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alexiscartwheelI can't remember if I mentioned it here before or not, but I really like Bollywood movies. It all started back in high school when I was working at the public libraries. I used to check out random videos from the foreign section, and one day I picked out Kabhi Kushi Kabhie Gham, which is over three hours of singing, dancing, humor, and heaps of melodrama. I was completely sold!
My latest Netflix selection Chak De! India, like Kabhi Kushi Kabhie Gham and my college roommate's favorite Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, stars mega-star Shahrukh Khan. Imagine The Mighty Ducks with Indian women, and you're well on your way to understanding Chak De! India. Khan is the Emilio of this film, a disgraced former player accused of throwing the World Cup match against Pakistan, who returns to coach the national women's team. The women on the team are selected from the best players, but women's athletics aren't taken seriously, so they're not expected to amount to much. There are some requisite sports movie cliches--like the obligatory training montages or the crushing loss to a powerhouse team that makes the eventual victory that much sweeter--but they didn't take away from my enjoyment. Where The Mighty Ducks movies rely on a lot of cheesy jokes and slapstick, Chak De! India was more dramatic, and actually touched on some of the tensions facing the team from gender, class, racial, religious, and regional differences.
In a nutshell: a fun and energetic, if somewhat predictable, film about a hockey team worth cheering for.
My latest Netflix selection Chak De! India, like Kabhi Kushi Kabhie Gham and my college roommate's favorite Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, stars mega-star Shahrukh Khan. Imagine The Mighty Ducks with Indian women, and you're well on your way to understanding Chak De! India. Khan is the Emilio of this film, a disgraced former player accused of throwing the World Cup match against Pakistan, who returns to coach the national women's team. The women on the team are selected from the best players, but women's athletics aren't taken seriously, so they're not expected to amount to much. There are some requisite sports movie cliches--like the obligatory training montages or the crushing loss to a powerhouse team that makes the eventual victory that much sweeter--but they didn't take away from my enjoyment. Where The Mighty Ducks movies rely on a lot of cheesy jokes and slapstick, Chak De! India was more dramatic, and actually touched on some of the tensions facing the team from gender, class, racial, religious, and regional differences.
In a nutshell: a fun and energetic, if somewhat predictable, film about a hockey team worth cheering for.
