues .. WOW
Hi!
Well … I am a sportman who played Fottball till the National level … went on to become a jouranlist and am now doing film-scripts.
There were many of my friends much bettwe than me Footballers, Hockey players, swimmers, Gymnasta who all left the sport or just poursued to get in to a good college at Delhi University under the sports quota.
Many of you must have watched Chak De just as anentertainer or a Hockey film but for people with such sports background it means a lot. I was almost crying throughout the film.
I JUST WISH I HAD WRITTEN THIS FILM … still I feel good that such a film was made and whatever we say only YASHRAJ could have done it.
KEEP IT UP … JAIDEEP!!!!!!!!!!
THANX FOR THE TREAT
MAHEN
=d> Mahendra your liking the film says a lot about the movie and Jaideep’s writing. I will definitely convey your message to Jaideep and thanks for commenting.
[...] by aksfilmi on August 17th, 2007 PFC By: Pratim D. [...]
JAIDEEP IS GREAT WRITTER , loved his work in chak de india n khosla ..
dazedandconfused/karthik krishnan,
The director of ‘Veyyil’ is Vasantha Balan. I hear he is starting work on his second movie now.
Mahendra
Gosh I do identify with getting into Engineering via SPORTS QUOTA and not being able to pursue the sport due to various reasons like lack of sponsorship, dedication and the love of the sport. I was javelin thrower for the country but somehow it became a lost cause and I ended up being an ERP consultant( or some shit like dat ). I definitely wanna watch Chak De after reading this post. its got my juices flowing.
thanks Pratim for this wonderful post.
Way to go Jaideep and Shimit.:d/:d/:d/:d/:d/:d/
watch Chak De ridemghost… it tells the story of so many of you and tells it so well… thanks for writing in…
Great film, I liked it better than Swades, RDB and Munna Bhai series. Thanks Pratim for this article.
I also think, this is SRK’s best performance
Jaideep is literally a fine writer…n another gr8 thing is that he is getting a big(maybe biggest)commercial producer to produce his films…n waitng for AJA NACHLE VERY VERY EAGERLY…wat say guyz another nice film n i guess a hit for sure????
Jaideep, The story is amazing and I am really very happy to watch the movie. I have seen more than 10 times and you have wounderful job.
Please keep on this motivation to make a good films, Its really a sensible flick. The girls are exceptional they are wounderful and I am glad that how much research you might of done. Each frame is wounderful. Please do the good films more than entertainment movies.
I Appreciate your screenplay
Hey Kumar, Jaideep didn’t write this post but will let him know that you appreciate his work. Cheers bro!
Hello Pratim,
Is Shimit Amin, the director of this movie, a muslim.
I believe so… but why do you ask?
All said and done Chak de” is a fresh script!Jaideep ROCKS! Indian Cinema is breathing a fresh air!! and The producers have done a comendable job by taking the risk of casting new comers,then our cosmatic heroines! it makes the film more authentic and more relatable….CHAKKKKK DEEEEEEEE:d/
Why are foreigners always so obsessed with the religions of the people involved in Indian film-making? I keep realizing just how secular middle-class Indian society is when I see some such comments. The other day someone complained about India being anti-Muslim because Salman Khan and *Sanjay Dutt* were in jail! Talk about being clueless 8-|
8-|8-|
;)nice one pratimda!
Hi Pratim,
I am from Kolkata…Spent an unsuccessful year in Bombay trying to get a break as a writer-film maker. Just wanted to tell you I love reading your reviews in The Telegraph.
hi Pratim…
really impressed with the movie…didnot mind spending 150bugs for it when saw it in India…really kudos to Jaideep and Shimit (though he was the main reason for the drive to the Cinema Hall…cos of Ab Tak Chappan..) to …the most important of it was that in one movie there were like 7-8 issues which were raised and forced a normal Indian to think…be it like Men Vs Women, Hockey Vs Cricket, Regionalism Vs Nationalism, India Vs Pakistan, and the list is still on…
really and everyone was so damn natural..I really hope that Yashraj doesnot stop making these kind of movies…
WISHES
@sulakshana - Thanks!
@faisal - Thanks for reading my reviews in Telegraph. Glad that you like them. Do catch Manorama this weekend… it’s quite a good watch. Maybe you can give a shot at the film industry here in Calcutta, my friend.
@deepa - Above anything else, Yash Raj is an intelligent film-making outfit. They were the first to realise when their formula films would stop working. That’s why Chak De India was conceived last year much before the failure of Jhoom Barabar Jhoom. Ideally, they should have a mix of both kinds of films. Big budgeted star-powered movies have their own fun quotient too.