Dangal REVIEWS| BOX OFFICE Updates - Page 16

The bar's been raised again, feels Sukanya Verma.

A father takes out his two pre-teenage girls and tells them to eat all the golgappasthey want one last time. From now on, they train to wrestle and win gold for India and their love for chatpata food is the first casualty.

Children forced to fulfil an incomplete dream of their dad's because he was forced to bow down to his parent's wishes and pursue what they thought best is a little tragic and a lot true. There are stories that paint such fathers as self-seeking and obstinate prompting much frustration and conflict but Dangal isn't like that.

If anything, director Nitesh Tiwari's exhilarating creation makes a strong case for the virtues of Indian parenting.

There's a silver lining to erstwhile wrestler Mahavir Singh Phogat's (Aamir Khan) purpose that allows his daughters to break out of a sexist rut, become their own person and achieve international glory. To accomplish this, he demands their unswerving cooperation with entitlement and pride through methods that may seem stringent and unorthodox but have the greater good of his offspring at heart.

A resident of a modest village in Haryana, Phogat's feminism is neither innate nor commonplace, it surfaces only after his wife (a terrific Sakshi Tanwar) gives birth to four girls in a row and Phogat realises the idiocy of his conviction that believes only a boy can deliver his dream.

Tiwari addresses this widespread gender bias, wherein the village community prescribe preposterous schemes to ensure a boy's birth, like a satire highlighting the absurdity and inadequacy of these superstitions.

At the same time, he's careful not to belittle the prejudice and criticism the entire family face after Phogat begins coaching his two elder daughters -- Geeta (Zaira Wasim) and Babita (Suhani Bhatnagar).

The grace and grit of these gifted kids coupled with the dynamics of their relationship with a taskmaster Bapu and benign mother draw us into their ordinary world effectively and even clunky Haryanvi begins to sound less language more conversation.

Tiwari invests a great deal of time and energy in telling the magnificent real-life tale of the Phogats, meticulously reporting every obstacle and challenge that Geeta and Babita face as kids before their grown-up versions (Fatima Sana Shaikh and Sanya Malhotra) take charge. Much mirth and melodrama spurts out of their resistance and rebellion, frequently encapsulated in Dangal's wonderful, whimsical soundtrack.

Cinematic liberties are taken to exaggerate certain events, play on inflated and injured father-daughter egos, demonise a certain coach, spur on an ideology-driven rivalry between old guru and new founded on Sehwag-Dravid analogies but, hey, it works. Measured emotionality married with full-blown popular sentiment always has.

Dangal is one of those few films that discuss strategy and technique in a manner that's easy and entertaining to grasp. I am not familiar with the sport but by climax point, I could predict the winning move because of how well it was spelt out on earlier in the story.

What evokes sheer awe though is the raw, rough, visceral choreography of the fights, quite a few memorable ones in this 161-minutes long film.

The first ever between a young Geeta and a boy at local dangal and the final two at Commonwealth games, where she faces tough competition from Nigeria and Australia respectively. Aggression wears itself attractively in these scenes wearing a real-time quality even as our support for the Phogats amplifies.

Sport is at its centre but the essence of Dangal lies in the simple highs and lows of the people Tiwari chronicles.

Unlike the overblown Sultan with a somewhat similar milieu, Tiwari's account of inspiring reality is lot more understated in its approach. Two of its most poignant scenes are its quietest too -- when Geeta weeps bitterly in the middle of heartbreaking haircut and Phogat's crushed look as he takes off in a rickshaw immediately after entrusting his daughter's fate to a snarky new coach (Girish Kulkarni).

The matches with the highest odds of loss are the ones we pray hardest to win. Dangal hits on that feeling unabashedly, exhilaratingly and, on one occasion manipulatively to force out unnecessary demonstration of patriotic fervour from its audience. Perhaps solely to point out how much the leading man loves India. Except by then I love the film too much to hold that against it.

The physicality and mannerisms contribute to Aamir Khan's credible exterior but the brilliance of his performance comes from within as he assumes the role of a father who will punish his kids if he deems fit and swallow his pride without a second thought if it did them any good.

