The trend started with the Hollywood sports movies, in particular the ones made after the 90s, when the expasperated coach makes an passionate speech to the down and out team during the half-time break or final timeout period pleading/berating/inspiring the team for that one final push towards the end goal. The blood, guts and glory speech suits well to the American milieu whose sports involve all the three, and sometimes literally. There is a liberal dosage of words like "fight", "heart", "doubt", "distance", "getting up", "hitting hard" and such thrown in for good measure, with the violins and cymbals slowly building up into a crescndo for the utterance of final phrase "come on, let's do it" to the collective whoop of the whole team. These speeches have become so predictable in their intent and content (much like the tense military personnel gathered in the war room breaking into a collective applause after holding their breaths for so long on the impossible heroics of the maverick hero) that the moment has almost become a cliche and it is very hard for writers to come up with new ways of expressing the same intention of motivating the long shot candidate to play out of his/her skin. Which is why it makes the motivational moment during the climax of "Dangal" so much impressive, because the speech is not about some idyllic notion of sport (where the win is a testament to the individual character of the sportsman), it is rooted in the harsh reality on the current condition of women/girls in rural India, and that's not just in sports. The win for the girl might paint a golden hue to her wall of fame, but it is bound to change the thinking in the minds and lands where female infanticide and foeticide are still raging issues, where the government has to incentivize a family into doing the humane thing, where slogans like "beTi paDHAO, beTI bachchAO" need to explicity written, promoted and propogated. Life for a girl child in rural India is a far cry from a near by school, leave alone a local sports arena which is why it makes it even more poignant when the father character exhorts his kid to just win the gold medal, whichever way, however possible, for, this win is not merely on a strong opponent, it is on a deep seated mindset.

Hindi movies have been slowly but surely catching up to the international standards, with big gains in the tone, tenor and the subtlety departments, thanks to the sustained exposure to quality content from around. But long before the current trend, in what could be considered a first in Indian sports movie history, there was a small budgeted feature "Hip Hip Hurray" made in the 1984 (dir: Prakash Jha and scripted by Gulzar) that introduced a sense of realism and honesty to the proceedings without succumbing to the usual formula. Sports movies, Indian and otherwise, are dime a dozen, but really honest ones that tug at the heart and bring a lump in the throat? Handful, may be. "Hip Hip Hurray", "Chak De India" and "Dangal", the list is pretty short on the Hindi side. In a country with an unhealthy obsession for cricket, other sports have long been ignored - on reel and real - despite the fact that these same "fringe" sports saved the blushes for the country on many international fora. A tribal Limba Ram in the archery department, a wiry P.T. Usha in the sprinting arena, a buff Karanam Malleswari in weightlifting section, these stories emerging from rural pockets in India do not have the pomp and circumstance as that single sport with deep pockets and mass adulation, and yet each of these stories about the constant struggle against odds, minds and conditions AND infrastructure AND social taboos AND above all, the financial support, are even more important and inspirational than all the limelight shone on, puff pieces written about, adulation received by the cricketing greats. Talent might be talent regardless of the sport, even if it is hurling a leather ball at great speeds, or lifting a huge opponent over the head and slamming him/her hard on the floor, but if one sport has to overcome a generational mindset while the other enjoys unwavering support of the same, then surely, not all sports are created equal, and winning under such adversity accords a greater glory. Sachin vs Sania? Dhoni vs Saina? Kohli vs Sindhu? It is not even a fair contest...in favor of the latter....

What makes 'Dangal' endearing are both its earnestness and earthiness. Considering the sport in question (wrestling), the 'doodh ka lOTA aur jilebi' breakfasts, the 'akhaaDey ki miTTi aur kaske baandhe langOTi's, the 'suryapraNaam aur danD (Indian push-ups)' exercises bring all the rustic charm to an audience bombarded with the isometric or plyometric trainings of the west in the recent sports fare. And the movie does well by not playing these up as though they are the exotic kind worthy of beholding even to the native audience. Even with the humor that is seamlessly blended in to provide the occasional levity, 'Dangal' talks about a lot more serious social issues without really hitting on the nail on the head. This is an all out all around professional grade effort - training, acting and filming. And not enough could be said about the expert staging of the games. Even with a foregone result, the games have an immediacy, tension and realism about them, with the format of the sport certainly coming to the aid - 2 mins for each game and 3 games per match - allowing all the matches to be filmed full length. If anything, 'Dangal' aspires for something much bigger and better than merely being a biopic of the Phogat sisters, by showing how it is (could be) done - and the lesson applies both to the society and to the film fraternity. Gold, by a wide margin, to 'Dangal'!

checkout http://kanchib.blogspot.com for Srinivas's Blog.