Sunday, August 12, 2007

Chak De !


Stepping out of the hall, I casually asked my mother , “Kaisee lagee , ma?”.

Usually, asking my mother this question after a movie tells me how it is going to end up doing at the box office. She says ‘Theek Thaak’ and the movie is an average grosser. She says ‘Tu hamesha bekaar picchur hee dikhaata hai’ and the movie is a flop.She says ‘Chal iski ticket ka refund maangte hai’ and the movie is a mega flop with a high probability of the director's wife leaving him soon.

Getting back to the question posed earlier this day. “Acchi lagi. Sacchi mein dil kar raha tha ki humari team jeet jaye!” , she exclaimed, almost as excitedly as a teenaged tamil girl in the middle of a dinner date with Rajnikanth.

That was the moment when I knew this movie is going to be a hit. I mean, when a movie can make a 52 year old woman, with a spirit burdened by the strains of bringing up a son like me, say something like that, it sure can cause a young India to pump out adrenaline enough to fill up all the overhead water tanks in my colony.

It was only after my sister explained to me that I was turning into one of those work junkies who spend their lives changing column sizes on excel sheets and are finally found dead slumped on the keyboard by the office boy one morning, that I decided to take my mother and sister to ‘Chak De India’ at Metropolitan Mall in Gurgaon. Of course, my sister predicted other details like how no girl would agree to marry me if I continue to neglect human relations, but then , let us skip the gory part.

I attribute it to my innocence and ignorance of the female mind that I expected shopping would not be a part of the outing. When two Indian ladies step into a mall, evading shopping is like a cyclist trying to avoid being hit when caught in a race involving blueline buses. My consolation remains that in spite of a season ending sale on at most stores in the mall, there was enough space in the car for all of us and the shopping bags on our way back.

But coming back to the movie, I think King Khan underlines the fact that he can deliver a powerful performance with an unshaven face and without the overexcited romantic antics. It was refreshing to find a bollywood movie sans the girls-rotating-on-steel poles and muscular- guys-with-guns routine .It could have been a shade better if the guy sitting to my left could have used a more society friendly deodorant instead of the one he was wearing which smelt like the underpants of a pizza delivery boy on a hot sticky day. But notwithstanding that, I enjoyed the movie.

The story is as much a secret as Paris Hilton’s night life, so you don’t spend the movie all twitching in your seat and biting your nails till they cease to exist. But the pace of the movie, the normality of the team characters and the sheer spirit of an underdog taking the pants off their disapprovers carries it through.

No wonder that when our girls hit the winning stroke, many in the hall leapt to their feet, whooping in joy like schoolboys who find out the next class is not happening because the teacher has been diagnosed with chicken pox*(See Note).I suspect some of the overweight middle aged Punjabi aunties threw up their flabby arms too. Even the strange smelling guy next to me let out a gritty ‘Yesss’ , though that does not enhance my respect for his tastes in deodorants in any way.

*Note-Talking of unavailability of teachers, my fondest experience remains when our standard VII chemistry teacher got pregnant and the school could not find a replacement for us. For three happy months, we guys spent chemistry classes talking about girls and playing trump cards when we should have been memorizing the periodic table. Seldom has the birth of a child marked the death of happiness for so many children.

I particularly liked the part when the girls beat up a bunch of eve teasers. Due to some unexplained reason, I feel good when I find a girl beating up a guy. Though not that good that I would not walk up to a girl and say “Hey, please punch me. I have not felt good since morning!”.

Also, It must be particularly tough on the guys playing those eve teasers, even if it means starring in a Shahrukh movie. I mean, I can imagine the guy’s proud father watching the movie and pointing out to the people around him ‘See!See! That’s my son there! No, not the one being kicked by that bunch of Manipuri ladies. My son is the one in the yellow shirt, who was just thrown across the table by that Punjabi girl!’.