The bar's been raised again. In Phogat's words, 'Shabaash.'

Ditto for the four girls playing his daughters at different stages -- kids it's expected but it's unusual to see such lack on affectations in young women. They look like sisters, they play like champions and they hold their own in front of a seasoned, secure Aamir.

From Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar to Jo Jeeta Wohi Geeta. And Babita. Now that's what I call a win-win.

Rediff Rating:

Movie review: Dangal

Rating: 5 stars

Aamir Khan has done it again. Dangal is the best film of the year. Without a shadow of doubt. This film is a thundering body slam of honest emotions and sheer hard work. Director Nitesh Tiwari's film has a firm grip on its narrative. It never falters, it always stays steady and sure footed like a pro wrestler. But the best part of the film is its subtle nod to true gender equality. Mahavir Singh Phogat's daughters Geeta and Babita have been depicted with the utmost respect. There's a constant dialogue about levelling the playing field for the girl child. And then you have the wrestling bouts which look like the real deal. Dangal is perfect in every sense of the word. Rarely do movies get so good.

The story starts off with a quick recap of Mahavir Singh Phogat's life. He's established as a wrestler who gave up his dream but harbours a great passion and zeal to make his future son a gold medalist. After getting four daughters he gives up on his dream only to suddenly realise that his daughters Geeta and Babita have an appetite for fighting. He starts training them like they're Haryanvi boys. He whips them into disciplined athletes laying the foundation for their stellar future achievements in the sport of wrestling. But Dangal is so much more than just the journey of two girls from rural India to international acclaim. The real soul of this story is the pride and passion with which a father empowers his daughters. He devotes his entire being to making them champions. Slowly and steadily his obsession for wrestling glory transforms into love and compassion. He remains stern and yet sensitive to his daughters' ambitions and emotions. Even when they don't respect him, Mahavir Singh Phogat continues to be the better man, a stellar father and the hero that Indian stories really deserve.

Director Nitesh Tiwari and his team of co-writers Piyush Gupta, Shreyas Jain and Nikhil Meharotra craft a superlative film. The first of the film is dedicated to an engaging story where the girls grow up under the tutelage of their father and coach. While the second half explores their journey into the world of international wrestling. Both halves have contrasting themes. The rustic environs of North India and the deeply patriarchal culture find a sublime satire in the first leg of Dangal. While the second half becomes a gritty tale of sport adventure and young ambition. As Mahavir Singh Phogat and his daughters discover their dreams and ambitions, Dangal rustles up a storm of genuine and brilliant emotions. The film's direction and writing is so riveting that it coaxes it's viewer to stand up and applaud.

Great editing and filmmaking technique aside, Dangal features wrestling matches that are authentic and real. Watching young actresses Fatima Sana Shaikh and Sanya Malhotra grapple with their opponents is like watching the Commonwealth Games live. Their hard work and dedication is phenomenal. Fatima plays the elder daughter Geeta to great effect. She's definitely a find for the future. Young Zaira Wasim who plays the young Geeta is even better. When she's on screen, she even steals thunder from her superstar colleague.

Talking of superstars, Aamir Khan is the strength, conviction, dedication and genius of Dangal. His performance is a lot more complex than just the striking physical transformation. His portrayal of Mahavir Singh Phogat is a masterclass in acting. That rare occasions when you can't spot the actor in a character.

Dangal has everything that you'd ask from the perfect Hindi film. Its funny, dramatic, dark, serious, emotional all rolled into one seamless cinematic gem. It is the movie of the year. A film that deserves a standing ovation. A story so good that it will make you feel like a proud Indian. This is a truly special film.

Dangal movie review: Aamir Khan delivers the bravest, grittiest, honest film of the year

Check out Dangal movie review - the much inspiring film starring Aamir Khan and directed by Nitesh Tiwari

Aamir Khan's Dangal has certainly been the most awaited film of this year. Directed by Nitesh Tiwari, while the film is based on the life of former Indian wrestler Mahavir Phogat. It's the struggle with which Mahavir brought up his daughters (played by Fatima Sana Sheikh and Sanya Malhotra) and made them India's wrestling champions that's extraordinarily pathbreaking. With so much expectations from the Perfectionist' aka Aamir, is Dangal worth the wait? Here, read on to find out...

