Movie Review: Dangal
When you go to watch an Aamir Khan film, you expect more than your average Hindi film. Dangal definitely did not disappoint.
Dangal follows the standard sports genre film structure but has delightful depth to it. First, its exploration of the evolving father-daughter relationship. Second, the conflict of a man wearing both hats of coach and father. The complex set of emotions in both these layers were beautifully portrayed.
The story spans almost 30 years, starting before the birth of the Phogat sisters, and concluding with the 2010 Commonwealth games. The first half of the movie was crisp. The story of the sisters’ childhood was both funny and dramatic, it had me engrossed completely. I felt the pace of the second half was a tad laborious but it wasn’t a deal breaker.
The entire cast played their parts with sincerity but child actor Zaira Wasim was the cherry on the cake. Not only did she portray the dilemma of a girl in rural India training for a male-dominated sport with conviction, she also held her own while sharing screen space with Aamir Khan.
The subject of women empowerment was handled elegantly in the film. Haryana is known for its gender discrimination and skewed gender ratio, so to train girls to wrestle in the 80s in the remote village of Balali is unfathomable. The subject is spoken about in just the right measure and not pressed upon to the point of being melodramatic.
Corrupt and egoistic government officials have always been a major plot point in most sports films. While they were central to the plot in Chak de India and Mary Kom, an emphasis here would have seemed repetitive. The topic was cleverly touched upon but not highlighted, which was refreshing.
Upon research, I found that creative liberties had been taken on a couple of plot points peppered across the film, thus it cannot be considered an exact biopic of the Phogat family or of wrestling in India.
Dangal had a stronger impact on me than the film Mary Kom. Mary Kom’s journey has been equally or even more gruelling, and given that she was over 30 years old when the movie was made, the filmmakers had much more material to work with. Yet, the manner of storytelling in Dangal captivated me more than Mary Kom despite ace actor Priyanka Chopra playing the lead character. Dangal’s director managed to raise the emotional stakes in such a manner as to make the story of the Phogats more compelling than that of Mary Kom.
In addition to being a wholesome family entertainer, the movie presents wrestling as a viable sport for women and stresses on the importance of encouraging your daughters to be ambitious and taking pride in our sporting heroes. Highly recommended!
