” Dangal”, movie and a pizza

On a gray winter day, what can be better than a movie and a pizza in the company of good friends ? And when that movie is a wonderful… outstanding!

Last Friday was just  such a day  and the movie we saw was ” Dangal” (The Wrestling Competition), the Bollywood blockbuster that has been breaking all box-office records since its  December 23rd release. I am not a particular fan of Bollywood movies but I have to say that Dangal is superb. If you have not yet seen it, I would urge you to do so ASAP. The movie  has English sub-titles and can be enjoyed by everyone, Indian or not.

Dangal  is the story of Mahavir Singh Phogat and his daughters, Geeta and Babita. Phogat was a prominent wrestler who had to give up his wrestling career in order to earn a living. He decided to train his sons to succeed in the wrestling arena but his wife and he were blessed with four daughters , one after the other, no sons.Unwilling to give up his dream of bringing honor to the nation on the sports field, he transferred his ambitions to his two oldest daughters,  Geeta and Babita. He got the idea when they beat up two neighborhood boys who had been harassing them. Subjecting his daughters to a punishing training program and a strict diet, he had them enter wrestling competitions against boys. How they bought into his ideas and achieved national and international wrestling prominence is the story of this film; I will not spoil it for you by giving you more details.

Aamir Khan plays a large part in the success of this film, and I mean that literally. In order to play the role of the wrestler Mahavir Singh Phogat, he put on 60 lbs. and has also delivered a bravura performance. He convincingly depicts Mahavir Singh’s single-minded determination, his resourcefulness , his never-say die attitude and his struggle to put aside his love for his daughters in order to spur them to greater and greater heights. He is to be applauded for taking such a role at a time when he is still a box-office draw in hero roles. Aamir’s is only one of many fine performances. Sakshi Tanwar as his wife Daya Kaur, the two girls who play the young daughters,  and Fatima Sana Shaikh in the role of the grown up Geeta are all excellent. Indeed, the entire supporting cast is to be commended for its fine acting.

While the scenes of Geeta competing in the Commonwealth championships are exciting, I thoroughly enjoyed the early part of the film set in rural Punjab and Haryana. The village atmosphere and the wrestling competitions have the feel of authenticity and flashes of humor enliven a film that could easily have become serious and leaden.The narrow minded small- town attitudes towards girls and women are subtly but unflinchingly depicted, making it all the sweeter when Geeta and Babita burst the barriers. The upbeat musical sound track by Pritam is also a huge plus.

One of the most powerful scenes in the movie is when the young bride details her fate ( and that of girl children in rural India) and causes Geeta and Babita to drop their resistance to their father’s diktat. Hopefully, this film will play an important part in changing the way girl children are regarded. Realizing this, four Indian states have given Dangal tax free status to promote the Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao ( Save your Daughters, educate your daughters) program, the object of which is to eradicate female foeticide and promote female education. The film also casts a harsh light on the arrogance and hide-bound attitudes of India’s sports bureaucracy.

In an otherwise  terrific production, there are two minor blemishes. One is the portrayal of the national coach who goes to extremes in trying to discredit Geeta’s father and take the credit for her success. The other is the slighting nature of the pre-match remarks of Geeta’s Australian opponent. Neither happened in real life and one wonders why it was necessary to fabricate them. Why do we need a villain ( or villains) in the story?

Still, this should not detract from the excellence of the film and one wishes it much box-office success both for its entertainment value and its uplifting, inspiring message.

P.S The pizza at Bertucci’s Brick Oven Pizza was good too… but not as good as the movie.