It’s been a decade since Kabir Khan and his ragtag team of hockey players captured the imagination of the country. Chak De! India, the rousing tale of a coach (played by Shah Rukh Khan) rallying a woman’s hockey team to victory, was directed by Shimit Amin and written by Jaideep Sahni. Chak De! India was more than just an ensemble sport film... it was also a rare feminist film at the time of its release. t2 sat down with Shimit and Jaideep at Yash Raj Studio in Mumbai’s Andheri recently to talk to them about The Film, 10 years on.
Do you remember where you were on August 10, 2007?
Jaideep Sahni: We weren’t here! (Laughs) The film was screening in Los Angeles. There was so much bad buzz about this film that we decided to run away (laughs). I remember I called Yashji (Chopra) on the first day and he told me, ‘Koi bhi nahin aaya’. He also said that he was very proud that we had made this film for his studio. The next day we heard that reactions were going through the roof!
Shimit Amin: But we weren’t here for that.
Jaideep: We were told people were dancing in the theatres and that kind of stuff. People asked us to come back and see this. We discussed it and then decided that it’s better if we don’t go back. We thought seeing all that adulation could spoil us.
What’s your one abiding memory of making this film?
Jaideep: The Indian women’s hockey team and the support staff liking the film. They had changed their ringtone to the title song. I spent a lot of time with them while researching the film. We caught up again after the film released.There were players from 40 years ago and current players who identified with the film. That was our primary responsibility, so we were satisfied to have fulfilled that.
Shimit: Like Jaideep said, there was the responsibility that we had to the actual sportswomen and their support staff. There was another team — the crew and the actors — that worked really hard on the film. The fact that they feel proud of the film is our biggest achievement.
Jaideep: We went from no one knowing about women athletes to everyone knowing about them. Being a tiny clog in that is very satisfying.
Chak De! India is one of Shah Rukh Khan’s best performances till date. What made you cast him?
Shimit: I only saw him as an actor. He started out doing indie films and theatre. He just had a realness that worked for the character. At that time, he had done Swades, which was fantastic. I guess he didn’t get offered that kind of roles often enough. Now he does… he was so good in Dear Zindagi.
In the climax, there’s a standout moment where the girls score the winning goal and you see a flicker of emotion on his face, but then he steps back from the spotlight...
Shimit: For me, the DNA of Kabir Khan are Adi (Aditya Chopra, the film’s producer) and Jaideep. When I see that character, I see so much of Adi and Jaideep in him.
Jaideep: That’s the strangest thing I’ve heard! (Laughs)
Shimit: The behaviour and nobility of this character where he doesn’t want the spotlight on himself.
Jaideep: Didn’t you also watch a lot of footage of non-cricket team matches? There was a volleyball match from the Olympics. A team won and they erupted and the coach just didn’t know what to do. And then he (Shimit) and Shah Rukh interpreted it in their own way.
Shimit: When you work so hard on something and when you achieve it, most of us don’t know how to react, right?
Are you in touch with the actresses who played the hockey players?
Jaideep: Off and on. They have all gone in different directions. They are all in touch with each other. They are still like a family. Even if I talk to one, I get news about everyone!
Do fans ask you questions about the film?
Shimit: Yeah. More than questions, people keep quoting dialogues to me. I remember there was an advertising client whose every single reaction to me was a dialogue from the film. And not just the famous lines. He’d say some obscure line and then I’d think, ‘That sounds familiar!’ (Laughs) When people quote lines to you, you know that they really liked the film. It’s deeper than ‘I love the film’.
Jaideep: Over the years, I have realised that this film means a lot to children. Also, women want to talk about certain scenes and characters. Every time that happens, I am reminded that three men made this film about young girls. We were just lucky that we didn’t make any glaring mistakes.
The title track of the film is forever linked to every sporting event in India...
Jaideep: All credit for that goes to Salim-Sulaiman and Sukhwinder (Singh) who sang it. And this was what Adi wanted. He gave us all the support we could have asked for and insulated us from the pressure of the business. In return, he asked for a sports anthem.
Shimit: He wanted the anthem to be something that would play at every sporting event in the country.
Jaideep: He said, ‘We don’t have a sports anthem in this country and that’s what this song has to be’. So, we made the song and to our shock it did end up becoming that song.
Shimit: We didn’t even know if the film was going to work but Adi was confident that the song would.
Jaideep: Both Sukhwinder and Salim-Sulaiman have told me that when they preform the song in shows, it brings the house down.
