Chak De India
Encyclopedia
Chak De! India is a 2007 Indian sports films about field hockey in India
. It is directed by Shimit Amin
, produced by Yash Raj Films
, written by Jaideep Sahni
, sports action by ReelSports, and stars Shahrukh Khan
as Kabir Khan, the former captain of the Indian hockey team
. After a disastrous loss to the Pakistani hockey team
, Khan is ostracized from the sport. He and his mother are further forced from their ancestral home by angry neighbors. Seven years later in an attempt to redeem himself, Khan becomes the coach for the India women's national field hockey team
with the goal of turning its sixteen contentious players into a champion team. After leading the women's team to the Gold, Khan restores his reputation and returns with his mother to their home, welcomed by those who had shunned them years before.
Chak De! India explores religious bigotry, the legacy of partition
, ethnic and regional prejudice, and sexism in contemporary India through field hockey. Screenwriter Jaideep Sahni
decided to write a fictional screenplay based on the winning of the Gold by the Indian women's field hockey team at the 2002 Commonwealth Games
after reading about it in the newspaper. Thus the characters, while inspired by the real team and coaches, were invented by Sahni. Although some media outlets compared Kabir Khan to real-life hockey player Mir Ranjan Negi
, Sahani has stated that he was unaware of Negi's tribulations while writing the script and that the resemblance with Negi's life was coincidental.
Earning over Rs 639 million
, Chak De! India was the third highest grossing movie of 2007 in India and was critically acclaimed. Chak De! India has won numerous awards (including eight for Best Film) and received the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment
. The suspension of the Indian Hockey Federation in April 2008 emphasized the film's influence. After a new hockey council was formed, former hockey player, Aslam Sher Khan
, stated in an interview, "We have to make a Team India as you have seen in bollywood blockbuster Chak De! India. There are players from several parts of the country. We have to unite them to make a powerful force."
. The game is between the Pakistan men's national field hockey team
and the India men's national field hockey team
, with Pakistan leading, 1-0. When Indian team captain and hockey superstar, Kabir Khan (Shahrukh Khan
) is fouled, he elects to take the penalty stroke himself. However, his strike flies just above the goal, and India suffers a crushing defeat. Soon after, the media begins to circulate a photograph of him accepting a handshake from the head of the Pakistani team, speculating that Khan (who is a Muslim
) might have "thrown" the game as an act of sympathy towards Pakistan. The religious prejudice exhibited towards Khan by the entire society at large forces him and his mother out of their ancestral home and into exile.
Seven years later, Indian sport officials are surprised to learn that Khan wants to coach the Indian woman's field hockey team, a job no one else wants (an official claims the only long term role for women is to "cook and clean"). Khan thus finds himself in charge of a group of 16 women from all sections of India, who are divided by their own competitive natures and individual prejudices. One of the youngest players, Komal Chautala (Chitrashi Rawat
) (from a village in Haryana
) conflicts with Preeti Sabarwal (Sagarika Ghatge
) from Chandigarh
whom she refers to derisively as "memsaab" while tough girl Balbir Kaur (Tanya Abrol
) from the Punjab
has an extremely short temper that impacts the team. Balbir also bullies Rani Dispotta (Seema Azmi) and Soimoi Kerketa (Nisha Nair), who are both from remote villages in Jharkhand
. Mary Ralte (Kimi Laldawla) from Mizoram
and Molly Zimik (Masochon "Chon Chon" Zimik) from Manipur
(in North-East India
) are both treated as "foreign" by virtually everyone they meet and face repeated sexual harassment. The team's captain, Vidya Sharma (Vidya Malvade
), is forced to choose between hockey and the wishes of her husband's family, while Preeti's boyfriend, the (fictional) vice captain of the India national cricket team Abimanyu Singh (Vivan Bhatena
), is deeply threatened by her involvement with the team.
Khan realizes that he can only turn the girls into a winning team if he can help them to overcome these divisions and learn to cooperate with and help each other. Thus during the first few days, he benches a number of players who refuse to conform to his rules, including the most experienced player, Bindia Naik (Shilpa Shukla
). In response, she repeatedly attempts to encourage the players to revolt against Khan. Bindia finally succeeds and in anger, Khan resigns. As a sign of good will, however, he invites the staff and team to a going away lunch. The anger that the team felt towards Khan and each other evaporates, however, when some local boys make a pass at Mary and Molly. In response Balbir attacks them, an act which leads to a brawl between the boys and the entire team. Khan, recognizing that this is their first instance of working together as a team, repeatedly prevents the staff from intervening. His only action is to stop a man from striking one of the women with a cricket bat
from behind, telling him that there are no cowards (with a double entendre meaning of the Hindi word for coward) in hockey. After the fight, the women (now bonded as a team) beg Khan to remain as their coach.
This newly found unity serves them through a series of additional challenges. When hockey officials suddenly decide not to send the women's team to Australia for The World Championship, the girls unite in a challenge match against the men's team. Despite losing this match, their superb performance on the field forces the officials to change their mind and send the team to The World Championship. Once in Australia, the team faces a number of difficult matches with teams such as the Hockeyroos
(Australia), the Black Sticks Women
(New Zealand
), the Las Leonas
(Argentina
), and the South Korean team
(known for its use of the man-to-man marking technique). While initially still working to overcome their differences throughout the matches, the girls learn to act as a single unit. This move eventually leads them to victory and the restoration of Khan's good name. In doing so, they not only destroy the prejudices which once separated them, but prove to their families and country the merit of women's athletics. At the end, Khan returns with his mother to their ancestral home, welcomed by those who had shunned them years before and continues to be the Indian Women's field hockey coach.
inspired screenwriter Jaideep Sahni to create a film about the Indian Women's Hockey Team
. Director Shamit Amin noted the lack of coverage of the women's team by the media and stated that "there are a lot of odds these players are up against".
The media often compared hockey player Mir Ranjan Negi
(who faced accusations of throwing the match against Pakistan during the 1982 Asian Games
) with the character of Kabir Khan in the media. In response Negi commented that, "this movie is not a documentary of Mir Ranjan Negi's life". Sahani has also stated that he was unaware of Negi's tribulations while writing the script and that the resemblance with Negi's life was coincidental. Negi joined the production team after his name was suggested by the national coach of the women's team Maharaj Krishan Kaushik
, who was with the team when it won the Commonwealth Games' gold
in 2002.
The screenplay drew from interviews with current members of the women's field hockey team as well as the coaches. Kaushik later noted that:
In addition, Sahni noted that, "the story of Chak De was deeply inspired by the real life story of ex Chief National Coach Maharaj Krishan Kaushik and his Indian Women's hockey team's real feat of winning the Commonwealth and many other championships."
