“Mhari chhoriyan chhoron se kam hain ke”, says Aamir Khan’s Mahavir Singh Phogat in the film. The film rides on this as it embarks on the journey of the Dronacharya Award winning coach’s life-story.
The trailer had already shown enough promise and the film will surely live up to all expectations. In a country where wrestling is indeed a forgotten sport, Aamir Khan takes on a territory that has never been tested before.
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Yes, it is a sports film at the heart that shows the battle of an underdog winning against all odds but there are certain subtle sub-plots that help carry the story forward. On that note, here we take a look at five such plots that will be revealed as Dangal hits the screens tomorrow.
Also Read: The real 'Dangal': The story of the real struggle of the Phogat sisters under 'coach' Mahavir Singh Phogat
#5 The initial barriers that Mahavir Singh Phogat has to cross to fulfil his dream
It is the early 1980s, a time when the wrestlers are treated as local heroes. The common people like to believe that wrestlers are superior to them, at least in physicality. Moreover, Mahavir is a former national champion.
However, now he is just another government servant, wielding a volatile temper and craving for a son to carry his legacy forward. Haryana is already taken on the wrong side of the gender equality by these sentiments. In the Khap-ridden state, baby girls are still killed at birth and ‘honour killing’ is practised with impunity.
Alas, his apologetic wife bears a girl child for the fourth time in succession. Nevertheless, Mahavir realises that a gold is a gold, it does not matter whether a boy wins it or a girl. The father decides to train the little girls to become world class wrestlers, who in turn are forced to fight local chauvinists.
#4 The sporting saga
The film heavily depends on the excellently choreographed wrestling scenes. By taking the viewers inside the nuances of the sport, the film romances wrestling. Explaining the rules, showing the techniques, everything is done in an aspirational way.
The filmmakers do not give a single thought to how the cricket-obsessed audience would react to the wrestling insights and therein lies the biggest win. A large part of the second half is filled with Geeta’s wrestling bouts.
The matches are shown in their entirety rather than a few edited clippings of some of the moves, something that is a wise decision by the director. To engulf people who dislike contact sports so much so that they bite their nails off in anticipation is an achievement in itself.
#3 The father-daughter relationship
The film is essentially a father-daughter relationship story which plays out against a wrestling backdrop. It explores the widening rift in the personal relationship between Mahavir Singh Phogat and his daughters, especially Geeta.
In a scene, a young Geeta and Babita complain to a friend that they wish they never had a father like Mahavir. The friend, who is to be married off the next day, listens with a sullen face only to reply that she wished she had a father like Mahavir. It is a defining scene, where the two young girls receive a fresh perspective of their strict father.
Later on in the film, we see Geeta, who has grown under the watchful eyes of the strict, disciplinarian father. She gets exposed to a new world that prompts her to challenge her father’s know-it-all authority. This eventually builds up to the best scene in the film – a tearful Geeta shreds her father’s silence to pieces over a phone call.
#2 Nationalism over feminism
Over and above the gender-related issues and female empowerment angle, the spur of nationalism takes the centre stage. That said, there are chinks in the feminist armour of the film which it does not even try to hide.
The notion of having a male child to see him fulfil a dream and then realising that the girl child is no less is all fine and good. But did the girls ever have the choice of becoming something other than a wrestler? It’s the stark truth that the decision-making for women still rests with men.
All that is brushed aside, of course, with the idea of “nation before individual”. Like every other sports film, Dangal is also about winning a gold medal for India. The burden of patriotism is carried by the film right down to the fictitious twist in the climax, complete with the national anthem.
#1 The Mahavir Singh-Geeta Phogat bout
The gold medal won at the Commonwealth Games is still a few years away. Geeta has just returned to her village after training at the National Sports Academy in Patiala. She has obviously changed. From the young girl who was trained by her father to a more confident and better-skilled wrestler, ready to take on the world.
Mahavir, however, is still the same. He wants his daughter to remain focussed on her goals. He does not actually acknowledge how Geeta has been sucked into her new regime and is of the opinion that his methods are better.
Thus begins a war that is as much physical as it is mental. Mahavir challenges Geeta to a bout to prove his superiority over her, or perhaps to test her newly acquired skills. The burly wrestler fights his daughter giving all his might. Still, he loses it and with it, the years of conditioning of women and male domination are thrown out of the window.
Also Read: Aamir to host special screening of 'Dangal' for Salman, SRK
