Each girl stands out, and in their own way, shine above SRK...

Rating: Null/10 (18 October 2007)

Chak De! India is a sports film, made by Indians, for Indians, (well, not necessarily!), and is one of the better films of 2007 so far. I was reluctant to see the movie because of hype and criticism, but upon seeing it, I have realised that this movie is fantastic - and nothing can take that away.
Shah Rukh Khan - how can I describe this wonderful actor? His role was about undying love for the sport, and undying love for your country - something inspirational, beautiful, and so universal. It is so easy to relate to his character, heck, the guy had been despised, shunned, and loathed by his whole country, forced to leave his home, hated by one and all. He should have been scarred for life! But no, Chak De! India shows that with a little faith, your whole life will come spinning back to you.
It was clever to choose hockey, being our national sport - even though majorly overshadowed by cricket - it worked wonders. There were also no song/dance sequences in this movie, something I thought interesting and expertly handled. It takes skill to take the song and dance out of a Hindi movie and still have it being a hit, but Shimit Amin has handled this with great finesse. The hockey scenes were handled with such amazing expertise and know-how, it is close to Hollywood standards. (Note I said close) The real tone and plot of CDI is about proving that women are just as capable as men. However, CDI is not a feminist film. There is talent, brain, beauty, and practicality available in a woman, she should not be taken for granted. And I am glad to say that after seeing this film, she probably won't be!
Shimit Amin has made an amazing film. I am very proud to call myself an Indian, this movie is excellent. The ending is extremely predictable, but it was handled very well - there is so much tension building up to it, and each minute you clench your fists and lean forward in your chair, waiting for that goal to be scored.
My favourite part: the 16 girls. Each one uniquely has their say in the movie, though the few from further regions of India etc, had lesser to do. Yet they all played their parts and added the one thing CDI needed - grace. The focus was mainly on a few girls, for example Vidya Malvade, Sagarika Ghatge. But I liked the way all the girls worked so well together - they became a real TEAM, which is what CDI is all about. I also admired the way each girl in a way had her own personal storyline behind her, which all added to the tension of winning the World Cup! My personal favourite would be the little one, Chitrashi Rawat as Komal, I thought she showed fabulous potential and her gutsy little performance had me grinning.
So move over guys, the girls are here!