Sahini then contacted Negi and asked him to coach the actors portraying the hockey team. While not initially enthusiastic about being involved in the film, Negi changed his mind after reading the screenplay. Negi coached the cast stating, "I trained the girls for six months. Waking up at 4, traveling from Kandivili to Churchgate. We would retire around 11 in the night. It was tiring. But we were on a mission [...] They couldn't run; couldn't hold the hockey sticks. I ensured none of them [would have to] cut their nails or eyebrows (as the players do). The girls have worked very hard. I salute them." Some of the actors however, such as Chitrashi, Sandia, and Raynia were cast because they were actual hockey players. ReelSports, under the direction of Sport Action Director Rob Miller, also worked with Negi to train the girls and Shahrukh Khan for the film. Of working with Khan, Negi recalled that everything was planned, "including the penalty stroke that SRK missed. That shot alone took us nearly 20 hours as I was keen that it should be very realistic. I took the help of a lot of my former teammates. But more importantly, it was so easy working with SRK. He is unbelievably modest and was willing to do as many re-takes as we wanted."
Salman Khan
was first offered the role of coach Kabir Khan, but refused because director Shimit Amin
refused to make a slight change in the climax.
Chak De! India was filmed in India and Australia
. The Australian portions were filmed in Sydney
and Melbourne
and used 90 hockey players cast by ReelSports Solutions and 9000 extras.
also used this term when they awarded the 2008 Star Screen Award for Best Supporting Actress to the Chak De girls.
gave Chak De! India a rating of 80%, based upon 5 reviews (4 fresh and 1 rotten).
Chak De! India was critically acclaimed in India and abroad. Subhash K. Jha (film critic and author of The Essential Guide to Bollywood) gave the film a rave review stating, "First things first. Chak De India is an outright winner. A triumph of the spirit. And of craftsmanship. While director Shimit Amin has crafted a film with immense staying power , and exception integrity and gusto, the thought-process behind the endearing endeavour harks back to a series of well-crafted Hollywood films about the team spirit, the low-spirited tream and the burnt-out disgraced and exiled coach who motivates the team and galvanizes his own dormant spirit into a wide-alert status." Nikhat Kazmi
of The Times of India gave the film 4 out of 4 stars and argues that it has "great performances by a bunch of unknowns, a gritty pace and a marvellous restraint make Chakde India an unbridled ode to patriotism without any hysterical chest-beating. And yes, for all you SRK fans and bashers, this time the verdict gotta be unanimous: Chakde Shah Rukh! Can you better this?" India Today
describes Chak De! India as, "the most feisty girl power
movie to have come out of Bollywood
ever. The girls, from the truculent Haryanvi Komal to the angry Bindiya, from the Punjabi Balbir to the very proper Punjabi, Chandigarh ki kudi Preeti, may be drawn from stereotypes but they shatter them with aggressive performances, staring Khan in the eye, almost defeating the Indian men's hockey team, assaulting a gang of boys and showing the six-time Australian team a thing or two about how to win." Sudhish Kamath of The Hindu
asks "when did we last make a solid ensemble film about sports — one that's not about a few players saving the day but about the triumph of teamwork? Chak De is that rare film where the hero watches from the stands and lets a bunch of 'what's-her-name-again' girls do all the winning [...] At another level, Chak De is about women's liberation. It is one of the best feminist films of our times. Next, the girls themselves are the closest we've seen to a representation of India in any sports movie we've seen. They are not 16 pretty young things. The casting is first-rate. The rawness in the performances actually makes you forget these are actors. Though we begin by warming up to the ethnic/race differences among the players, soon enough, Amin skirts their inter-racial conflicts behind the uniform, the great leveller."
Anil Sinanan of The Times
adds that, "First time director Shimit Amin has fashioned a gripping film: we keep rooting for our girls even though it is fairly obvious what the final result will be. This is achieved via a script which eliminates most of the usual trappings of the formula, and focuses on the game. Romance is absent, parents are sidelined and no one breaks out into song and dance, Lagaan-style whilst training." Jaspreet Pandohar of The BBC
gave Chak De! India 4 out of 5 stars stating that, "while the tale of the sporting underdog is hardly new, Jaideep Sahni's screenplay offers a rare look at a popular Indian sport often overshadowed by cricket. But it's not the type of bat and ball, or the number of practice sessions that are at issue here. Instead, the gender and personal prejudices of the players underpin the story." Andy Webster of The New York Times
argues that the film gave a fresh look to the conventional underdog sports film and compared the premise to the win at the FIFA Women's World Cup
. Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter
argues that the film is "definitely Bollywood, ashamed of neither sentimentality nor predictability. Yet its sharp-eyed view of Indian society makes for a world of difference from old-style, sugar-coated Bollywood films." Derek Elley of Variety
describes the film as "a patriotic heartwarmer that scores some old-fashioned entertainment goals" and that it "is almost an anthem for India's new-found economic clout and its recent 60th-anniversary celebrations of independence from U.K. rule -- and it gets a stirring title song from composing team Salim-Sulaiman and lyricist Jaideep Sahni (who also scripted). Thus, it's hardly a surprise when the team of 16 girls from all over India finally get it together to beat the bejeezus out of their international opponents." Apart from critics, Chak De! India tied with Taare Zameen Par
for best film of 2007 according to various Bollywood movie directors such as Madhur Bhandarkar
, David Dhawan
, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra
, Anurag Basu, and Sriram Raghavan
.
On 30 August 2007, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
requested a copy of the Chak De! India script for a place in the Margaret Herrick
library
.
, The International Indian Film Academy Awards
(IIFA), The Star Screen Awards
, The UNFPA
-Laadli Media Awards, The V. Shantaram
Awards, and The Zee Cine Awards
. It also received the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment
.
, South Africa
in order to welcome the Indian Women's National Field Hockey Team
. The SPAR Cup is a lead up to the 2009 Hockey Champions Challenge in October. India competed against three other teams: Hockeyroos
, Las Leonas
, and the South African Women's National Field Hockey Team
.
used the film to label the event in two articles titled, "Operation Chak De impact: Jothikumaran resigns" and "Operation Chak de impact: Furore in Lok Sabha". The Indiatimes, in an article titled, "Five wise men set for a Chak De act" also argued, "It looks like Indian hockey has done a real Chak de this time around". In addition, former hockey player, Aslam Sher Khan
, who was appointed by the Indian Olympic Association to head a committee which will replace the IHF, pointed to the film as a model to work towards. He stated in an interview, "We have to make a Team India as you have seen in bollywood blockbuster Chak De! India. There are players from several parts of the country. We have to unite them to make a powerful force." In another interview, he emphasized that he wants "to create a Chak De effect" on hockey in India.
with lyrics by Jaideep Sahni
. The title song "Chak De! India
" has become an unofficial sports anthem for India
. Salim-Sulaiman
composed the song with this intention.
on 3 November 2007 as a 2 disc pack. Subtitles in English, Arabic, Spanish, Dutch, Portuguese, Tamil and Malayalam languages are available for the feature film. The companion disc with special features includes 32 minutes of deleted scenes (without subtitles), music videos, a documentary on the making of the film, and guest appearances by the Chak De Girls and members of the India women's national field hockey team
on CNN-IBN and NDTV.