So even though I doubt the movie will spark off some kind of revolution and seven year old kids all over Punjab will start selling off their toys to buy hockey sticks, it is a decent experience. Dhoni posters will still sell like hot cakes and kids will still believe a hairstyle like Dhanraj Pillay’s is a punishment . Wishing three hours would revive a sport is as ambitious as wishing I would act in Dhoom 3. So nothing great in here,but maybe you will like it. My mother did.

52 comments:

Anonymous said...

oye FIRST oye.......


-Deepa.

Anonymous said...

manipuri kya hota hai? did u mean
CHINKY?
Muhahahahahahahahaha

Parul said...

I'm heading to Shreedhar!!!

Abhi said...

@Deepa-Relax.BP high mat kar.:p

@Anon - There you go again.

@Parul-I told you.Best place to hit in Ernakulam.

Garam Bheja Fry said...

oye review likhne ka try maara tu...serious kab se ho gaya re!!!

iss manipuri waala anonymous kuchh jyaada hi "muhaha..." kar raha hai..

"chinkaaa" hai lagta hai!! :P

Nasia said...

Hahahaha..
You are back.. i guess.. and i dont hav company to go for a movie.. For the next six weeks.. how sad.. :-(

Anonymous said...

Good to see you posting so frequently!

Btw how do u know the smell of underpants of a pizza delivery boy ;)

Nice post nevertheless....

Nidhi said...

Yep...it's an awesome movie...I just loved it....so much so that I even changed my Orkut name to read as "Chak De...India" for the time-being :)

Anonymous said...

"....when a movie can make a 52 year old woman, with a spirit burdened by the strains of bringing up a son like me..."

:O You are DEAD..abb takk to maggi naseeb nahi hoti thi naa..abb to moong ki daal ke liye bhi tarasna padega tujhe re :D...


Newayz..may be next saturday naseeb ho jaye multiplex ke popcorn..abb to auntyjee ne bhi recommend kar dii hai.. i hope tab tak 'chak-te raho india' ki isstory bhi leak out na ho jaye :/


Jai hind...Bharat maaata ki jai!!

*BP [para]normal*

-Deepa!!

Unknown said...

Hope mausi didnt learn any hockey flicks from the movie....n if she did then be carefull the next time u spend a little more then fifteen paisa on ur boss' secretary...

Zyborg said...

remember reading your review of Rang-de-Basanti, and enjoyed it thoroughly..
but this one is so-not-you, guess you wrote this blog when you were tired but still wanted to write :-)

Anonymous said...

Hey...thanks for giving us the review on Chak de...now I will plan and go out with my friends on weekend...once again nice post....and keep posting at this pace...bye..

Anonymous said...

you wrote a post, but did not reply to me :-(

pm said...

After reading your posts, m sure your readers too "pump out adrenaline enough to fill up all the overhead water tanks in your colony" .. lolz..

satish said...

paise diye hain movie ke producer ne aapko!

Anonymous said...

Great post. I have been a regular reader but this is my first comment. I thought that you were engaged.

Anonymous said...

"Of course, my sister predicted other details like how no girl would agree to marry me if I continue to neglect human relations, "
but I think, one girl is ;-)

Anonymous said...

mainu laga tera sara petrol phuk chuka hai aur ab woh baat rahi nahi, par tu beech beech mein kuch acchey post nikal hi leta hai..lambi chutti ley aur kahi ghoom fir aa...fir regularly likhna shuru kar diyo..

Jo said...

well glad to read your blogs almost after ages......and needless to say it was hilarious....

G V S Prasad said...

super post once again! though I have been a fan of ur blog since ur IIM days, this is the first time am posting a comment on ur blog.. But these days, I open it frequently and get disappointed on finding some post which I have already read..:( Please take out some time from ur busy schedule and keep writing, coz u just rock! :)

btw, if u remember, I was the one who gave a link to ur blog on the orkut profile.. :-)

Anonymous said...

// “Hey, please punch me. I have not felt good since morning!”.

kitni ladkiyan peet chuki hain beta ? ya kuch aise kaam kiye hain jisse ladkiyan tumko dekhte hi peetne daudengi?

Sanity in a world of Insanity is insane said...

