Dangal REVIEWS| BOX OFFICE Updates - Page 17

2016 wasn't exactly spectacular for Hindi cinema.

Getting off to a decent start with 'Airlift', 'Neerja' and 'Kapoor & Sons', Bollywood hit some sort of a bump mid-year, with a marked decline in quality (making it difficult to draw up a decent Best of The Year list - or easier, depending on how you see it).

Yet, some trends emerged. 'Airlift', 'Neerja'and 'MS Dhoni - An Untold Story' reinforced the fact that there was an audience for real-life stories. 'Sultan', this year's only bonafide blockbuster so far, was a thorough mainstream fare under the garb of "sports film", capturing the highs and lows essential to the genre. Pink encouraged a discourse on "feminism" to successful effect.

'Dangal' blends all these elements, as if it's only purpose was to serve as a reminder for all the things we loved at the movies this year. Based on real-life incidents. Check. Sports drama. Check.

Comment on female empowerment. Double Check. Throw in a dose of patriotism (not "nationalism", thankfully), and you get a rousing, emotionally-rich entertainer.

There's a scene in the film, where Mahavir Singh Phogat (Aamir Khan) holds up a sketch of a wrestling mat for his daughters Geeta and Babita - teenagers on the cusp of a wrestling career. The girls have honed their skills in a makeshift akhada till this point, and Father Phogat hasn't managed to raise the necessary finance for a wrestling mat. Mattresses have, hence, been strung together on the terrace of the Phogat residence in Balali village, and only a visual form of the mat presented to the girls. As Geeta looks at the picture, her eyes light up and a look of amazement comes over her face. This is her destiny; just a glimpse is all it takes for her world to come alive.

It's an important moment, also, because it's the first time I found Geeta truly excited about the sport; the first time in the film where the concept of "choice" for the film's female protagonist became tangible. Till that point, only the aspirations of the girl's father - a national-level wrestler whose dream it was to win a medal for his country - held centerstage. He could never fulfil his dream, and hence waited patiently for a male offspring to live out his ambition.

Nitesh Tiwari, who co-directed 'Chillar Party' and directed 'Bhoothnath Returns', seems to be cut from the same cloth as two-time Khan collaborator Rajkumar Hirani. He, too, uses humour as a crutch to talk about serious issues, like the skewed sex ratio in Haryana (where the film is set). It's what keeps the narrative hurtling along, as the screenplay moves from one set-piece to the other. In the film's pre-interval portion, especially, Tiwari and co-writers Piyush Gupta, Shreyas Jain and Nikhil Mehrotra dabble only in high points culled from the Phogat sisters' formative years, hardly pausing for breath. The use of music (Pritam) in these portions is exemplary, with songs like Haanikaarak Bapu and Dhaakad blending fabulous lyrics with charming picturisation. Each song tells a story.

The meat of 'Dangal', however, lies in the grown-up phase of the Phogat sisters' lives, where they prepare for ultimate glory - the national championship at first, and then representing India at the international stage. Moving away from home turf - and the watchful eyes of her relentless father - to the National Institute of Sports in Patiala, Geeta develops a liking for things she's been kept away from till that point. She grows her hair like her counterparts, puts on make-up at will, and indulges in cheat meals. It leads to her getting on a collision course with her father, and a slump in form and performance.

Some of these portions are problematic. A woman's excellence in sport being tied with her ability to deprive herself of feminine needs - applying nail polish, for example - seems bizarre. There's also the track of the national wrestling coach, played by Girish Kulkarni, who wants to stake claim to Geeta's victories while shutting out any interference from her father. This character is 'Dangal''s weakest link - one-dimensionally "villainish", he stick out like a sore thumb in a largely realistic film.

Then there's the final pep-talk delivered by Father Phogat before the climactic bout, stressing on the need to emerge victorious "so other Indian girls could dare to dream too". While well-intentioned, it strikes a false note for a character whose goals are extremely personal. The crowd-pleasing moment is a bit of a cop-out for both Tiwari as director and Aamir Khan, whose character otherwise (bravely) comes across as unabashedly self-serving.

Khan, though, invests in the role like he's famously known to, not only transforming himself physically for the part, but capturing the character's highs and lows with flourish. It's a truly great performance, and while he plays 'Dangal''s protagonist, he's remarkably not the film's hero.

It's the girls whose story this really is, and their journey is what keeps you invested. Much like Chak De India's ensemble of female actors, the girls of 'Dangal' are a real find. Not just Fatima Sana Shaikh and Sanya Malhotra - who play the adult Geeta and Babita respectively - but even Zaira Wasim and Suhani Bhatnagar are excellent as the young Phogat sisters. Sakshi Tanwar, playing their mother, and Aparshakti Khurana and Ritwik Sahore as the girls' cousin are all inspired casting choices (Mukesh Chhabra).

'Dangal' has moments of greatness and the aura of a classic, even though its lofty ambitions aren't always matched with the consistency demanded from a true epic. Yet, there's enough craftiness packed in its 160-minute runtime to win you over. The wrestling matches are beautifully choreographed and shot (Sethu Sriram). Props to Tiwari for his restrained use of commentary and background music in the film's nail-biting moments.

The film, in a way, can also be seen as a vicarious interpretation of the Anushka Sharma track in 'Sultan'. What was Aarfa's story? What could she have achieved if she hadn't given up the sport for motherhood and domesticity? 'Dangal' does more for wrestling than the Ali Abbas Zafar hit by ensuring the sport isn't presented merely as combat, but as an athletic contest where technique and ability matter as much as strength, even using a cricket analogy to achieve that at one point.

In cricketing terms, 'Dangal' is akin to a last ball six in a low-scoring year at the movies. And sometimes, a good ending makes everything seem alright.