Field hockey in India
Hockey is the national sport of India.The Indian men's hockey team is the most successful hockey team in Olympic history with 8 gold, 1 silver, and 2 bronze medals.-New Committee :...
. It is directed by Shimit Amin
Shimit Amin
Shimit Amin is an Indian film director and editor. He is best known for the award winning film Chak De! India .Amin was born in Uganda but grew up in Florida, in the United States.He entered the film industry straight out of college, working primarily on independent films in Los Angeles.He is...
, produced by Yash Raj Films
Yash Raj Films
Yash Raj Films is an Indian Entertainment company set up by Yash Chopra, an Indian film director and producer who is considered an entertainment mogul in India.-Initial years:...
, written by Jaideep Sahni
Jaideep Sahni
Jaideep Sahni is an Indian screenwriter, songwriter and producer, most known for screenplays of films like, Company , Khosla Ka Ghosla and Chak De! India . He is currently on contract with Yash Raj Films...
, sports action by ReelSports, and stars Shahrukh Khan
Shahrukh Khan
Shahrukh Khan , often credited as Shah Rukh Khan, is an Indian film actor, as well as a film producer and television host. Often referred to as "the King of Bollywood", Khan has acted in over 70 Hindi films....
as Kabir Khan, the former captain of the Indian hockey team
India national field hockey team
The India national field hockey team is the national men's team representing field hockey in India. It is the first non-European team to be a part of the International Hockey Federation....
. After a disastrous loss to the Pakistani hockey team
Pakistan national field hockey team
The Pakistan National Field Hockey Team also known as the Green Shirts represent the Pakistan Hockey Federation in international field hockey competitions. Field Hockey is the national sport of Pakistan...
, Khan is ostracized from the sport. He and his mother are further forced from their ancestral home by angry neighbors. Seven years later in an attempt to redeem himself, Khan becomes the coach for the India women's national field hockey team
India women's national field hockey team
The Indian women's national field hockey team is the national women's team representing field hockey in India. Captain Suraj Lata Devi led the team to the Gold for three consecutive years: during the 2002 Commonwealth Games , the 2003 Afro-Asian Games, and the 2004 Hockey Asia Cup...
with the goal of turning its sixteen contentious players into a champion team. After leading the women's team to the Gold, Khan restores his reputation and returns with his mother to their home, welcomed by those who had shunned them years before.
Chak De! India explores religious bigotry, the legacy of partition
Partition of India
The Partition of India was the partition of British India on the basis of religious demographics that led to the creation of the sovereign states of the Dominion of Pakistan and the Union of India on 14 and 15...
, ethnic and regional prejudice, and sexism in contemporary India through field hockey. Screenwriter Jaideep Sahni
Jaideep Sahni
Jaideep Sahni is an Indian screenwriter, songwriter and producer, most known for screenplays of films like, Company , Khosla Ka Ghosla and Chak De! India . He is currently on contract with Yash Raj Films...
decided to write a fictional screenplay based on the winning of the Gold by the Indian women's field hockey team at the 2002 Commonwealth Games
India at the 2002 Commonwealth Games
India participated in the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester. Notable among the players was the Indian women's hockey team. The team entered the finals after defeating the Australian women's national field hockey team. They went on to receive the Gold after winning the final game against the...
after reading about it in the newspaper. Thus the characters, while inspired by the real team and coaches, were invented by Sahni. Although some media outlets compared Kabir Khan to real-life hockey player Mir Ranjan Negi
Mir Ranjan Negi
Mir Ranjan Negi is a field hockey player and former goalkeeper of the India national field hockey team. He would later be involved with the development of the 2007 hit film, Chak De India.-1982 Asian Games:...
, Sahani has stated that he was unaware of Negi's tribulations while writing the script and that the resemblance with Negi's life was coincidental.
Earning over Rs 639 million
Million
One million or one thousand thousand, is the natural number following 999,999 and preceding 1,000,001. The word is derived from the early Italian millione , from mille, "thousand", plus the augmentative suffix -one.In scientific notation, it is written as or just 106...
, Chak De! India was the third highest grossing movie of 2007 in India and was critically acclaimed. Chak De! India has won numerous awards (including eight for Best Film) and received the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment
National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment
The National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment winners:1981 to 1984 and 1992, 1986 & 1977 No Award was given....
. The suspension of the Indian Hockey Federation in April 2008 emphasized the film's influence. After a new hockey council was formed, former hockey player, Aslam Sher Khan
Aslam Sher Khan
Aslam Sher Khan is an Indian hockey player and a former member of the Indian team. In the 1975 World Cup held at Kuala Lumpur, Aslam Sher Khan helped Indian Hockey Team to win the gold medal. He as a member of the Indian team also participated in Munich Olympics held in 1972. Aslam Sher Khan has...
, stated in an interview, "We have to make a Team India as you have seen in bollywood blockbuster Chak De! India. There are players from several parts of the country. We have to unite them to make a powerful force."
Plot
The film opens in Delhi, India during the final minutes of the Hockey World CupHockey World Cup
The Hockey World Cup is an international field hockey competition organised by the International Hockey Federation . The tournament was started in 1971...
. The game is between the Pakistan men's national field hockey team
Pakistan national field hockey team
The Pakistan National Field Hockey Team also known as the Green Shirts represent the Pakistan Hockey Federation in international field hockey competitions. Field Hockey is the national sport of Pakistan...
and the India men's national field hockey team
India national field hockey team
The India national field hockey team is the national men's team representing field hockey in India. It is the first non-European team to be a part of the International Hockey Federation....
, with Pakistan leading, 1-0. When Indian team captain and hockey superstar, Kabir Khan (Shahrukh Khan
Shahrukh Khan
Shahrukh Khan , often credited as Shah Rukh Khan, is an Indian film actor, as well as a film producer and television host. Often referred to as "the King of Bollywood", Khan has acted in over 70 Hindi films....
) is fouled, he elects to take the penalty stroke himself. However, his strike flies just above the goal, and India suffers a crushing defeat. Soon after, the media begins to circulate a photograph of him accepting a handshake from the head of the Pakistani team, speculating that Khan (who is a Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
) might have "thrown" the game as an act of sympathy towards Pakistan. The religious prejudice exhibited towards Khan by the entire society at large forces him and his mother out of their ancestral home and into exile.
Seven years later, Indian sport officials are surprised to learn that Khan wants to coach the Indian woman's field hockey team, a job no one else wants (an official claims the only long term role for women is to "cook and clean"). Khan thus finds himself in charge of a group of 16 women from all sections of India, who are divided by their own competitive natures and individual prejudices. One of the youngest players, Komal Chautala (Chitrashi Rawat
Chitrashi Rawat
Chitrashi Rawat is a state hockey player and an actress from India. She played the role of Komal Chautala, a member of the Indian women's national hockey team, in the movie Chak De India. At age 17, Chitrashi played left striker in hockey for Uttarakhand state in India...
) (from a village in Haryana
Haryana
Haryana is a state in India. Historically, it has been a part of the Kuru region in North India. The name Haryana is found mentioned in the 12th century AD by the apabhramsha writer Vibudh Shridhar . It is bordered by Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to the north, and by Rajasthan to the west and south...
) conflicts with Preeti Sabarwal (Sagarika Ghatge
Sagarika Ghatge
Sagarika Ghatge is an Indian actress. She was born in Kolhapur, Maharashtra, in a maratha family and went to Chatrapati Shahu Vidyalaya in Kolhapur until 8th grade. She completed her 10th and 12th grades at Mayo College Girls School, Ajmer, Rajasthan and her graduation from HR college, Mumbai...
) from Chandigarh
Chandigarh
Chandigarh is a union territory of India that serves as the capital of two states, Haryana and Punjab. The name Chandigarh translates as "The Fort of Chandi". The name is from an ancient temple called Chandi Mandir, devoted to the Hindu goddess Chandi, in the city...
whom she refers to derisively as "memsaab" while tough girl Balbir Kaur (Tanya Abrol
Tanya Abrol
Tanya Abrol is an Indian actress known for playing the role of Balbir Kaur, a member of the Indian women's national hockey team, in the sports oriented movie, Chak De India, starring Shahrukh Khan. Originally from Abohar, Tanya is a third year student at the MCM DAV College for Women, in...
) from the Punjab
Punjab (India)
Punjab ) is a state in the northwest of the Republic of India, forming part of the larger Punjab region. The state is bordered by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh to the east, Haryana to the south and southeast and Rajasthan to the southwest as well as the Pakistani province of Punjab to the...
has an extremely short temper that impacts the team. Balbir also bullies Rani Dispotta (Seema Azmi) and Soimoi Kerketa (Nisha Nair), who are both from remote villages in Jharkhand
Jharkhand
Jharkhand is a state in eastern India. It was carved out of the southern part of Bihar on 15 November 2000. Jharkhand shares its border with the states of Bihar to the north, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh to the west, Orissa to the south, and West Bengal to the east...
. Mary Ralte (Kimi Laldawla) from Mizoram
Mizoram
Mizoram is one of the Seven Sister States in North Eastern India, sharing borders with the states of Tripura, Assam, Manipur and with the neighbouring countries of Bangladesh and Burma. Mizoram became the 23rd state of India on 20 February 1987. Its capital is Aizawl. Mizoram is located in the...
and Molly Zimik (Masochon "Chon Chon" Zimik) from Manipur
Manipur
Manipur is a state in northeastern India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. Manipur is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west; it also borders Burma to the east. It covers an area of...
(in North-East India
North-East India
Northeast India refers to the easternmost region of India consisting of the contiguous Seven Sister States, Sikkim, and parts of North Bengal...
) are both treated as "foreign" by virtually everyone they meet and face repeated sexual harassment. The team's captain, Vidya Sharma (Vidya Malvade
Vidya Malvade
Vidya Malvade is an Indian actress, mainly working in the Bollywood film industry.-Personal:She studied Law and worked as an air hostess. Her husband, Capt. Arvind Singh Bagga was working as a pilot with Alliance Air. He died in 2000 when his flight Alliance Air Flight 7412, collided with a...
), is forced to choose between hockey and the wishes of her husband's family, while Preeti's boyfriend, the (fictional) vice captain of the India national cricket team Abimanyu Singh (Vivan Bhatena
Vivan Bhatena
Vivan Bhatena is an Indian model and actor. He portrayed the role of the vice captain of the India national cricket team, Abimanyu Singh, in the 2007 hit film, Chak De India.-Background:...
), is deeply threatened by her involvement with the team.
Khan realizes that he can only turn the girls into a winning team if he can help them to overcome these divisions and learn to cooperate with and help each other. Thus during the first few days, he benches a number of players who refuse to conform to his rules, including the most experienced player, Bindia Naik (Shilpa Shukla
Shilpa Shukla
Shilpa Shukla is an actress known for playing the role of Bindiya Naik, a member of the Indian women's national hockey team, in the sports-oriented movie Chak De India, starring Shahrukh Khan...
). In response, she repeatedly attempts to encourage the players to revolt against Khan. Bindia finally succeeds and in anger, Khan resigns. As a sign of good will, however, he invites the staff and team to a going away lunch. The anger that the team felt towards Khan and each other evaporates, however, when some local boys make a pass at Mary and Molly. In response Balbir attacks them, an act which leads to a brawl between the boys and the entire team. Khan, recognizing that this is their first instance of working together as a team, repeatedly prevents the staff from intervening. His only action is to stop a man from striking one of the women with a cricket bat
Cricket bat
A cricket bat is a specialised piece of equipment used by batsmen in the sport of cricket to hit the ball. It is usually made of willow wood. Its use is first mentioned in 1624....
from behind, telling him that there are no cowards (with a double entendre meaning of the Hindi word for coward) in hockey. After the fight, the women (now bonded as a team) beg Khan to remain as their coach.
This newly found unity serves them through a series of additional challenges. When hockey officials suddenly decide not to send the women's team to Australia for The World Championship, the girls unite in a challenge match against the men's team. Despite losing this match, their superb performance on the field forces the officials to change their mind and send the team to The World Championship. Once in Australia, the team faces a number of difficult matches with teams such as the Hockeyroos
Hockeyroos
The Australia women's national field hockey team are Australia's national women's hockey team.Having played their first game in 1914,they are one of Australia’s most successful sporting teams, boasting three Olympic Gold...
(Australia), the Black Sticks Women
Black Sticks Women
The Black Sticks Women are the women's national field hockey team of New Zealand.-Summer Olympics:*1980 – Did not compete*1984 – Sixth place*1988 – Did not compete*1992 – Eighth place*1996 – Did not compete*2000 – Sixth place...
(New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
), the Las Leonas
Las Leonas
Argentina national women's field hockey team represents Argentina in women's field hockey. They are also known by the nickname Las Leonas, meaning "The Lionesses"...
(Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
), and the South Korean team
Korea women's national field hockey team
The South Korea women's national field hockey team is the national field hockey team of the Republic of Korea . It has participated in every Summer Olympic Games since 1988. The team is the silver medalist at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, and also at Atlanta in 1996. They also won the bronze...