What's it about

Let's get this straight. Dangal is no Sultan. And am saying this with a lot of love to all those who raved about Salman Khan's wrestling drama. All those who expected drama with a Sultan versus Dangal fight will be disappointed. Also is Dangal better than Sultan ? No, simply because they are two different films, who have two different stories to tell. One is a struggle of an individual to battle his inner demons and come to terms with his own calling, the other is a story of a father - daughter relationship. They are totally different stories with two unique plots. Dangal is the story of Mahavir Phogat (Aamir Khan) and his daughters Geeta (Fatima Sana Sheikh) and Babita (Sanya Malhotra). Of course wrestling is the common thread that binds Sultan and Dangal and the promos might have seemed similar but the stories are totally different. Dangal is about self belief, conviction, courage, a father encouraging his daughters to be as good if not as equal than their male counterparts. It is a true story that has fictional shades painted to weave a gripping narrative. How much of it is true and how much made up, doesn't matter. Because Dangal is not about accuracy as much as it is about the human mind and the extend it can bend to achieve unbelievable goals. Dangal is a father-daughter story but it is also a tale that will resonate with anyone who has had self doubt and experienced fear in the darkest of places. Also read: Dangal movie review, box office collection, story, trailer, music, lyrics, Aamir Khan, Mahavir Phogat, Nitesh Tiwari

What's hot

Dangal is an Aamir Khan film that doesn't really belong to him. He's a bystander who sort of narrates the story, a catalyst that projects this emotional journey with utmost honesty. The real hero of Dangal is director Nitesh Tiwari who has stayed true to the material right from the very first frame. There are multiple goosebump inducing moments. Be it Mahavir's first fight in the room of an administrative officer or a young Geeta pining down her male opponent in a duel. Tiwari despite several over the top opportunities the script provides keeps the tempo uniform. The writing is stellar and the cast matches upto the cues on point. Aamir is the star of Dangal. There is ample humility and charm in his ability to take a backseat and let the girls shine. But when he's in a frame you can't take your eyes off him. He becomes the father the girls despise and then begin to love. He is the husband who asks his wife to forget she is a mother to her daughters till they get trained for the job. Aamir is a genius. The girls who plays the young Geeta and Babita are remarkable simply because they make these characters identifiable. Sakshi Tanwar and other supporting characters are top notch. There is a scene that will have the audience stand up and salute the tricolour not realising it's just part of a film.

What's not

Dangal has its fair share of flaws. After the initial battles, the tempo loses its pace. Not every fight lives upto the glory of the first. The fight scenes are long and some of them get tiring. Apart from the title track none of the tracks sound worth humming. There are portions that remind you of Sultan.

What to do

Dangal is the film of the year for me. It is brave, gritty, honest and has a performance of a lifetime by Aamir. Watch it because I can't think of a better film that came out this year which got your attention with such intensity. And yes I Loved Sultan as well. But Dangal sort of won my heart over.

[movierate star="4.5]

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As a study of single-minded dedication, Nitesh Tiwari's biopic Dangal could not have had a a more apt lead: an actor known for his perfectionism and deep involvement with the projects he chooses. Aamir Khan is perfectly cast as Mahavir Singh Phogat, the remarkable head of a singular family of female wrestlers from Haryana, including the medal-winning Geeta and Babita. Dangal is a chronicle of the industriousness, perseverance and personal sacrifice that produce sporting champions, but it is above all a tribute to obsession. Except for a few scenes, every moment in the 161-minute film reflects Phogat's dream of making his daughters worthy of winning a gold medal for India. This is the kind of movie in which even small talk involves the words wrestling, medal, hard work, victory, and India.

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Dangal'.

Dangal's themes are set in the opening sequence itself. There's a wrestling match on television, and Mahavir has abandoned his office work to offer advice to the players grappling on the screen. India will never win a gold medal at this rate, he grumbles, and a burly new employee (Vivan Bhatena) interrupts him: what do you know about wrestling anyway? He finds out to his peril that the man with the brusque manners and the carefully rationed smile isn't just a former professional wrestler, but somebody who is committed enough to the sport to achieve the unthinkable.

