Chak De India…!!! Chak De SRK…!!!

SRK makes a comeback after a relatively long break on the silver screen. And this also gives me an opportunity to get back to my writing days. And with the release of SRK’s next movie just round the corner, one can’t think of anything except just go crazy saying ‘CHAK De… SRK’.

SRK gradually seems to shed his ‘lover boy’ image and moving to live a variety of roles and characters in the process. After the success of ‘DON’, where SRK played the negative role, he now moves on to coach the Indian Hockey team, that too a women’s team with the aim and determination to win the World Cup for the country. Chak De India is a story about Kabir Khan (Shah Rukh Khan) who is considered to be a loser as a hockey player, who takes up the mettle of coaching the women’s hockey national team with just a sole objective in mind… winning the World Cup.

Chak De India is based on a true story of ex hockey player ‘Mir Ranjan Negi’ who messed up heavily in a crucial match conceding a series of goals to lose the match 1-7 to Pakistan in the Asian Games 1982. This event really ruined and ended his career. However, he came back to coach the Women’s Indian Hockey team to win the Commonwealth Games gold at Manchester.

This is the first time after Swades where unlike other SRK movies the larger than life image of the King Khan would not overshadow the character in the movie itself. And this reflects from the teasers released so far where similar to Mohan Bhargava (Swades), the audience would be able to identify the character (Kabir Khan) in SRK rather than SRK himself coaching the girls. And I believe He will be able to put all those critics to rest who keep cribbing about the lack of ‘acting’ talent in him.

There are great expectations from the film and more so from SRK, especially in the backdrop of the drought of his movie releases after DON (albeit KBC, et.al. keeping him busy). Even though the mere presence of the King Khan will ensure that the film is a commercial success in itself, more important is the success of SRK to prove himself to the world that he is improving with age. Also it will help to set the trend for the movies lined up in the pipeline for releases in the near future, the first one being Om Shanti Om due for release later this year.

Also making a debut in the movie is Vidya Malavade, who has been a mediocre success in modeling and has been a regular in some TV commercials. And of course the gang of girls who prove that its just will power that is required to achieve the impossible, and of course the support of a good coach. The success of this movie will also be crucial for the director Shimit Amin to meet the expectations of his performance, and more importantly the expectations from the big banner release and directing a super-star.

So, let’s get all set to watch the girls with the hockey stick in their hands battle it out and cheer them to make them win the world cup. And of course, cheer their coach too… After all… SRK is SRK…!!!

Movie: Chak De India
Release: 10th August, 2007
Director: Shimit Amin
Production: Yash Raj Films
Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Vidya Malavade