(known for its use of the man-to-man marking technique). While initially still working to overcome their differences throughout the matches, the girls learn to act as a single unit. This move eventually leads them to victory and the restoration of Khan's good name. In doing so, they not only destroy the prejudices which once separated them, but prove to their families and country the merit of women's athletics. At the end, Khan returns with his mother to their ancestral home, welcomed by those who had shunned them years before and continues to be the Indian Women's field hockey coach.
Background
A short article about the winning of the Gold by the women's team at the 2002 Commonwealth GamesIndia at the 2002 Commonwealth Games
India participated in the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester. Notable among the players was the Indian women's hockey team. The team entered the finals after defeating the Australian women's national field hockey team. They went on to receive the Gold after winning the final game against the...
inspired screenwriter Jaideep Sahni to create a film about the Indian Women's Hockey Team
India women's national field hockey team
The Indian women's national field hockey team is the national women's team representing field hockey in India. Captain Suraj Lata Devi led the team to the Gold for three consecutive years: during the 2002 Commonwealth Games , the 2003 Afro-Asian Games, and the 2004 Hockey Asia Cup...
. Director Shamit Amin noted the lack of coverage of the women's team by the media and stated that "there are a lot of odds these players are up against".
The media often compared hockey player Mir Ranjan Negi
Mir Ranjan Negi
Mir Ranjan Negi is a field hockey player and former goalkeeper of the India national field hockey team. He would later be involved with the development of the 2007 hit film, Chak De India.-1982 Asian Games:...
(who faced accusations of throwing the match against Pakistan during the 1982 Asian Games
1982 Asian Games
The 9th Asian Games were held from November 19, 1982 to December 4, 1982 in Delhi, India.An incredible 74 Asian and Asian Games records were broken. This was also the first Asiad to be held under the aegis of the Olympic Council of Asia.-Sports:...
) with the character of Kabir Khan in the media. In response Negi commented that, "this movie is not a documentary of Mir Ranjan Negi's life". Sahani has also stated that he was unaware of Negi's tribulations while writing the script and that the resemblance with Negi's life was coincidental. Negi joined the production team after his name was suggested by the national coach of the women's team Maharaj Krishan Kaushik
Maharaj Krishan Kaushik
Maharaj Krishan Kaushik is a former member of the India national field hockey team and is former coach of the Indian women's national field hockey team. He was a member of the team when it won the gold medal at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow.In 1998, he received the Arjuna Award...
, who was with the team when it won the Commonwealth Games' gold
India at the 2002 Commonwealth Games
India participated in the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester. Notable among the players was the Indian women's hockey team. The team entered the finals after defeating the Australian women's national field hockey team. They went on to receive the Gold after winning the final game against the...
in 2002.
The screenplay drew from interviews with current members of the women's field hockey team as well as the coaches. Kaushik later noted that:
- Many of the incidents shown in the movie are true. How the coach actually throws a girl out when she is not listening, and then goes out himself and there are three to four other girls also standing there because they disobeyed his instructions. This happened with Pritam SiwachPritam Rani SiwachPritam Rani Siwach is a former captain of the Indian women's hockey team. In 2008, she was recalled to join the team for the Olympic qualifiers in order to bring an "additional wealth of experience." After the team did not qualify for the Olympics, Siwach stated in an interview, "We are not that...
[...] The scene where they start fighting, happened to us when we were returning from a game in Bangalore, and some boys started passing comments [...] The actual game-situations we had to actually challenge another team after being disallowed from participating in an international tournament's qualifiers, and give it in writing, that we will qualify [...] And lastly the coach's portrayal, he goes to the match on a scooter. The team wins, but he still returns on a scooter. So the Coach's stature and status, you know, is always here.
In addition, Sahni noted that, "the story of Chak De was deeply inspired by the real life story of ex Chief National Coach Maharaj Krishan Kaushik and his Indian Women's hockey team's real feat of winning the Commonwealth and many other championships."
Development
After Sahini approached them both, Kaushik and Negi became involved with the development of the film. Sahini first met with Kaushik and later recalled that, "M K Kaushik and his girls taught us all we knew about hockey. Then he recommended Negi to us, because when we finished writing and finished casting, we needed someone to train the girls. Negi assembled a team of hockey players to train the girls." Kaushik also states in the same interview that, "I taught him everything about the game, starting from how the camp is conducted, how the girls come from different backgrounds and cultures, the psychological factors involved. Also how the coach faces pressure to select girls from different states and teams."Sahini then contacted Negi and asked him to coach the actors portraying the hockey team. While not initially enthusiastic about being involved in the film, Negi changed his mind after reading the screenplay. Negi coached the cast stating, "I trained the girls for six months. Waking up at 4, traveling from Kandivili to Churchgate. We would retire around 11 in the night. It was tiring. But we were on a mission [...] They couldn't run; couldn't hold the hockey sticks. I ensured none of them [would have to] cut their nails or eyebrows (as the players do). The girls have worked very hard. I salute them." Some of the actors however, such as Chitrashi, Sandia, and Raynia were cast because they were actual hockey players. ReelSports, under the direction of Sport Action Director Rob Miller, also worked with Negi to train the girls and Shahrukh Khan for the film. Of working with Khan, Negi recalled that everything was planned, "including the penalty stroke that SRK missed. That shot alone took us nearly 20 hours as I was keen that it should be very realistic. I took the help of a lot of my former teammates. But more importantly, it was so easy working with SRK. He is unbelievably modest and was willing to do as many re-takes as we wanted."
Salman Khan
Salman Khan
Salman Khan is an Indian film actor. He has starred in more than 80 Hindi films.Khan, who made his acting debut with a minor role in the drama Biwi Ho To Aisi with Rekha in a lead role, had his first commercial success with the blockbuster Maine Pyar Kiya , for which he won a Filmfare Award for...
was first offered the role of coach Kabir Khan, but refused because director Shimit Amin
Shimit Amin
Shimit Amin is an Indian film director and editor. He is best known for the award winning film Chak De! India .Amin was born in Uganda but grew up in Florida, in the United States.He entered the film industry straight out of college, working primarily on independent films in Los Angeles.He is...
refused to make a slight change in the climax.
Chak De! India was filmed in India and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. The Australian portions were filmed in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
and Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
and used 90 hockey players cast by ReelSports Solutions and 9000 extras.
Chak De girls
Shortly after the film's release, the media began referring to the 16 actresses who portrayed members of the team as the Chak De girls. The panel of judges at the Star Screen AwardsStar Screen Awards
The Star Screen Awards is an annual awards ceremony in India honoring professional excellence in film. The nomination and award selection is done by a panel of distinguished professional from the industry itself.- History :...
also used this term when they awarded the 2008 Star Screen Award for Best Supporting Actress to the Chak De girls.
