Chakde India - Movie with SRK

Strange as it may seem, in the four months to date that I have been in India, I have not seen a single movie (in the cinema) of my ultimate hero, Shah Rukh Khan. It seems that not only do we share a birthday (he's five years to the day older than me) but we also decided to take a bit of a break from the world at the same time.

SRK, King Khan, Master of Bollywood is back. Whether he laughs, cries, shows anger or aggression, is in love or plots vengeance, it shows from his body language that he is drawing on a past personal experience. In the ocean of schlock and overacting that characterizes Bollywood, Shah Rukh stands out, and perhaps alone, in being believable. He admits that, as opposed to when he began his career, nowadays it all comes easily to him. That's just proof positive of what a gift this man possesses.

Progressive social themes are a favorite of his. In Chakde India, he takes on several hot-button issues, and handles them all with panache.

The movie opens with SRK as Kabir Khan, captain of India's field hockey team, taking the final overtime penalty shot in the World Cup finals against Pakistan. This is the first film that I can remember that SRK plays the Muslim that he is. I can recall him as the good Hindu boy, making a progressive point in many films, and this flash of authenticity is most welcome. Kabir misses the shot, and India loses the match and the tournament. In a show of chivalry, Pakistan's team captain shakes his hand and offers an embrace, both of which are captured on film by the media, angered by the loss and always hungry for scandals and scapegoats. Was Kabir Khan a traitor to India? At the end of the sequence, he is drummed out of his home.

India's Muslims, some 20 or so percent of the population, have fought long and hard against suspicions that they are a fifth column for Pakistan. I have seen no small number of films where Muslim actors and directors, who are overrepresented in terms of their percentage in the general population in Hindi cinema, make the point again and again that they are Indian through and through. There seems to be a need to reaffirm their allegiance, which only says to me that it is still questioned, at least in subtext, throughout some of Hindu society.

Seven years after the World Cup debacle, appropriately set in Delhi, the nation's capital (and incidentally released just days before India's 60th Independence Day), Kabir Khan is called upon to coach a very unlikely girl's national field hockey team. Once again, SRK takes on reactionary figures to move, if only a few inches, towards modernity. In fact, the team is composed of girls from every region of this vast country, and the dynamic lends itself rather well to some good humor. There are even two girls from Northeastern states, who endure catcalls from Subcontinental men on several occasions, in one of which the girls of the team trash a McDonald's restaurant in a brawl defending them. I drew particular pleasure from the trashing of McDonald's: a symbol of imperialism at its very worst, and even though oddly satisfying on occasion when there is a particular yen for some truly disgusting junk food, it is a veritable culinary catastrophe in its Indian version.

No wonder Northeastern girls endure this type of humiliation. The natives of the seven northeastern states are ethnically much closer to Burmese and Thais than to Indians. There are a myriad of cultural differences, but one of them is that they don't negate women's sexuality and have much healthier attitudes in general as compared to Indians' messed up hypocritical "morality".

Perhaps a few more words should finally be said here about India's rule over the Northeastern states. Make no mistake about it: not one person can point a finger accusing me of not being a true friend of India. But friends can and also should level criticism where it is needed most. India is unwelcome by no small number of Northeasterners. These states should probably have become independent countries at the time of Independence, and India has hung on with a policy, at times, of brute force. Some states are under virtual military occupation, enduring terrible human rights abuses, about which the world remains almost completely ignorant. I'm not saying that I have a readymade solution on file; no doubt the issue is very complex. However the status quo is unacceptable, and more of India's friends should say so out loud.

Kabir Khan is a demanding coach. He is often harsh and difficult to please (though I would certainly try my best if given the chance). When initially denied permission to take his team to the Women's Field Hockey World Cup tournament in Australia, he responds with a challenge. If the girls can win a game against the boys’ team, they should be allowed to go and represent India. The game is played, and the girls lose 3-2. But they play a great game and are given the go-ahead to fly to Melbourne.

The second half of the movie is the series of games they play in the tournament. Predictably, they are thrashed in the first one 7-0 by host Australia. Likewise, they win in a penalty shootout in the final game against the same team, coming home as heroes, and vindicating Kabir Khan, who returns to his former Delhi home in the final scene.

When all is said and done, Shah Rukh Khan gives another stellar performance in a movie full of poignant issues and symbolism. My only disappointment is that there were no actual song and dance sequences, since I'm such a sucker for them. Nevertheless, that does not subtract from the film overall, and it should be seen now and noted for posterity for the social messages it so effectively relays.