The last film both of you did together, Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year, was eight years ago. When can we expect the next one?
Shimit: We are working on stuff. I am heavily into advertising, which I love.
Jaideep: He won the prestigious Grand Prix at Cannes! I came into films after about 10 years in advertising and he’s gone into advertising after 20-odd years in films!
Shimit: I have learnt a lot about India through my advertising work. You get to understand the mindset of people from very diverse sections of society. I could be working with the people from Nirma and Amazon at the same time.
Jaideep, on the other hand, has been writing lyrics.
Jaideep: Yeah, someone recently told me that Nashe si chadh gayi (from Befikre) is apparently my 100th song. I had no idea.
Karishma Upadhyay
A fan on why this film is still such a fun watch. Chak De!
Shah Rukh Khan: Chak De! India is easily my favourite Shah Rukh Khan film. It’s not tough to figure out why — the superstar, known for his romantic roles, lives the role of Kabir Khan. A man with faults and foibles, but unwavering in his love for his country, giving us a flesh-and-blood underdog who we root for from start to finish. We cheer for him when he lectures his team of girls on why they have just “sattar minute” to prove themselves and our eyes well up when he fights back tears at the end. Thehraav, grit, the ability to fight back and just that whole look and feel of a no-nonsense leader… SRK makes KK (the team’s “gunda” in his words) one of the most endearing (and sexy) Bolly heroes of recent times. And has the man ever looked better?! Sexy stubble to crisp white shirt to those RayBan aviators.
The theme: A humiliated, down-and-out hockey captain returns to coach a no-hoper women’s team — and leads them to World Cup glory. Chak De!’s plot spells gold, merging the winner formula of the triumph of an underdog, a sports watch, women’s liberation and packaging them in an entertaining film, that somehow touches a chord even after repeated viewings. And yes, it’s a theme — women in sport not being given their due and an apathetic administration — that’s relevant even 10 years later. Just ask Mithali Raj and co.
The ‘Rakshaso Ki Sena’: There’s no way you will not shout out loud for the “lota belan chalaney waale Bharatiya naari” turned “rakshaso ki sena”. From when they gang up to beat up a bunch of eve-teasers at the local McDonald’s (even as coach Kabir sits silently seeing them bond as a team for the first time) to when they huddle together after winning the World Cup. And each one — from the feisty Komal Chautala to the sorted Vidya Sharma, the temperamental Balbir Kaur to the rebellious Bindiya Naik — remains memorable. Go, girls!
The moments: The girls squealing and screaming when cricket champ Abhimanyu Singh comes to their hostel to meet his fiancee and their teammate Preeti Sabharwal. When Kabir Khan slips on his RayBans and tells the girls, “Kal subah field pe theek paanch baje,” and they all trot out as a team. The men’s team holding up their hockey sticks as a mark of respect for the girls. The hockey matches, being played with Sukhwinder Singh singing, Kuch kariye kuch kariye... are just as gripping as when we watched them the first time.
The ‘I love my India’ feeling: “Mujhe states ke naam na sunai dete hain, na dikhai dete hain… sirf ek naam sunai deta hai… India.” These words from Kabir Khan still echo. There’s something about Chak De! that makes us proud to be Indian, without the film jangling with jingoism.
The lines: “Hamla saamne waale team ke goal pe nahin, dimaag pe karo… goal khud ba khud ho jayega.... Main taaqat nahin, neeyat dhoond raha hoon.... Tod do saalo ko… woh do maare tum chaar maaro”…. Chak De! has lines that are absolute winners, just like the film.
Sattar minute: Very rarely has Indian cinema seen such an inspiring monologue — delivered by Kabir Khan to his gang of girls before “tumhari zindagi ke sabse khaas sattar minute”. SRK was at his best in these three minutes that sum up all that’s best about Chak De! India. “Yeh sattar minute tumse koi nahin chheen sakta”. Yes!
The music: The title track, played out in Sukhwinder’s voice, has become a sporting anthem. But we also trip on the other Chak De! numbers — from the soulful Maula mere le le meri jaan to the spirited Ek hockey doongi rakh ke to the soothing Badal pe paaon hai.
The climax: It’s the final of the World Championship. India and Australia are tied 2-2 at the end of extra time. You know how exactly it’s going to play out, but just like the cycle race at the end of Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar, you have your heart in your mouth. Komal netting the first goal after two misses to Vidya making eye contact with coach Kabir Khan and then saving the final Aussie stroke. Goosebumps! Chak de!
Priyanka Roy
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