- Aliya Bose (Anaitha NairAnaitha NairAnaitha Nair is an Indian film and theatre actress and singer, best known for playing the role of Aliya Bose, a member of the Indian women's national hockey team, in the sports-oriented film Chak De India , starring Shahrukh Khan....
), senior player, from West BengalWest BengalWest Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...
. - Balbir Kaur (Tanya AbrolTanya AbrolTanya Abrol is an Indian actress known for playing the role of Balbir Kaur, a member of the Indian women's national hockey team, in the sports oriented movie, Chak De India, starring Shahrukh Khan. Originally from Abohar, Tanya is a third year student at the MCM DAV College for Women, in...
), from PunjabPunjab (India)Punjab ) is a state in the northwest of the Republic of India, forming part of the larger Punjab region. The state is bordered by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh to the east, Haryana to the south and southeast and Rajasthan to the southwest as well as the Pakistani province of Punjab to the...
. - Bindia Naik (Shilpa ShuklaShilpa ShuklaShilpa Shukla is an actress known for playing the role of Bindiya Naik, a member of the Indian women's national hockey team, in the sports-oriented movie Chak De India, starring Shahrukh Khan...
), senior player from MaharashtraMaharashtraMaharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
. As the most experienced member of the team, Bindia is condescending towards everyone but her two best friends, Alia and Gunjun. She attempts to overthrow Khan after he refuses to give her power equal to her experience. - Gul Iqbal (Arya Menon), from Uttar PradeshUttar PradeshUttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
- Gunjun Lakhani (Shubhi Mehta), senior player from Andhra PradeshAndhra PradeshAndhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...
. - Komal Chautala (Chitrashi RawatChitrashi RawatChitrashi Rawat is a state hockey player and an actress from India. She played the role of Komal Chautala, a member of the Indian women's national hockey team, in the movie Chak De India. At age 17, Chitrashi played left striker in hockey for Uttarakhand state in India...
), from HaryanaHaryanaHaryana is a state in India. Historically, it has been a part of the Kuru region in North India. The name Haryana is found mentioned in the 12th century AD by the apabhramsha writer Vibudh Shridhar . It is bordered by Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to the north, and by Rajasthan to the west and south...
. Komal's character is based on Mamta KharabMamta KharabMamta Kharab is the current captain of the Indian women's hockey team.During the 2002 Commonwealth Games, she scored the winning goal which gave India the Gold. She also served as the model for the character of Komal Chautala in the 2007 Bollywood hit, Chak De India.Now she is working in Haryana...
, the current captain of the Indian Women's Hockey TeamIndia women's national field hockey teamThe Indian women's national field hockey team is the national women's team representing field hockey in India. Captain Suraj Lata Devi led the team to the Gold for three consecutive years: during the 2002 Commonwealth Games , the 2003 Afro-Asian Games, and the 2004 Hockey Asia Cup...
. - Mary Ralte (Kimi Laldawla) Substitute and Penalty Stroke specialist from MizoramMizoramMizoram is one of the Seven Sister States in North Eastern India, sharing borders with the states of Tripura, Assam, Manipur and with the neighbouring countries of Bangladesh and Burma. Mizoram became the 23rd state of India on 20 February 1987. Its capital is Aizawl. Mizoram is located in the...
. - Molly Zimik (Masochon "Chon Chon" Zimik), from ManipurManipurManipur is a state in northeastern India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. Manipur is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west; it also borders Burma to the east. It covers an area of...
. Mary and Molly are from North-East IndiaNorth-East IndiaNortheast India refers to the easternmost region of India consisting of the contiguous Seven Sister States, Sikkim, and parts of North Bengal...
and are initially treated as "foreign" by their teammates. - Nethra Reddy (Sandia FurtadoSandia FurtadoSandia Furtado is an Indian actress who has risen to fame with her portrayal of the character Nethra Reddy, a member of the Indian women's national hockey team, in the Hindi "Bollywood" film "Chak De India". She was also recently featured in the CNN IBN Citizens Journalist commercial.- Personal...
), from Andhra PradeshAndhra PradeshAndhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...
. - Nichola Sequeira (Nichola Sequeira), is from MaharashtraMaharashtraMaharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
. - Preeti Sabarwal (Sagarika GhatgeSagarika GhatgeSagarika Ghatge is an Indian actress. She was born in Kolhapur, Maharashtra, in a maratha family and went to Chatrapati Shahu Vidyalaya in Kolhapur until 8th grade. She completed her 10th and 12th grades at Mayo College Girls School, Ajmer, Rajasthan and her graduation from HR college, Mumbai...
), the ChandigarhChandigarhChandigarh is a union territory of India that serves as the capital of two states, Haryana and Punjab. The name Chandigarh translates as "The Fort of Chandi". The name is from an ancient temple called Chandi Mandir, devoted to the Hindu goddess Chandi, in the city...
team captain. Her boyfriend Abimanyu Singh (Vivan BhatenaVivan BhatenaVivan Bhatena is an Indian model and actor. He portrayed the role of the vice captain of the India national cricket team, Abimanyu Singh, in the 2007 hit film, Chak De India.-Background:...
) is the (fictional) vice captain of the India national cricket team who doesn't take her commitment to field hockey very seriously. - Rachna Prasad (Kimberly Miranda), from BiharBiharBihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....
. - Rani Dispotta (Seema AzmiSeema AzmiSeema Azmi is an Indian cinema and theatre actress. films - Chak De India & Saas bahu aur Sensex.- Biography :Seema Azmi started her acting career with eminent Theatre director Arvind Gaur.She joined Asmita theatre group, Delhi in 1996...
), from JharkhandJharkhandJharkhand is a state in eastern India. It was carved out of the southern part of Bihar on 15 November 2000. Jharkhand shares its border with the states of Bihar to the north, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh to the west, Orissa to the south, and West Bengal to the east...
. Rani moved from a jungle village to Ranchi and learned how to survive among her urban-born classmates. - Raynia Fernandes (Raynia Mascerhanas).
- Soimoi Kerketa (Nisha Nair), Substitute from JharkhandJharkhandJharkhand is a state in eastern India. It was carved out of the southern part of Bihar on 15 November 2000. Jharkhand shares its border with the states of Bihar to the north, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh to the west, Orissa to the south, and West Bengal to the east...
. Also from a jungle village, Soimoi struggles with language and fitting in. - Vidya Sharma (Vidya MalvadeVidya MalvadeVidya Malvade is an Indian actress, mainly working in the Bollywood film industry.-Personal:She studied Law and worked as an air hostess. Her husband, Capt. Arvind Singh Bagga was working as a pilot with Alliance Air. He died in 2000 when his flight Alliance Air Flight 7412, collided with a...
), Goalie and Captain from Madhya PradeshMadhya PradeshMadhya Pradesh , often called the Heart of India, is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and Indore is the largest city....
. Former goalkeeper for The Railways. Recently married, Vidya's husband attempts to force her to choose between hockey and family.
Box office
Chak De! India was released worldwide on 10 August 2007. Despite having a below average opening,it became the third top grossing movie of 2007 in India, with revenues of Rs 67,69,00,000 domestically, and was declared a "Blockbuster." In the U.S, it opened at number 20, in the UK charts at number 11, and in Australia at number 12. It earned a total Rs 35 million in the United Kingdom, Rs 47.5 million in North America, and Rs 35 million for the rest of the overseas proceeds.Critical reception
The review aggregator Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
gave Chak De! India a rating of 80%, based upon 5 reviews (4 fresh and 1 rotten).
Chak De! India was critically acclaimed in India and abroad. Subhash K. Jha (film critic and author of The Essential Guide to Bollywood) gave the film a rave review stating, "First things first. Chak De India is an outright winner. A triumph of the spirit. And of craftsmanship. While director Shimit Amin has crafted a film with immense staying power , and exception integrity and gusto, the thought-process behind the endearing endeavour harks back to a series of well-crafted Hollywood films about the team spirit, the low-spirited tream and the burnt-out disgraced and exiled coach who motivates the team and galvanizes his own dormant spirit into a wide-alert status." Nikhat Kazmi
Nikhat Kazmi
Nikhat Kazmi is a senior correspondent and well-known film critic from India, who has been writing for The Times of India, since 1987.-Books:* If Shakespeare was a gun: a play. Writers Workshop, 1984....
of The Times of India gave the film 4 out of 4 stars and argues that it has "great performances by a bunch of unknowns, a gritty pace and a marvellous restraint make Chakde India an unbridled ode to patriotism without any hysterical chest-beating. And yes, for all you SRK fans and bashers, this time the verdict gotta be unanimous: Chakde Shah Rukh! Can you better this?" India Today
India Today
India Today is an Indian weekly news magazine published by Living Media India Limited, in publication since 1975 based in Mumbai. India Today is also the name of its sister-publication in Hindi...
describes Chak De! India as, "the most feisty girl power
Girl Power
The phrase "girl power", as a term of empowerment, expressed a cultural phenomenon of the 1990s and early 2000s. It is also linked to third-wave feminism...
movie to have come out of Bollywood
Bollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
ever. The girls, from the truculent Haryanvi Komal to the angry Bindiya, from the Punjabi Balbir to the very proper Punjabi, Chandigarh ki kudi Preeti, may be drawn from stereotypes but they shatter them with aggressive performances, staring Khan in the eye, almost defeating the Indian men's hockey team, assaulting a gang of boys and showing the six-time Australian team a thing or two about how to win." Sudhish Kamath of The Hindu
The Hindu
The Hindu is an Indian English-language daily newspaper founded and continuously published in Chennai since 1878. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, it has a circulation of 1.46 million copies as of December 2009. The enterprise employed over 1,600 workers and gross income reached $40...
asks "when did we last make a solid ensemble film about sports — one that's not about a few players saving the day but about the triumph of teamwork? Chak De is that rare film where the hero watches from the stands and lets a bunch of 'what's-her-name-again' girls do all the winning [...] At another level, Chak De is about women's liberation. It is one of the best feminist films of our times. Next, the girls themselves are the closest we've seen to a representation of India in any sports movie we've seen. They are not 16 pretty young things. The casting is first-rate. The rawness in the performances actually makes you forget these are actors. Though we begin by warming up to the ethnic/race differences among the players, soon enough, Amin skirts their inter-racial conflicts behind the uniform, the great leveller."
Anil Sinanan of The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
adds that, "First time director Shimit Amin has fashioned a gripping film: we keep rooting for our girls even though it is fairly obvious what the final result will be. This is achieved via a script which eliminates most of the usual trappings of the formula, and focuses on the game. Romance is absent, parents are sidelined and no one breaks out into song and dance, Lagaan-style whilst training." Jaspreet Pandohar of The BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
gave Chak De! India 4 out of 5 stars stating that, "while the tale of the sporting underdog is hardly new, Jaideep Sahni's screenplay offers a rare look at a popular Indian sport often overshadowed by cricket. But it's not the type of bat and ball, or the number of practice sessions that are at issue here. Instead, the gender and personal prejudices of the players underpin the story." Andy Webster of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
argues that the film gave a fresh look to the conventional underdog sports film and compared the premise to the win at the FIFA Women's World Cup
FIFA Women's World Cup
The FIFA Women's World Cup is an international association football competition contested by the senior women's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body. The championship has been awarded every four years since the...
. Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter
The Hollywood Reporter
Formerly a daily trade magazine, The Hollywood Reporter re-launched in late 2010 as a unique hybrid publication serving the entertainment industry and a consumer audience...
argues that the film is "definitely Bollywood, ashamed of neither sentimentality nor predictability. Yet its sharp-eyed view of Indian society makes for a world of difference from old-style, sugar-coated Bollywood films." Derek Elley of Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
describes the film as "a patriotic heartwarmer that scores some old-fashioned entertainment goals" and that it "is almost an anthem for India's new-found economic clout and its recent 60th-anniversary celebrations of independence from U.K. rule -- and it gets a stirring title song from composing team Salim-Sulaiman and lyricist Jaideep Sahni (who also scripted). Thus, it's hardly a surprise when the team of 16 girls from all over India finally get it together to beat the bejeezus out of their international opponents." Apart from critics, Chak De! India tied with Taare Zameen Par
Taare Zameen Par
Taare Zameen Par is a 2007 Bollywood drama film directed by Aamir Khan, written by Amole Gupte, and produced by Aamir Khan Productions. Gupte initially developed the idea with his wife Deepa Bhatia, who served as the film's editor...
for best film of 2007 according to various Bollywood movie directors such as Madhur Bhandarkar
Madhur Bhandarkar
Madhur Bhandarkar is a National Award-winning Indian film director, script writer, and producer. He is best known for his films such as Chandni Bar , Page 3 , Traffic Signal , and Fashion...
, David Dhawan
David Dhawan
David Dhawan is an Indian film director. He has studied at the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune.-Career:Dhawan started off as an editor and then took the plunge into directing...
, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra
Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra
Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra is an Indian filmmaker and screenwriter. He is best known for writing and directing Rang De Basanti , for which he won Best Director awards at the 2006 Filmfare Awards and National Film Awards and received a BAFTA Award nomination for Best Foreign Language Film...
, Anurag Basu, and Sriram Raghavan
Sriram Raghavan
Sriram Raghavan is an Indian film director and screen writer. He is notable for producing a 45-minute documentary on Indian serial killer Raman Raghav and 2004 Hindi feature film Ek Hasina Thi produced by Ram Gopal Varma, starring Urmila Matondkar and Saif Ali Khan. His second feature film was...
