WITHOUT GIVING THE MOVIE AWAY (Hindi movie reviews...and a little more)
10th August 2007

CHAKDE! INDIA - Notepad

posted in Hindi Movies, Movie Notes, meetu |

This page has additional observations, other than the ones noted in the main review.

Quick Review

I am not a hockey fan and usually can just about tolerate Shah Rukh Khan. And yet, I enjoyed the movie thoroughly. Brilliant writing by Jaideep Sahni!!

Rating: Watch for sure - preferably in theatre (Rating Scale)

See full review

Plot Summary

The Indian women’s hockey team is in need of a coach. Kabir Khan (Shah Rukh Khan) is appointed as the coach. This underdog team is then trained to be able to play in the world championship.

Sincerely, at most times I was too engrossed in the movie to notice or take notes on the little things. Will have more here, hopefully after a second viewing.


What worked

  • The fluency and ease with which the characters are established, even the most insignificant characters are defined by a line or two given to them.
  • The stereotype of Indians not knowing much about people from other states was played out really well - reminded me of a similar stereotype about Americans.


What didn’t

Note: This section simply lists the things that I did not like in this movie. This is not the overall impression about this movie. Please read the full review here
  • All the public/mass media scenes depict hockey as this massively popular game. E.g., kids are shown playing hockey on the street. Now, come on, who are we kidding here?

Nitty-Gritty

This section lists things that I think are not important to the overall impact of the movie. In most cases, it could be explained away by something like, “we noticed the glitch after the scene was shot and there were schedule/budget issues and thus we could not re-shoot it”. I like giving the makers the benefit of doubt, but I am amused nevertheless. Hopefully, they will tickle you too.
  • Why was Kabir Khan talking to himself outside the conference room of the Hockey Association?

Back to main review

This entry was posted on Friday, August 10th, 2007 at 3:48 pm and is filed under Hindi Movies, Movie Notes, meetu. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

There are currently 8 responses to “CHAKDE! INDIA - Notepad”

Why not let us know what you think by adding your own comment! Your opinion is as valid as anyone elses, so come on... let us know what you think.

  1. 1 On August 11th, 2007, kamya said:

    chakde india! is a beautiful film!!!!shah rukh khan has acted really
    well…specially when india won …how he controlled his tears ..n he showed his hapiness thru his eyes!!
    i m really happiiee …and all the girls have workded awesome too …its areallllyy inspiring
    and toching story …MUST WATCH !!! WILL BE A HIT …ACTUALY HAS TO EB A HIT !!!

    SONGS ARE GOOD 2 …

    GIVES U AN ISPIRATION ..REMIDS U ..THATS YES “HOCKEY IS NATIONAL GAME OF INDIA AND SHOPULD NOT BE FORGOTTEN ”
    A MUST WATCH FOR EVERY INDIAN!!!
    ALSO THE FILM MOVES AT FAST PACE ..SO NO ONE GETS BORED …AND GETS ONLY PURE FUN!!!!!

    WUT R U W8ING FOR??? GO GET THE TICKETS …SURELY ITS WORTH IT!!!

    posted on August 11th, 2007 at 3:48 pm

  2. 2 On August 13th, 2007, AksFilmi said:

    Great Review

    Chak De india Really Rocks

    posted on August 13th, 2007 at 2:19 pm

  3. 3 On August 28th, 2007, Pupul Chatterjee said:

    srk really did a good job this time.i was very reluctanly
    dragged to the theatre by frnds,but didn’t regret watching it.
    actually i was dreading being caught up in the typical srk
    melodrama that one has to come associate with him,thanks to the
    karan johar films or the patriotic mass awakening crap that we
    got to see in phir bhi dil hai hindustani or swadesh…..
    actually the screen space was shared well between srk and d girls.

    posted on August 28th, 2007 at 6:32 am

  4. 4 On September 1st, 2007, G said:

    Saw the film yesterday.
    SRK was good, but speaking strictly as a guy - the selection of the girls was the most interesting part of
    the film.
    While watching I thought they were unconventionally beautiful.
    This lasted till I researched on the net and learned from rediff that Yash Raj had
    handpicked them from mostly model/struggling actresses protfolios. :-)

    Yash Raj manipulative genius at its best - give us
    JUST enough angularity and personality to give the girl-next-door vibe while making sure
    that they are actually quite good looking. :-)

    Continutity glitch - I don’t think there were that many news channels around 7 years ago.
    And definitely Aaj Tak did not exist “back then”. :-)

    posted on September 1st, 2007 at 1:17 pm

  5. 5 On September 2nd, 2007, meetu said:

    Thanks G for sharing your observations.

    posted on September 2nd, 2007 at 1:26 pm

  6. 6 On September 3rd, 2007, raman said:

    i lovechak de india

    posted on September 3rd, 2007 at 7:17 am

  7. 7 On September 15th, 2007, japnit said:

    chakde india is fabulous from the film i got the spirit that i should join hockey again as because of my exams
    i left it .. i know how to play HOCKEY so i have joined hockey again.. AND R TEAMS’ NAME IS CHAKDE INDIA…

    posted on September 15th, 2007 at 12:17 pm

  8. 8 On September 22nd, 2007, Manish Varma said:

    It’s a great film with engrossing performances from Shah Rukh Khan
    & the team. However, the cricket versus hockey debacle was
    uncalled for as one game cannot be held responsible for the downfall
    of the other.

    posted on September 22nd, 2007 at 8:33 am

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