5. Chak De! India
Chak De! India begins when Kabir Khan, captain of the Indian men's hockey team, misses a penalty in the World Championship finals, leading to Pakistan winning the match. Kabir Khan is branded a traitor, and driven not just out of the team but out of the country. Seven years later he returns to coach the women's hockey team, which is underfunded, divided by their own prejudices, and battling sexism at every turn. They've never won anything, and aren't expected to do any better in the next World Championships.
You can probably guess the ending from that.
I did enjoy this film, but had a few problems with it. One was the emphasis on Kabir. It was his emotional journey that recieved most attention, he was the one who made all the big speeches and decisions, and he was generally the character who drove the plot forwards. This was described to me as the most feminist Bollywood film ever, but I'm not sure how feminist a film can be if it's based around a man inspiring and guiding a team to victory.
It's also a pity because I'd have loved for more attention to have been given to some of the women: I loved Preeti and Komal, Vidja and Balbir, and even Bindia. I'd have loved for them all to get more screen time. I did also get annoyed during the India vs England match, as they kept calling the England squad Great Britain, and were using the Union Jack. Which is less central to the plot, I admit, but it still got on my nerves!
But, despite that, there were some moments I loved. The McDonalds scene was fantastic, I loved the match against the men's team, despite the predictable ending it stayed entertaining, and I loved the clips played over the final credits (what happened to each woman as she arrived home).
So, overall: I liked this film, thought it had some great moments, and loved some of the characters. But I also felt a little disappointed it was so focused around their male coach.
You can probably guess the ending from that.
I did enjoy this film, but had a few problems with it. One was the emphasis on Kabir. It was his emotional journey that recieved most attention, he was the one who made all the big speeches and decisions, and he was generally the character who drove the plot forwards. This was described to me as the most feminist Bollywood film ever, but I'm not sure how feminist a film can be if it's based around a man inspiring and guiding a team to victory.
It's also a pity because I'd have loved for more attention to have been given to some of the women: I loved Preeti and Komal, Vidja and Balbir, and even Bindia. I'd have loved for them all to get more screen time. I did also get annoyed during the India vs England match, as they kept calling the England squad Great Britain, and were using the Union Jack. Which is less central to the plot, I admit, but it still got on my nerves!
But, despite that, there were some moments I loved. The McDonalds scene was fantastic, I loved the match against the men's team, despite the predictable ending it stayed entertaining, and I loved the clips played over the final credits (what happened to each woman as she arrived home).
So, overall: I liked this film, thought it had some great moments, and loved some of the characters. But I also felt a little disappointed it was so focused around their male coach.