Ui,when did you start watching SRK movies..???

Chaos said...

awesome as usual :).

Marlee said...

Hmm...I think I should give this movie a shot then.

Anilz said...

I was screaming n clapping all the way in the theatre. Awesome movie. Thanks for u r review boss. "All India Blogger's Association" ki maang hai ki aap aisehi apni posting frequency barkarar rakhe :D. Jai hind.

Cindrella said...

very nice post.loved ur humourous way.i think i go and watch the movie

Ajith Prasad Balakrishnan said...

Good reviews all around..seems to be a good movie..Got to see :)

Anonymous said...

I really hate Shahrukh... bahut overacting karta hai sallaaa.... par aapne aur aunty ne bola hai to dekhna padega...
lekin post mein maja nahi aaya jyada, aur ye pizaa boy ki underpant ka smell kaise pata aapko...
chal koi nahi...

Random thoughts said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Random thoughts said...

Great writeup..

I agree, the movie really rocked becoz:

- Shahrukh didnt ham
- The inoffensive digs at regional prejudices
- The chandigarh girl
- The haryanavi girl

Some pointless trivia :It would do you good to add the below word to ure vocabulary if u visit haryana : TAU...meaning Uncle

Pronunciation : Say Tao as in Tao of Physics, and imagine Mr. Himesh Reshamiyaa saying the word , pronounce as "Taooooo

Reeta Skeeter said...

heee!!! I loved ur profile description ;) Chak De was nice indeed!

Parul said...

i saw, i loved, i wrote!

Anonymous said...

God.....U r too good abhinav.....as i suggested earlier u shd try out stand up comedy acts....and ...I hope that some day ur blogs will be read by English Literature students, as part of their syllabus.......zyada ho gaya kya.....hahah.....par tum likhte hi itna accha ho ki bas maza aa jaata hai.....keep up the good work

ketki said...

i guess i should and must watch the movie then........

Ayush Trivedi said...

Good movie indeed. SRK is finally proving his worth as an actor. Right observed - those stereotypical roles were getting a really blah..

Renie Ravin said...

Hi, please add your blog to our new directory of Indian Blogs and pick up an

Indiblogger badge, thanks!

http://www.indiblogger.in

IncorrigibleV said...

i saw chak de today .... yippie !!!
and guess what i saw it Metropolitan Gurgaon too :P
anyways i loved the post and the movie, i was clapping very much like the crazy kid i become when im excited and it was so much fun :), and ya i loved the girls beating up the guys scene too...it was better coz i was mouthing "yeh le" "aur le" "oh lord kya mast maara" enjoying every bit more coz i had gone to watch the movie with 7 guys :P hehe
Chak De ... rocked!

In Search Of Myself said...

Movie was amazing!!!SRK rules.

Ok kaam ki baat, tussi please vijit my blog coz - U'VE BEEN TAGGED!!!

~Ashwani.

runaway said...

bout d movie review...t'was indeed a convincin one!besides that jz checked in to say...u've got a great sense of humor...so keep us posted wid ur regular blogging stuff :)wud love to unwind my day wid dat!

Revs said...

hey
mast review likhela hai..
mujhe bhi movie bahut acchi lagi!!
say dude..why dont u write a book?? seriously!!u write with an effortless ease that i envy!!
i am sure a book written by u would sell like hot cakes and let face it. i am sure u would enjoy writing abook more than adjusting the column sizes on excel sheets!!:)
ab book likhne ka idea maine diya hai to mujhe autographed copy of the book bhi chahiye!! :)

Marlee said...

I thoroughly enjoyed the movie as well! :)

Atmdeo said...

hey, nice post! You write well.Usually cant bring myself to read a long post, but did this time.

Cheers!

Shekhar said...

Can you believe it, I haven't YET seen Chak De ??!!! :(

Parul said...

time to update!!

Anonymous said...

