Mahaveer Phogat. A National Level Champion
Wrestler. The man who dreamt of winning a Gold Medal for India at International
Level. Alas, his dream didn’t come true! He wished for a boy who could fulfill
his dream, but he never got one. All he got was four daughters. His dream was
almost drained when one fine day, something nasty yet pleasant occurs which
makes him believe that his daughters can fulfill his long-cherished dream. They
have a wrestler’s blood in their veins, why not train them! What begins then is
a fight against odds. A fight against destiny. A fight against the conservative
Indian society. A fight against the corrupt Indian sports ministry. DANGAL is
all about how Mahaveer Phogat and his daughters Geeta Phogat and Babita Phogat
fought the circumstances and emerged winners.
Aamir Khan has proved yet again why
he is called Mr. Perfectionist. By putting on immense weight and portraying a wrestler’s
life from mid-twenties to sixty-plus, he has reached the apex of perfection.
Everything from his face to his hair and wrinkles—even his tummy—acts here, and
in such an incredible manner. Such hard work of weight gain and loss has never
been seen before in Bollywood. As a loving father and a strict father, he has
emoted exceptionally well.
Sakshi Tanwar as Aamir’s
Non-Glamorous wife and the other six major characters are perfectly casted.
While Fatima Sana Sheikh and Sanya Malhotra as adult Geeta and Babita are Fabulous,
Zayra Wasima and Suhani Bhatnagar as the kid Phogat sisters are equally
effective. AparShakti Khurana (Ayushman Khurana’s brother) and Rohit Shankarwar
are the comic relief. Both are superb.
Director Nitesh Tiwari, who has given
us Fab Entertainers like ‘Chillar Party’ and ‘Bhootnath Returns’, has done such
a pitch-perfect direction that not a single frame of the movie seems unwanted.
Even though a serious drama, he has managed to keep the overall feeling of the
movie light and humorous. The dialogues are witty, and hard-hitting. Pritam’s
music is awesome, the songs lead the screenplay. Lyrics are meaningful, ‘Dhakad’
having that power-pack punch, and ‘Hanikarak Bapu’ being an out-and-out
delight. Cinematography by Sethu Sriram is top class. The village life of
Haryana has been captured tremendously.
The highlight of Dangal is the scenes
of Wrestling. Strong and authentic. Aamir and the Girls must have practiced for
weeks, probably months, to learn the minute tactics of Wrestling. The result is
incredibly believable, be it the little village girl defeating the boys OR the mind-blowingly
Actionographed wrestling scene between the father and the daughter OR the
climatic fights. They have NOT ACTED, they have literally WRESTLED! And it is
the first-rate sound editing that enhances the effects of the wrestling scenes.
I haven’t yes watched ‘Sultan’ but now, after becoming Dangalmay, I’ll have to
watch ‘Sultan’ to compare the wrestling at least.
‘Dangal’ is unarguably the best sports
film since ‘Chak de India’. A sure-shot blockbuster at the box-office. A top
contender for this year’s awards. I’ll give it 4.5 star rating out of 5.
