The Phogat Sisters, against all odds, created history for Indian Sports in the year 2010. Though we read about them in the headlines, we hurriedly moved on to other 'more interesting' news. They went on, fighting their battles alone, to bring more than thirty international medals for our country. We saw their names in the news, raised our eyebrows, and refocused back on our game of cricket. They again came, this time with their father, and gave an inspiring small interview on the TV show Satyamev Jayate. This time we sat up a bit, and 'spent' on them, a little 'encouragement clap'.
It finally took a two hours forty nine minutes of full fledged Bollywood feature film to make us at last, give them the applause they have been deserving since long. At last, the magic of cinema and storytelling works and the same we, now open new tabs and start to google about Geeta, Babita and their hero, Mahavir Singh Phogat.
Written by four Ad-professionals including the director Nitish Tiwari, Dangal, hooks you from the very first go. The humorous narrative of the 'sacrificial goat-ish' brother becomes almost addictive till the last scene.
Here's the story of a middle-aged man with unfulfilled dreams who has given in to his defeated life as his ill fate. Until one day when he realizes that all this while the road to all his dreams had lain just in front of him, but it was only his own superfluous beliefs, which had closed his eyes. He quickly corrects himself and now aims for the Sun and no less. So what if it is his sparky girls not 'society-accepted' boys who will achieve this feat for him. So the endearing struggle starts of two unwilling girlish girls ( a brilliant young Geeta played by Zaira Wasim) who are turned into tomboys by their 'haanikaarak' father. It is only at a friend's wedding, that they realise their good luck of having such a man as their father who considers them human enough to love and care about their future. A single dialogue of the little bride voices all those vices to which so many Indian households are still entangled. This struggling phase is very thoughtfully shot in a muddy shade of color by Cinematographer Sethu Sriram.
Adult Geeta and Babita Phogat are flawlessly played by Fatima Sana Shaikh and Sanya Malhotra. Sanya, though, surprisingly has got much lesser vocal and fighting scenes in comparison to Fatima. But it is she who shines brighter with her sincere portrayal of silent understandings of the war of emotions happening between her sister and father.
Unfortunately she is reduced to being like a cheer girl to her sister who solely claims the limelight in the later half of the film. One wonders why, considering Babita Phogat's equal if not more, achievements in her own matches.
Amir Khan is so good as Mahavir Singh Phogat that after a point, he makes you forget that he is Amir Khan himself. You only see the character. That calls for an applause. Sakshi Tanwar as the Daya Kaur, the silent support system of her family is wonderful. Hey eyes are so expressive that she doesn't need to speak at all.
Dangal is about wrestling. Wrestling on the on mats. Wrestling inside minds. The wrestle between a visionary father and the 'blind' society he lives in. A blind society 'we' still live in.
Celebrating woman power, bringing hope and rekindling patriotism, is Dangal, a perfect end to a Bollywood year full of strong female protagonists.
Hopefully now, the Haryana Government will consider keeping the promise they made to the Phogat Sisters four years ago and finally pay them the much needed, awaited and deserved, 50 lakhs rupees award.
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