Mahavir turns his perceived social handicap - all daughters and no sons - into his greatest strength. He doesn't believe in Geeta (Zaira Wasim) and Babita (Suhani Bhatnagar) until he learns one day that they have beaten up two boys who were harassing them. (The screenplay, credited to Tiwari, Shreyas Jain, Nikhil Mehrotra and Piyush Gupta, is led by this seemingly fleeting incident that eventually proves to be momentous.) Mahavir puts his daughters through the wringer, ignoring the protests of his wife Daya (Sakshi Tanwar in an ornamental role), the jeers of his neighbours, and the complaints of his children.

The girls despise their 5am routine, new diet and the shirts and shorts they are forced to wear in order to train better. When they snivel that the mud from the makeshift wrestling pit that Mahavir has carved out of his fields is giving them lice, Mahavir has their hair cut short.

Aamir Khan in Dangal'.

Mahavir's tough-love approach pays off when Geeta easily defeats boys in local tournaments and emerges as the state champion. The movie focuses on the relationship between Mahavir and his first-born, who is still far away from becoming the first female Indian wrestler to win the gold medal in the 55 kg freestyle category at the 2010 Commonwealth Games. Before she conquers the mat, Geeta has to deal with a new routine that is in opposition to the tricks her earthy father has taught her. Every account of heroism needs a villain, and Dangal unearths one in the coach Pramod (Girish Kulkarni), who demands that Geeta disavow her previous training.

The tensions between father and daughter at this point offer a chance to provide a psychological understanding of Geeta's journey, but Dangal's filmmakers let the opportunity slip. Unlike sports biopics in the West, which value the importance of the athlete's quest for personal achievement that is above patriotism and national glory, Dangal is clear that the only reason Mahavir risks social opprobrium is to win a medal for India. There is nothing shameful about individual excellence, but the idea is simply not entertained by Dangal, whose nationalistic fervour reaches its nadir or zenith, take your pick, in the climax.

The best bits are in the first 80-odd minutes, which provide an absorbing portrait of the family dynamics that allow Mahavir to steamroll domestic and external opposition. Geeta and Babita quickly realise that rebelling against their father is useless, and one scene crudely reminds us that without his obstinacy, the girls would have been married off at the first opportunity. Again, it is Mahavir who delivers the progressive message that female athletes must be encouraged and supported as strongly as males.

A movie with less on-the-nose writing and greater interiority would have devoted more time to understanding Mahavir's radicalism. What was he thinking, really? Khan's nuanced and compelling performance offers snatches of Mahavir's mind, but the movie never stops long enough to probe his thoughts on the utter insanity of his project.

Fatima Sana Shaikh (left) and Sanya Malhotra in Dangal'.

The first sports-based film of 2016 was Saala Khadoos, about a boxing coach and his female slumdog protg. In Sultan, Salman Khan played a wrestler who exorcised his personal demons to regain his glory. Dangal leaves the other films far behind in its portrayal of the rigours of training and depiction of the sport. Deftly shot by Setu, the film glows with the golden-brown hues of rural Haryana. The wrestling sequences are highly credible and exciting (national-level coach Kripa Shankar Bishnoi trained Khan and the girls), and the decision to allow Geeta's crucial matches to play out in full rather than being edited down pay rich dividends.

Tiwari's ability to handle young talent, previously seen in his films Chillar Party and Bhoothnath Returns, is never more evident than in the two girls who play the younger versions of Geeta and Babita. Fatima Sana Shaikh and Sanya Malhotra are convincing as the older wrestlers, but the scene stealers are Zaira Wasim and Suhani Bhatnagar, who play their younger selves. A delightful foil to the hard-working girls is their cousin Omkar (Ritwik Sahore in the younger role and Aparshakti Khurana in the older role), who is ramrodded by Mahavir into providing the girls with a sparring partner.

