Why I’m looking forward to “Chak De India”
Disclaimer - This will be a shorter post mainly because I just had throat surgery on Friday the 13th and am still drugged up on anti-biotics and T-3s. I hope I can remain coherent :)
We all know its a YashRaj Films Production and Aditya Chopra is Producing. As one would expect he’s also added his creative inputs: the film is jointly written by him… and these two other guys.
One of them is Shimit Amin, the man in the directors seat. A quick IMDB.com search (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0024912) will make clear that this man has worked his way up the ladder. An L.A. editor invited to Mumbai by a friend who introduced him to RGV. Impressive editing in RGV’s Bhoot followed up by a powerful directoral debut in acclaimed Nana Patekar *er Ab Tak Chhappan. I have a feeling Mr. Amin will impress us once again, especially considering he himself has said he’s always wanted to work with a sports based theme.
The other guy is Jaideep Saini, a writer’s whose work I’ve been quite a fan of. Jungle was dark and gritty, Company was real and shocking. He capped it off with a gem of a script in Khosla Ka Ghosla, the wonderful movie for which he was also the creative producer. Talented no doubt, Jaideep Saini never fails to amaze with his attention to detail and realism even when creating surreal situations.
It must be said that this is an interesting concoction of creative juices to say the least.
Add to the mix an intense, focussed and always charismatic Shahrukh Khan and the bar rises even higher. And please please please do not make the mistake of claiming this is the same SRK of Veer Zaara or Don or what not. Take a look at the publicity stills. See the films promos. This is indeed a very different Shahrukh then we have ever seen. It is well documented that in his school days Shahrukh was an accomplished sportsman, and yet aside from playing a coach for a brief period in the 1992 film Chamaktar he’s never played an athlete.
Going back to the films publicity, this is clearly a refreshingly different character than what we’re accustomed to seeing SRK play. We’ve seen him play the rich, trendy lover in several films, and though millions of his fans would argue no one is more popular in that role, personally I’ve always enjoyed watching Shahrukh play the middleclass man. Whether its Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman, Chalte Chalte or Swades, whenever given a down-to-earth, average guy to play ShahRukh has undoubtedly excelled. Chak De India may give Shahrukh one of his most real characters of his career.
Based on the life of former hockey goalkeeper for the Indian National Team, Mir Ranjan Negi, the film has a very interesting concept to work with. As many may know, Negi was humiliated and ousted from the National Team after being held responsible for a devastating loss at the hands of Pakistan in a crucial 1982 match. It was held in Delhi, and the likes of Indira and Rajiv Gandhi were in attendance for the defeat. But that was only the begginning, as Negi was accused taking a bribe to be responsible for the loss.
The following link provides a brief but rather interesting read on the real Mir Ranjan Negi.
How the creative forces talked of above combine to tell this potentially riveting tale, what parts of Negi’s life will be focussed on and what cinematic liberaties will be taken in an attempt to further enhance the entertainment quotient of the film, what the end result with be like and how we the audience shall receive it are all questions that remain to be answered.
Until then I, like many others out there, will wait for what I anticipate to be different kind of film from SRK & YRFs.
52 Responses to “Why I’m looking forward to “Chak De India””
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(9 votes, average: 4.89 out of 5)
Sorry guys, I told you I’m all drugged up and hurtin.
The link the the Mir Ranjan Negi story is:
link
The 1st bit of jibberish at the top there was a link to a great still from the film. It was this one with Shahrukh in a black tank top focussing on creating plays on a blackboard. I viewed it at indiafm but I’m sure lots of other sites would carry it as well.
is it exxpectation or promotion?
lets see srk,yashraj and chak de team performances.
srk has lost his charisma.
tony yeah .. this is also the only YRF film to look forward to. While I’m a little skeptical of SRK and Shimmit Ammin, but I will definitly watch the film for Jaideep Sahni…. He is a fantastic writer :-)
And .. thanks for the Ranjan Negi link :-)
ajay,itna naumeed kyun hotay ho. SRK se itni mayusi kyun? Ya lifafa dekhkar khat ka majmun jaanney ki kala hai tummein..Dekhkar hi pata chalega chak de,vakya mein chak de hai ya chakki gayi!
ab srk ke gande hairstyle par bhi kashide likhe ja rahe hain.ek tabka unki choti -badi ghaltiyon mein bhi kabliyat khoj lete hain.ham kuch jyada ki umeed se naumeed ho jaate hain.
ek actor star bana aur phir…aap jante ho.
