Dangal is an emotional-biographical take on the life of Mahavir Singh Phogat from Haryana and his desire to bring Gold for his nation in wrestling. Wanting a son, he is disappointed when he is blessed with four daughters. Eventually, he realises that his girls could fulfill his dream too and the journey begins of the dictator-like father, training his daughters to become wrestlers. Fighting against the society, the traditions, his wife and eventually his daughter, will Mahavir’s dream finally come true?
Buzz:
Dangal is based on the life of Mahavir Singh Phogat, coach and father of Babita Kumari and Geeta Phogat, Commonwealth Games Gold Medallist wrestlers. Aamir Khan apparently, gained 22Kgs to play the role of an older, mature Mahavir Singh Phogat and later lost 25 Kgs to play his younger self. All done over a period of 5 months.
He also took some Haryanvi lessons to prepare his accent for the role. Over 3000 girls auditioned for the roles of Babita Kumari and Geeta Phogat. Kripa Shankar Bishnoi, coach of Junior Indian Women’s Wrestling, trained the girls for playing the role of wrestlers.
What To Anticipate:
Well, the perfectionist is back and the much anticipated movie of 2016 is in theatres near you. This is Nitesh Tiwari’s third film as director and his work is praiseworthy.
The first half of the movie is exciting, we see Mahavir Singh’s dream of winning a gold for India, disappointed at having girls and not sons, realising his daughter’s potential and fighting his wife, his society and even Geeta.
It’s the second half which feels a bit lagging, with Fatima Sana Sheikh as Geeta Phogat taking most of the screen space. The conflict between father and daughter over training and the over the top portrayal of nationalism over slogans and national anthem seems to be too deliberate, kept just to cash-in emotions of the public.
The wrestling scenes have been choreographed very well. The moves and the motivation feels authentic and not merely scripted.
The movie boasts of some clichéd stuff too. The rooting of the belief in the older techniques and moves rather than the modern training, the negative light projected on the National Sports Academy – things we have already seen in movies like Chak De India and Mary Kom. Just the setting has changed from any other sport to that of wrestling.
Talk about acting and the two child actors, Zaira and Suhani have done a fabulous job in representing the young daughters. The ordeals and the ways, these young girls are trained by their father to become wrestlers into a society where women are tied to the household works is well-portrayed. Sakshi Tanwar’s role as Khan’s wife complements the small part given to her.
It was admirable to see, Aamir Khan giving the spotlight to the girls in the movie, rather than keeping it all for himself.
The struggle remains the same when it comes to the breaking of stereotypical representation of women, but in the rightful representation that comes in the form of setting in the state of Haryana, it, all, seems very realistic and true to every bit.
Amitabh Bhattacharya’s lyrics and Pritam’s music is good, but besides the title track, Dangal (Voice: Daler Mehendi), the rest of the songs are merely helping-hands in the running of the story. But, they do so very well. The music turns inspiring, motivational, emotional and even daring as and whenever required in the movie.
Trailer: