A perfectly mediocre film only worth watching for the terrific fight sequences

Rating: 5/10 (29 January 2017)

Not only does Dangal methodically check off every sports movie cliché out there, it goes a step further into general movie clichés. Initially, I almost forgave some of them because it is, after all, "based on a true story", but as it turns out, it changed a lot of facts to fit those clichés. Artistic liberty makes sense when used to increase dramatic tension, but to make the story worse? That's just missed potential.
The actors do a good job, especially Fatima Sana Shaikh, who plays the wrestler Geeta Phogat with just the right mix of intensity and vulnerability. Babita Kumari, played by Sanya Malhotra, is unfortunately sidelined to a mind boggling degree, the film being only concerned with what she meant to Geeta, and never interested in her as a subject.
Thematically, it gets tricky. From a sports drama perspective, it is definitely inspiring to see the sacrifices that are required for Geeta and Babita to get where they need to be, but the film also tries to push itself as feminist, which doesn't work because the sacrifices the women make are forced on them by their father, Mahavir Phogat, who seems far more concerned with seeing his children fulfill the dreams he once held for himself than he is with helping them achieve what they want for themselves. When the girls complain about this, there is actually a scene, and I'm not kidding, where another girl tells them "at least your father isn't forcing you to get married to someone you've never met." Because forcing them to give up any hope for a happy childhood in service of a dream they do not dream is so much better *sarcasm*. A big part of the reason this doesn't work is the presentation, as instead of leaving the question of whether Mahavir's position was justified up to the viewer to answer, the film glorifies him as an ideal to follow, and every time there's an opportunity to show us that the sisters are, in fact, enthusiastic for the sport, the moment is instead used to depict enthusiasm for winning, enthusiasm for respect, enthusiasm for pleasing their father, and even, out of nowhere, enthusiasm for making the country proud.
Apart from being thematically muddled, the movie is plagued with narrative problems such as unnecessary voice-overs explaining how a character is feeling, abrupt transitions to pointless songs, simplistic, one-dimensional villains (why did this film need villains anyway? Wasn't society enough?) and montages that last forever, leading to a bloated 160-minute runtime.
And yet I think it's overall an okay movie because outside of the fights, the humor is enough to tide you over, and when the fight scenes are on, in spite of the predictable outcomes, it's a blast.
Overall, I wouldn't recommend seeing Dangal. It's not like it's in dire need of your money anyway.