Most underdog stories make us feel good, so will this one, but being yashraj film it migh be more melodramatic.
Erm… i actually thought SRK was fantastic as the older guy in ‘Veer Zaara’.
I guess i’m the only one who thinks so??? It was such a beautifully nuanced performance.
steve,
that was the worst performance.watch other films,where older characters has been played by younger actors.
Am looking forward to it too. SRK looks different and good with a stubble…I think it will work…let’s not prejudge the movie…..
Tony: Hope your recovery is fast. Best wishes for a good health.
So its all DELHI guys film. A smart manager is also lives inside the actor/performer (whetever word he likes to use) SRK and he is intelligent enough to see which way wind is blowing these days. He is a hard worker and surely he knows his realities better than anybodyelse in this world, so we surely can expect that his coming 2-3 new films will bring some new shades of SRK else he will be facing more pressure from his already declining market. Its not at alarming state but definitely a declining trend is there. He has got remendous success in commercial terms after DDLJ but in that success that SRK is lost who used to generate curiosity with each new film, because he was the only new actor in those days who was bringing variety in his roles. Now financially he is perfectly secured and he should bring back his old trait of doing something different in every film. He had atleast different roles in those days. Being termed as Numero uno has its lacking also as he has to be almost best everytime. Because of his success people expect a lot from him and by doing mediocre films (in terms of contents)he disappoints audience. Don is his biggest mistake till now.
Ajay, i’ll be honest, I am not one of SRK’s biggest fans, and I have sort of gone off him of late, but his performances in ‘Swades’ and ‘Veer Zaara’ stood out for me personally.
He was shown in a different light in these films, and i did sit up and think ‘about time’!!
well actually this the one yrf film i am looking forward too .. prely on the basis of trailors on tv and the rumours that the YRF leasts believe in this one..
Tony…get well soon. n what a coincidence. Was just going to write a post on the same topic. though my new year resolution was no yrf movies this year except for madhuri’s aaja nachle. But looks like m going to break it for chak de.
the promos looks damn intersting n so non-yrf kinda. no great n gorgeous loooking people,no songs promo, even anjan srivastava comes before shahrukh khan in the promo n u cant c the yrf logo anywhere till the end….m very hopeful about this movie. never dared to c the first theatrical promo. but saw it recntly on u tube. its badly done the kind yrf would do otherwise for any other film….song that introduces all the players n what rubbish…its shot in studio. players from all india, from various locations n here they hav lit up the studio n shot it. really bad.i think they realised their mistake soon n thats why pulled it out.
m not big srk fan. big fan of only two movies….kabhi haan kabhi na n swades. but looks like this will work out..srk in plain one colour shirt. no running around with big overcoats. nothing fancy. just give me life. dont give me larger than life!!
I discarded the idea of watching this movie after i saw the first trailer shown in theaters during Jhoom Barabar Jhoom.
But trailers being shown on television now have made me changed my mind. Movie seems interesting, unless SRK hasn’t overacted as he usually does.
ajayji, srk se itna gussa ?? main bhi bilkul anti-yrf hoon…par unse dushmani nahi hai. bus unki filmein pacha nahi pata hoon…isliye. aur is film se mujhe umeed hai, promo dekhkar to kam se kam aisa hi lag raha hai.
gussa vyaktigat thode hi hai.unko jo tawajjo diya jata hai aur woh uska anad bhi uthate hain.yeh dekh kar koft hoti hai.
sorry Bandhu….but chak de india will be the most boring film that YRFs has ever made…SRK is making a fun of himself with working in such films and playing such characters…Plz nobody minds b’cause I didnt like him in Mohabbatein either…that’s my perspective and my take on SRK’s performance…Lets c how right it turns out…enjoy!!!!
it is good that you guys have a conversation in hindi , but i would like to request if you could give an english meaning of any posh hindi words you use in your post, that would help..
aap jaab hindi mein vartalap karte hain - woh acha hain - meri hindi sudhar rahi hain - magar jab app bhari kaam hindi shabd ka, kya bolte hain, upyag karte hain, tho woh hamre pale nahi padta hain. ek binti hain ke app agar bhari kam hindi shabd ka angrezi matlab aur hindi matlab bhi bata-ye apne post mein, tho acha hoga. for example, ‘tawajjo’. dhanyavad.
