My Chuck Day

This was the second film i saw on 11th August after a horrible Rush Hour 3. The FIRST thing i'd like to say about Chak De India is that we weren't disappointed..at all. Its a film about the Indian womens' hockey team and their travails in the world cup.
Very well directed film and well edited as well...which is a rare luxury in SRK or Yashraj films. No confrontation between any characters lasts more than 30-40 seconds...points are made directly or with actions and NOT through solemn testimonies about what someones "dil" feels like doing. I think they haven't even used the D word in this film at all...i'm not sure though. Coming back to the review...I do tend to wander off into my own cynical world most of the times dont i?? here i go again...in 1988 when i started talking...
*shakes himself off...changes paragraph*
The film was much hyped and had received rave reviews from the media and also from a few of our friends. Now, i'm all for patriotism...not being THAT patriotic myself, but i'm pretty tolerant of the hordes of Indians that are. What i cannot stand is pseudo-patriotism. The plot was based on a true story of Mir Ranjan Negi. Some liberties have been taken with the script as to make it commerce worthy....but thats all fine, i mean who wants to make a movie that no-one except SRK fans will watch! My mention of non-tolerance towards pseudo patriotism wasnt at all a shot at this film...it just toes the line as far as patriotism is concerned. But this film will induce some pseudo-patriotism i'm certain of it...especially after what i experienced in the cinema hall.
There are of course the stereotypes like the "cool" seniors and the hot-headed jattni and the child prodigy...kudos on the casting as well. Preeti Sabarwal - Captain of Chandigarh(whoever she was essayed by) was the saving grace as far as the marketability to adolescent boys was concerned....they tapped a HUGE market there..hehehe. And the title was sort of a misnomer...at least for me..i mean what does it even convey?? Worth a watch...over and out.

Post-Epilogue
What provoked my thoughts though...was the kind of society the film portrayed. Till what extent was it true i'm yet to discover. Idealist i'm surely not, but the 'guilty until proven otherwise' vibe that "news" channels proliferate is really un-nerving. I mean I, even in my hugely cynical psyche, have always believed that the innocent shouldn't need to have to redeem themselves against the lies or misrepresentation of their actions. The universe will balance itself out...is a little far-fetched, coz shit happens. But do we all have to win out metaphorical 'Women's Hockey World Cups' to show that the other were fucking idiots?? It takes me back to "Clearly or Darkly"...for i find myself asking yet again: What does the Scanner see...