Nobody turns Mahavir down, and the movie pays handsome tribute to his obduracy. Every age produces the cinema it deserves, and with its insistence on absolute obedience to an authoritarian figure, Dangal is inadvertently a reflection of our times. Daddy truly does know best, and Dangal harbours no doubt whatsoever that his daughters are wise not to question him.

Dangal Movie Review: Aamir and his girls pack a thunderous punch to give a powerful message about girl power

The magic of movies is all about the passion of living dreams. And there are only a handful of artistes as committed to the craft as Aamir Khan. There's something so sincere about his efforts that you forgo multiple flaws. His latest offering Dangal is no masterpiece. It is far from flawless, it has a well-known, oft-repeated story and its technique and template are both similar to Shah Rukh Khan starrer Chak De India, but where it fares phenomenally is the writing department. With a tight screenplay in tow, Dangal soars. It isn't jaw dropping but it lives up to the fervour of its theme and the promise of its trailer. By the rulebook, it is a classic sports film with an eye for detail and a good measure of technique thrown into the poignant emotional drama about a stubborn father who lives his lifelong dream, and his daughters . There are sermons about gender balance, a generous dose of patriotism but what really drives this film is wrestling. To all who were worried about how similar Dangal is to Sultan, Aamir knows his game far better than that. He wouldn't repeat himself, forget repeating another actor. Orchestrated in a real set up, Dangal is rustic and robust, unleashing the infallible energies of two unbeatable girls who train to pummel hard enough to earn dignity in another sport besidew the revered cricket. It is even more difficult for women, more so if they belong to a more patriarchal pocket of the country. Aamir chooses a worthy story of a father who makes a difference to the thinking of his small town.

After Mahavir's wife fails to deliver a son, he leaves aside his dream to create a home grown pehelwan. His daughters are far from the dainty pictures, they are meant to be. After they pummel a few boys to pulp, Mahavir begins training them for the sport. The child actors Suhani and Zaira are lovely. The latter specifically is more cued into the craft while the other charms with her innocence. Director Nitesh Tiwari dedicates the entire first half to the little girls, reeling under the pressure of their over ambitious father's expectations of them. They wobble, fall but never have the heart to give up. They eventually rise to the occasion and prove their mettle and merit. Fatima and Sanya lend their raw energies to glue together every element of the story. They are top notch and Tiwari brings out the right emotions from them. They compete, battle, bicker, squabble but their eye on winning gold never goes.

You can't help but be impressed by Tiwari's astute choice of milieu, which genuinely feels authentic. But an equal amount of credit belongs to Aamir, who has the knack of breaking the shackles of mainstream Bollywood. This story like many of his previous ones, could probably only be made due to his vision. On one hand, he creates stars of novices, use familiar faces to fill parts worthy of their caliber (an effective Sakshi Tanwar) and on the other hand, he never lets it seem like a vanity project. The story is his but the spotlight is never on him. As the impatient, impeccable Haryanvi speaking, middle aged Jatt wrestler, who lost his chance to live his dreams, he is fantastic. It won't be a stretch to say that he is Aamir Khan for a reason and his films are a class apart because he invests more than just time on his work. There is visibly enough discipline, vision and more than anything, a lot of heart spent on it.

But here, as we applaud a cinematic celebration of the Phogats, we must bow down to the spirit of Mahavir Phogat for daring to put himself through thr ridicule of his village folks when he announced that his girls will make men bite the dust. For someone who came from a largely patriarchal, may we say, even chauvinistic world, it was a risk that could've gone grossly wrong. But he had a dream to win big for his country and a vision for his girls, whom he never gave up on even when they lost faith on themselves. Yes, it is the best film all year. The best one we will see in a long time. That's a given from Khan, right? But this is his most noble work till date. Yes, he is ballsy to play his age, flaunt a potbelly proudly, lose a wrestling match to his on screen daughter and do things other superstars would never dare to risk but for this one, he wins love for subtly putting across the point that girls can win the world. Give them a chance. To him and the Phogats, Dangal is an apt homage to their spirit. All you must want for Christmas is to watch this movie. This one is to cherish and for the keeps.

We rate it an 85% on the Pinkvilla Movie Meter.