:-D
H.G:for your hafta vasuli of this week!
Tawajjo is urdu word, means ” to pay attention”
e.g Landa in Omkara could have said to Kesu:
bahubali tanik hum chhote logon ki khujali par bhee kuch tavajjo dijiye” he used hindi word Dhyan Dijiye!!
ur hindi is superb.
One correction in your word power word is “Bhari Bharkam”
shukriya rk-bhaijaan. i have studied hindi till sixth standard. i must have… tawajjo diya hoga during those school days.
:-D
@Rk main aap ke hindi me ek bhul sudhar karna chaunga agar aap
Shatru Bhaiya: Aap to Jai Shankar Prasad ke sahitya star par chale ja rahe ho. Dont you see >90% writers writing for Hindi films have background in Convent kind of Education. Have you any idea about any cine writer having hindi education background, perhaps Kamlesh Pande?
@RK
Helloji.
I agree DON was SRK
Vinayak your take on Khalid and Rajiv is really funny ..And your cynicism for YRF’s is somewhat amusing..why this rigidity towards them?
Ajay bhai, isko promotion nahin samajhiye. Bas behte behte online jo stills aur promos dekhen usse mujhe laga ke yeh film SRK aur YRF ke liye koi alag cheez hai. Director (Nirdeshak? Sorry yaar, hindi kuch khaas nahin hai meri) mein potential hai aur Lekhak bhi bahaut aacha hai, isi liye expectations ban raha hai. Umeed hai ke, hit ya flop, film dekhe laiyakh hogi.
Aur haan, is baar lag raha hai ke Shahrukh ko actor ke roop mein dekhne ko mil raha hai. Star to woh Om Shanti Om mein hoga…
Kartik bhai, same goes for me man. Its the only YRF film I’m looking forward to watching… Its actually been years really since the promos for one of their upcoming films really caught my interest.
From whats out there I think Shimit Amin will do a good job. I know it was only one film but the guy showed what he can do with a realistic subject…
And your right, Jaideep Rocks!
Interestingly enough I read somewhere that Negi himself has provided input for the film. My hope is that at least the 1st half will focus on who Negi was (the star) and his downfall, his years away from the sport, and then by intermission they build his comeback. But I highly doubt that’s how the film will play out. It will more likely show Negi’s backstory via flashbacks.
RK bhai thank you for the well wishes… I could really use them right now :)
I agree 100% with you about SRK being intelligent enough to adapt to the changing scenario… He’s probably the sharpest actor of his generation, thats why after 17 years of critism he’s still such a huge star. I think he’s working on a good mixed bag of projects…
I spent a number of days on the set of Pardes back in Sept of 1996. This is right after DDLJ was declared one of the biggest hits of all time, a classic, etc. I found Shahrukh to be very down to earth… he’d chat quite normally with pretty much anyone…
I quite vividly recall the first time I met him… I was 17 then and working radio, travelling with the media guys in a van right in front of the SUV transporting Shahrukh. We parked and poured out… we went up and said hello… I said “Hi I’m Tony”. “Shahrukh”. “Yeah, I know…” He gave a quirky smile and then was taken to his hotel suite.
Later that day I saw him again at a shoot in a downtown hotel (the scene where Amrish Puri gives SRK keys to a new car and tells him to get away for a while)… Amrish ji was very classy, but quite intimidating, The consensus was approaching him wasn’t the best idea.
Then Shahrukh sort of peeped in through the door of the boardroom suite we were in. Hair ruffled, wearing gray T-shirt and jeans, he looked like some guy tryin to sneak into the shoot. I was sitting when I recognized him. I asked “You want to take a seat?” “No, I’ve been sitting most of the day”. You could see the restless energy in the guy… he kept rat-tat-tatting on the door. A bunch of us just casually joined him in the hallway… some guy offered him a pop, and his face lit up. “Thanks yaar, I was quite thirsty… can we not get some coffee in here?” Some groupies just bolted down the hall to meet his request… when he got his coffee he sat down in the middle of the hallway and mixed his sugar/cream… I recall so many people were like “I want to be an actor too” etc, and he seems annoyed… “Why? This is not the best lifestyle. I’ve been away from my family for so many days..” He asked this other guy what he did. Hotel manager. “You go home daily? You provide for your family? What more do you want? We’re like jokers, all we do try to entertain. If you want to do some high profile work become a doctor.”
