Modern Story, Classic Style

Rating: 6/10 (20 September 2017)

The "spoiler alert" is here only because I wouldn't know how to write without it. As this film is based on a true story, plot development (for this review, anyway) is probably less important than how the film was made.
Think of the prototypical template for classical Indian films: background, despair, tragedy, redemption, and lonnngg -- with lots of music and some dancing to lighten the load. There you have it. Production values in Dangal are high, and acting from all sides is terrific, right down to the snarky behaviour of the Scottish wrestler near the end. All we missed in this rags-to-riches tour-de-force of athletic accomplishment were a small child dancing around a tree and then getting hit by a train.
If I could have changed anything, it would have been to tighten the editing and reduce running time by about 30 minutes, though most Indian viewers would probably disagree. I also would have given Babita a bit more of her due, since the film opens with Geeta and Babita apparently equal in skill and circumstance. Those musical interludes for me (as a non-Indian) got in the way after awhile. The national coach was also made out to be something of a loose cannon.
But here in Hong Kong, Dangal has generated an unusual amount of interest for a foreign film, and an Indian one to boot. The moral of the story--father knows best--will not be lost on local families.
My last words: excellent film, probably an 8 or 9 if only it had a shorter, tighter running time.