.
On 30 August 2007, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the arts and sciences of motion pictures...
requested a copy of the Chak De! India script for a place in the Margaret Herrick
Margaret Herrick
Margaret Herrick , was the librarian and director of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Herrick is generally credited with naming the Academy Award an "Oscar", declaring the statuettes "looked just like my Uncle Oscar"...
library
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
.
Awards
Chak De! India has won numerous awards including eight for Best Film from: The Apsara Film & Television Producers Guild, The Australian Indian Film Festival, The Billie AwardsBillie Awards
The Billie Awards was an annual awards ceremony in Los Angeles, California first held by the Women's Sports Foundation in 2006.-2008 Billie Awards:...
, The International Indian Film Academy Awards
International Indian Film Academy Awards
The International Indian Film Academy Awards, also known as the IIFA Awards are presented annually by the International Indian Film Academy to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in Bollywood, the Hindi language film industry. Instituted in 2000, the ceremony is held in...
(IIFA), The Star Screen Awards
Star Screen Awards
The Star Screen Awards is an annual awards ceremony in India honoring professional excellence in film. The nomination and award selection is done by a panel of distinguished professional from the industry itself.- History :...
, The UNFPA
United Nations Population Fund
The United Nations Population Fund is a UN organization. The work of the UNFPA involves promotion of the right of every woman, man and child to enjoy a life of health and equal opportunity. This is done through major national and demographic surveys and with population censuses...
-Laadli Media Awards, The V. Shantaram
V. Shantaram
V. Shantaram is a renowned Indian filmmaker, film producer and actor. He is most known for his films like Dr...
Awards, and The Zee Cine Awards
Zee Cine Awards
The Zee Cine Awards or "ZCA" for short is an awards ceremony for the Hindi film industry. It was first held in 1998 in Mumbai. Since then, it has gained substantial popularity as a notable awards ceremony to the Indian population as well as to the viewers of Zee Network.In 2004, the ZCA went...
. It also received the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment
National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment
The National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment winners:1981 to 1984 and 1992, 1986 & 1977 No Award was given....
.
Special screenings
Chak De! India was screened on 30 May 2009 at the opening of the SPAR Cup in DurbanDurban
Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
in order to welcome the Indian Women's National Field Hockey Team
India women's national field hockey team
The Indian women's national field hockey team is the national women's team representing field hockey in India. Captain Suraj Lata Devi led the team to the Gold for three consecutive years: during the 2002 Commonwealth Games , the 2003 Afro-Asian Games, and the 2004 Hockey Asia Cup...
. The SPAR Cup is a lead up to the 2009 Hockey Champions Challenge in October. India competed against three other teams: Hockeyroos
Hockeyroos
The Australia women's national field hockey team are Australia's national women's hockey team.Having played their first game in 1914,they are one of Australia’s most successful sporting teams, boasting three Olympic Gold...
, Las Leonas
Las Leonas
Argentina national women's field hockey team represents Argentina in women's field hockey. They are also known by the nickname Las Leonas, meaning "The Lionesses"...
, and the South African Women's National Field Hockey Team
South Africa women's national field hockey team
The South Africa women's national field hockey team is the national women's field hockey team of South Africa that participates in international matches and tournaments...
.
Suspension of IHF
The suspension of the Indian Hockey Federation in April 2008 emphasized the film's influence. India TodayIndia Today
India Today is an Indian weekly news magazine published by Living Media India Limited, in publication since 1975 based in Mumbai. India Today is also the name of its sister-publication in Hindi...
used the film to label the event in two articles titled, "Operation Chak De impact: Jothikumaran resigns" and "Operation Chak de impact: Furore in Lok Sabha". The Indiatimes, in an article titled, "Five wise men set for a Chak De act" also argued, "It looks like Indian hockey has done a real Chak de this time around". In addition, former hockey player, Aslam Sher Khan
Aslam Sher Khan
Aslam Sher Khan is an Indian hockey player and a former member of the Indian team. In the 1975 World Cup held at Kuala Lumpur, Aslam Sher Khan helped Indian Hockey Team to win the gold medal. He as a member of the Indian team also participated in Munich Olympics held in 1972. Aslam Sher Khan has...
, who was appointed by the Indian Olympic Association to head a committee which will replace the IHF, pointed to the film as a model to work towards. He stated in an interview, "We have to make a Team India as you have seen in bollywood blockbuster Chak De! India. There are players from several parts of the country. We have to unite them to make a powerful force." In another interview, he emphasized that he wants "to create a Chak De effect" on hockey in India.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack for Chak De! India was released on 1 August 2007 and is composed by Salim-SulaimanSalim-Sulaiman
Salim Merchant And Sulaiman Merchant are a musical duo of brothers, born and brought up in Bhuj, Kutch, India. They belong to Ismaili Muslim family and are inspired by their father Sadruddin Merchant, who used to lead Ismaili Scouts Orchestra in India..Steeped in a family tradition of music as the...
with lyrics by Jaideep Sahni
Jaideep Sahni
Jaideep Sahni is an Indian screenwriter, songwriter and producer, most known for screenplays of films like, Company , Khosla Ka Ghosla and Chak De! India . He is currently on contract with Yash Raj Films...
. The title song "Chak De! India
Chak De India (song)
Chak De! India is the title song of the 2007 Hindi sports film Chak De! India....
" has become an unofficial sports anthem for India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. Salim-Sulaiman
Salim-Sulaiman
Salim Merchant And Sulaiman Merchant are a musical duo of brothers, born and brought up in Bhuj, Kutch, India. They belong to Ismaili Muslim family and are inspired by their father Sadruddin Merchant, who used to lead Ismaili Scouts Orchestra in India..Steeped in a family tradition of music as the...
composed the song with this intention.
Home media
The DVD and Blu-ray Disc were released by Yash Raj FilmsYash Raj Films
Yash Raj Films is an Indian Entertainment company set up by Yash Chopra, an Indian film director and producer who is considered an entertainment mogul in India.-Initial years:...
on 3 November 2007 as a 2 disc pack. Subtitles in English, Arabic, Spanish, Dutch, Portuguese, Tamil and Malayalam languages are available for the feature film. The companion disc with special features includes 32 minutes of deleted scenes (without subtitles), music videos, a documentary on the making of the film, and guest appearances by the Chak De Girls and members of the India women's national field hockey team
India women's national field hockey team
The Indian women's national field hockey team is the national women's team representing field hockey in India. Captain Suraj Lata Devi led the team to the Gold for three consecutive years: during the 2002 Commonwealth Games , the 2003 Afro-Asian Games, and the 2004 Hockey Asia Cup...
on CNN-IBN and NDTV.
External links
- Official website
- Chak De India at BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...