Maybe that’s why I’ve always been a fan… because I’ve experienced a side of him that’s far off from the “Starry attitude” one normally associates with stars of his level, especially from Mumbai.
A couple of years ago I saw that documentary where they followed Shahrukh for 7 days in Mumbai and then a tour. I thought that’s how he was when he was here… he is what he is, and that I think is an admirable quality very few stars (actors/directors/singers) I’ve met possess. The only guy who was quite friendly without putting on an act was Sonu Nigam. Thought he had a great personality and was having a lot of fun shooting (for “Kaash Aap Hamare Hote”).
Phoenixnu, thanks for the good wishes man.
Was your post going to be on similar lines or a different perspective?
I didn’t see the theatrical trailor (thankfully) but yeah the promos out now look totally different from what you’d expect from YRF. You’d have to think that’s either the work of Shimit Amin. Who knows, but they look intense, interesting.
I like your quote “just give me life. dont give me larger than life!!”
Anurag bhai your cynicism is damn funny man… your looking forward to it because… “the rumours that the YRF leasts believe in this one..” :))=)):)) Priceless…
I think the film has promise. Let’s hope it lives up to our expectations..
You’ll have to do a post once you’ve seen the film… like the film or not, I’m sure that’ll be a good read…
@RK what i am always feels about u as ^:)^^:)^^:)^ but its very very (tend to infinity) “bad luck” of hindi cinema if i am using a tough word of hindi then u predict that i am belonging to class of great great Jai shanakar prashad.
Vinayak… LOL @ your take on Khalid Mohammed… I’ve never understood why the guy writes like he’s Dr. FN Suess?
This is what he ACTUALLY WROTE for Cheeni Kum:
“No yum, only glum. Sweet rice just isn’t nice in a Zaafrani Hyderabadi biryani. And thereby hangs a kahani.. in which everyone yackety-yaks till you want to yell, “Bak bak bak bum.”
What the fuck is he talking about bak bak bak bum?? Seriously, please someone explain that to me…
(I’m not makin this shit up..)
http://filmfunda.blogspot.com/2007/05/cheeni-kum-movie-review-by-khalid.html
I am looking forward to this film purely because of the director’s previous film. I loved Ab Tak Chappan and felt Shimit Amin has a solid grasp on storytelling. Keeps it straight up, simple, and interesting. I know the movie will not offer anything new. Heck looking at the trailers I can tell that it’s nothing but a mirror image of the hundreds of sports films that Hollywood recycles and rehashes year after year, calling each a true story and triumph of the human spirit. Regardless, it’s not been done too often on the Indian screen, and underdog stories are always fun. So what if India cannot win in sports in reality. At least we have the power to make it happen in our make-believe world. More power to that!
tony // get well soon. you’ve taken time to write this up in spite of being sore and drugged? some passion!
Khalid Mohammad is the bichhra bhai of the Times food critic (and now Delhi Times editor?) Sabina Sehgal Saikia. She comes up with gems like “Kabhi Kimchi Kabhi Yum” to review a Korean restaurant.
Good one Tony… for me the first reason I would like to see this movie is “Jaideep Sahni”… this is one guy who is mostly floating under the radar… but think Jungle, Company, Khosla ka Ghosla… and you know there is going to be something special in the script… the second reason is ofcourse.. Shimit Amin…
Though I watched the trailer last week at the theater and was not impressed… clearly Yash Raj need some next gen set of preview cutting people… with the song “Chak de … ek hockey doongi main rakhke…” in the backdrop Shah Rukh introduces each of the players in the team… it didn’t gel well with me… for I thought it was too dumbed down, too lecturesque… without any creative thought put behind it… it’s the 21st century and we don’t have to meet each of the players and be told 4 to 6 lines about them and their characteristic traits… we’ll get it once we see the movie…
Thank you so much WB… and what can I say, everyone here’s got that passion, else why would be here in the first place?
Vijay - Actually the man the film is based on, Mir Ranjan Negi, as a coach led the Indian Hockey team to win the Men
Oz bhai 200% with you where it comes to Jaideep Saini. I watched Company on DVD again today… the guys amazing! He writes such amazingly sharp characters… not just the main characters, but the assortments of side characters as well.. he gives each of them such distinct personality traits…
Khosla Ka Ghosla, same thing… the characterizations are amazing… then the efficiency with which he tells his stories… no bullshit scenes, every moment is both interesting and of some importance… and its all so damn entertaining.. he’s a master…
Let’s see what he and Shimit Amin can pull off here…
And yeah, I YouTubed the trailor… its so repetitive, and I just didn’t care about the girls… thankfully the other trailers are much better..
hey, tonybhai, take full rest and get well soon.
i think srk has been changed a lot from your 1996’s srk. i have seen his making of his temptation tour in which he was shouting on saif and arjun rampal.
Chak de to mujhe shaolin shocker aur lagaan ki mix sabji lag rahi hai.
No doubts about jaideep. but i cud not digest his bunty aur babli!!! felt it was really bad n terrible. there was nothing to watch out for. even the songs of salaam namaste…if m not wrong, he was the lyricist.
Vinayak: that was something. have you any idea, if Rajiv Masand reviewed Yatraa or not? His superfast speed might have been affected with this one!
Phonexinu, Yes Bunty aur Babli - I got a chance to get a glimpse of the original script and trust me the kind of heists the two commit in the original script would have set us roaring for more… they were original, fun and very intelligent - not seen before in indian cinema… unfortunately such best parts in the script didn’t make it to the movie… I guess to make space for the “kajra re” song and some other marketing elements… that portion wasn’t there in the original script.
yeah SRK is looking defnitely different…he is a good actor no doubt at all…director has a good record n so does the writer…i’m goin’ to watch it
Came across an interview with Jaideep Saini talking about “Chak De India” so I thought I’d post the link here…
http://indiafm.com/features/2007/08/03/2908/index.html
Also, if anyones interested, here’s a video clip of an interview with ShahRukh. As I’ve commented I found Shahrukh to be pretty down to earth and real when I spent a few days with him 10 years back. I find in this interview its a similar Shahrukh to the one I encountered. Is it good PR or is it him being him, only he or Anupama Chopra (the interviewer) would know, but I found the peice interesting so I’m posting it here.
http://www.indiafm.com/broadband/video/Interviews/z1tH5c69/3/SRK-In-Conversation-With-Anupama-Chopra-Part-1.html
Shah Rukh on Chak De India
http://t2movies.blogspot.com/2007/08/interview-shah-rukh-khan.html
Pratim nice interview… but I read the exact same peice on Rediff I think… did you conduct this interview and it was syndicated?
Thanks Tony… It was conducted by me over phone… Shimit and Jaideep also coming up…
You know what, I take back my last comment… The interview I read was on IndiaFM by a correspondant named Devansh Patel… the responses given are very similar to what he said in your interview… I guess either he’s prepared these responses (likely with the YashRaj PR team) or he’s just been asked similar questions so he gives similar responses…
Its an interesting comparison nonetheless… here’s the interview I had read…
http://in.movies.yahoo.com/061028/24/68u23.html
Look forward to both those interviews Pratim… Jaideep especially always has some interesting things to say…
yes, he does and he doesn’t stop anything… did a run down of all the scripts he has written one by one… since it’s for The Telegraph and has already come out there, will just post a link here as a comment for everybody to know what made Jaideep write everything from organised crime (Company) to real estate (Khosla Ka Ghosla) to women’s hockey (Chak De India)…
Trivia: Jaideep’s aunt had to undergo what happened to Khosla in the movie but the resolution in the movie is his unreal wish fulfillment… :)
Yeah I thought that Khosla Ka Ghosla had to be based on some real incident.. it was so realistic, and often times that realism comes from experiencing something similar…
Everyindian should watch this film & others too, coz the film is very encouraging 4 all our indian teams to cheer up n work hard for each matches they play. god bless sharukh khan , he should get all awards, for such a brilliant movie. he is the best.
All our players will be more positive n do their very best in their life. after seeing this movie. As this movie spreads this. And reach the goal.
GREAT EXAMPLE HOW OUR FOOTBALL PLAYERS PLAYED & WON THE MATCH YESTERDAY.
This movie will surely break all records,
hi i am a theatre actor ,i am 18 year old and my aim in life to become lead actor in movies and i also want to direct a film and i m a biggest fan of sharukh khan on this universe… and i had seen all srk fims he had done and by my point of view srk best perfomance in veer zaara… and after that kabhi haa kabhi naa ,kal ho naa ho,chak de………becuse good perfomance also need good script, good look and good dreesing scenseand main thingh is good dialogesso veer zaara have every thinghand after that… kal ho naa ho, kabhi haa kabhi naaand chak de india