It is very simple; and I am not at all sure that a great many other people have not a pair http://startso11.info/gavia.html of the same kind.. We kill http://startso11.info/grzejnik+delonghi.html bear's meat enough to carbonize it in winter.. Auchmuty came to her in pity for http://startso11.info/teraz+jestem++wtwoim+kolorze.html poor Ingham, who was so bored by the stupid pundit--and Auchmuty could not understand why I stood it so long.. There was an irregular trembling of the boat as the anchor struggled along the bottom of the canal; then there was a great shock; the boat ran into the bank and stopped; the tow-line was tightened like a guitar-string, and the horse, jerked back with great violence, came tumbling in a heap upon the http://startso11.info/www.x.pl.html ground.. I also http://startso11.info/dupki.html consider ludicrous the moral indignation which prompted the translator of Artemidoros of Daldis to keep from the reader's knowledge the chapter on sexual dreams contained in the Symbolism of the Dreams.. I positively decline to overlook it, sir. http://startso11.info/he%C5%82m+ochronny.html. It seemed inconceivable. http://startso11.info/povczta.o2.pl.html. Half way down I met Major Halkit. http://startso11.info/hurtownia+odzie%C5%BCy+u%C5%BCywanej.html. Still another remark concerning the two pictures, which, http://startso11.info/Page+4.html aside from their real significance, also have the value of Weibsbilder (literally woman-pictures , but idiomatically women ).. It is not our way, ma'am, to waste our money in parties and fooleries, and fine furniture and fine clothes, and rich http://startso11.info/kable+audio+-+video.html food, and all such abominations.. He did not instantly comprehend why Buller wanted it thrown overboard, but this was not a time http://startso11.info/%C5%9Bmieszne+stronki.html to ask questions.. When they had entered the Claiborne gate, they leaned toward each other like http://rebestal.info/czas+bie%C5%BC%C4%85cy.html young saplings weakened at the root and locking branches to keep what shallow foothold on earth remained.. Before the http://startso11.info/automarket.au.html court adjourned that day it was known throughout the town that Adoniram K.. Nor will http://rebestal.info/cubis.html it seem a matter of chance that in the course of interpretation one always happens upon subjects of which one does not like to speak or think.. And they shook hands over a new http://startso11.info/www.zuza50.fotka.pl%5D.html compact.. The question has arisen how dreams with disagreeable content can be analyzed as the fulfillment of wishes. http://startso11.info/www.switon.nad.baltykiem.pl.html. Brill, Journal of Nervous and Mental http://startso11.info/kielce.pl.html Diseases , Monograph Series.. ' I said nothing, but put my hand upon the door http://startso11.info/podno%C5%9Bnik+16t.html to go out, when the merchant said more respectfully,-- 'Well, you foolish boy, if you will not sell your spectacles, perhaps you will agree to sell the use of them to me.. Jane Watkinson sat down to the piano and commenced a powerful piece of six mortal pages, which she http://startso11.info/www.rozk%C5%82ad.jazdy+PKP.html played out of time and out of tune; but with tremendous force of hands; notwithstanding which, it had, however, the good effect of putting most of the children to sleep.. We shall be obliged somewhat later to elucidate http://startso11.info/watpie.html our assumption concerning the nature and activity of consciousness...

Anonymous said...

I liked the movie!! I also liked the scene where the girls walk into the room full of firangs wearing sarees on the night before the finals!

Waise.. marigold ka review bhi likh na! :P

Sanchit said...

yeah me saw chakde too.. don know why but i didn like it alot.. :P
but ki farak pendah hain, its more like a govinda flick where u have to only take ur heart inside the screen and keep brains out... LOL

Pri said...

yess...i agree with ur mom fully there...amazinggg movie!! lurved it! :)

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

Hi Abhi, loved ur article...
i was alone in front of my PC & having a good laugh, all thanks to your flavour of humour in this article..
i am new on this blogosphere..
waiting for ur next dash of humour!!

Ajj Kaim Singh said...

"Seldom has the birth of a child marked the death of happiness for so many children."
hahahahaha..hilarious

Anonymous said...

HI its a nice movie.....
Visit http://interestingrainbow.blogspot.com