Reviewing 'Dangal'

DANGAL

Aamir Khan’s recently released ‘Dangal’ has been the talk of the town for a year. Believed to be bordering the same storyline as Salman Khan’s ‘Sultan’, the movie has been greatly looked forward to. ‘Dangal’, a movie on wrestling, shines as a modern feminist movie. Portraying female strength and a modernist thinking, it makes its place in new age cinema. It is a sports drama film based on the true story of a man called Mahavir Singh Phogat and his two wrestler daughters, Geeta and Babita. Directed by Nitesh Tiwari, ‘Dangal’ has Aamir Khan starring as Mahavir Singh Phogat, and Fatima Sana Shaikh as Geeta Phogat, Zaira Wasim as young Geeta, Sanya Malhotra as Babita Phogat, and Suhani Bhatnagar as young Babita. 

While Pritam composed the music for ‘Dangal’, the lyrics were given by Amitabh Bhattacharya. Kripa Shankar Bishnoi, who is a coach with the Indian Women’s wrestling team, gave rigorous training to Aamir Khan and the other cast members for the wrestling scenes. He transformed their bodies and their strength to make the wrestling sequences flawless.

The story is of a village man, Mahavir Singh Phogat, who had to give up on his dream of winning a gold for India as a wrestler due to financial difficulties. This man vows to have his offspring fulfil his dream and win India the gold medal. Little does he anticipate that his dream will be fulfilled not by a son, but by his two daughters. He trains his two daughters, Geeta and Babita, against the wishes of the entire village and even his wife. The story is of how these two daughters defy all conventional norms of the village and make their place in the world of wrestling with their father’s constant support, guidance and training.

While the makers of the film have taken some fictional liberty, the story does justice to the actual life of the Phogats. It portrays the struggle they went through, and the perseverance and courage they showed in the hardest of times. Mahavir Singh Phogat’s story is one to inspire the entire nation to fight against the stereotypical household image imposed on women, and director Nitesh Tiwari manages to bring out this story to the world with perfection.

Although Aamir Khan has always managed to leave his audience speechless and in awe, his admirable transformation just for the movie is commendable. He put on close to 30 kgs for his role as an aged father, and lost all of it and trained for a wrestler body for just a 30 second scene in the movie. While his dedication towards his job is nothing short of excellent, his essay of an aged father was flawless. He managed to depict a strict father, hailing from a village, and giving his all to fulfil his one dream, with perfection. The young Geeta and Babita, portrayed by Zaira Wasim and Suhani Bhatnagar respectively, gave a comic touch to the movie alongside the serious portrayal of what went through the minds of 10-12 year olds during such strict and rigorous training by their father. There was no sense of overacting or underacting. No audience member could doubt that these characters hail from a small village in Haryana. The grown up Geeta and Babita, played by Fatima Sana Shaikh and Sanya Malhotra respectively, were also portrayed with conviction. Since these actresses were also trained by Kripa Shankar Bishnoi, their wrestling scenes were very convincing. Sakshi Tanwar, playing Aamir Khan’s wife, managed to bring forth the concerns of any mother in such a situation very well. Her expressions were flawless and timing was precise. The movie’s comic relief was provided by character Mahavir Singh Phogat’s nephew, whose narration of the various scenes and repartee made the mood of the film lighter.

Overall the plot was very realistic and the story was done justice to.

‘Dangal’ was released in the United States on 21^st December, and worldwide on 23^rd December. Although running for a total time of 160 minutes, ‘Dangal’ does not make the audience feel disinterested or bored at any point of time. It keeps the audience engaged and at the edge of their seats at all times. The movie has been edited very well by Ballu Saluja. The music of the movie proves to be exceptionally unique with its comic lyrics and perfect energy. The costumes are authentic and add to the natural village effect of the film.

The film collected ₹29.78 crore (US$4.4 million) on its opening day which is recorded as the second highest non-holiday opening. In four days collections were $11.2 million (76.16 crore).

The film thus has made a great profit in just its first week.

Overall, the movie is intriguing for people across all generations. It inspires and gives courage and hope. It deserves a rating of 4.5 on 5.

- Vaishali Singh